Juliet then says,
“He shall not make me a joyful bride,” she says this but does not give a reason why, even though the audience know it is because she is deeply in love with Romeo and not Paris.
Juliet then goes on to say
“I will not marry yet, and when I do, I swear
It shall be Romeo,”
Lady Capulet does not know that Juliet is already married to Romeo but the audience do know. This makes the audience aware of the relationship between Juliet and her mother, they are not close at all and Juliet does not think twice about lying to her.
Also, when Lord Capulet is shouting at Juliet that she must marry Paris on Thursday, the nurse says
“God in heaven bless her.”
The nurse is telling Lord Capulet to stop shouting at Juliet, just because she does not want to marry yet. She says this even though she knows Juliet does not want to marry Paris because she is already married to Romeo. Lord Capulet does not know this.
The effect of dramatic irony is that one character does not know what is going on while the audience do. This makes the audience more aware of what is going on in the scene. It also shows the gaps in people’s relationships, such as Juliet and her mother.
Shakespeare’s uses of language are very important throughout Act 3 Scene 5. When Juliet is talking to her mother about the death of Tybalt and about Romeo, she uses words that can mean two things.
“Indeed I never shall be satisfied
With Romeo, till I behold him dead.”
Lady Capulet thinks that Juliet is saying that she will not be satisfied until she can avenge Tybalt’s death by, holding his killer Romeo, dead. What Juliet actually means is that she will not be happy until she can hold her true love, Romeo. Shakespeare adds further irony to this sentence because Juliet actually never sees Romeo alive again. The audience knows what Juliet means and this adds to the tension and drama of the scene. The audience knows that Juliet is lying to her mother and this once again proves how far apart that Juliet and her mother are.
Juliet also says something to her mother with two meanings when talking about poison.
“Madam, if you could find out but a man
To bear poison, I would temper it.”
Lady Capulet thinks she is talking about mixing up a poison to kill Romeo, to avenge his murder of Tybalt. What Juliet actually means is that she would water down the poison, for not to kill him. The audience knows what Juliet means and therefore the audience is much more aware of Juliet’s true feelings.
At the beginning of the scene, when Romeo and Juliet are talking to each other in Juliet’s bedroom, poetry is used a lot. Throughout the play Romeo and Juliet use a lot of poetry to talk each other, sometimes in sonnet form. As the scene starts, Juliet begs Romeo to stay for just a little bit longer, saying that the bird they heard was a nightingale, which is a bird of night, instead of a lark, which signals the start of dawn. Romeo though sees the first signs of morning, streaks of dawn that “lace” the clouds. Juliet argues that that was not daylight but a meteor, acting as a “torchbearer” to light his journey to Mantua. The poetry in this conversation between Romeo and Juliet almost links it with the lovers’ first sonnet.
Throughout Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare uses imagery to emphasize his ideas. In the play, light is associated with beauty, kindness and peace. Whereas dark is associated with doom, arguments and being sadder.
Romeo and Juliet, almost exclusively meet in the dark, the first time they meet is in the dark, their first kiss is in the dark and in fact the only time they meet in the light is their wedding. The reason they meet in the dark is because of Romeo, if they meet in day light, someone will see them and tell Juliet’s parents about her seeing one of the families worst enemies.
“I must be gone and live, or stay and die.”
After Tybalt’s death, Romeo was banished from Verona by the Prince. What Romeo is saying to Juliet is that if he tries to escape during the day, he will be caught and murdered. Juliet knows this but because she loves him so much she begs him to stay for just a few more minutes.
The lighter the day becomes the darker the woes grow. Throughout the play, daylight marks the end of their time together, because their relationship can only flourish in the darkness.
Shakespeare’s use of contrast makes Act 3 Scene 5 very intriguing. He uses contrast throughout the play, mainly character versus character. One of the main examples of this is the way in which Lord Capulet has changed in his way of treating Juliet. At the start of the play, he tells Paris that Juliet is too young to marry.
“She hath’ not seen the change of fourteen years.
Let two more summers wither in their pride.”
He is telling Paris that he does not want her to marry for at least another two years because she is too young.
Then during Act 3 Scene 5 when Juliet tells him that she is refusing to marry Paris, his attitude is completely reversed.
“To go with Peter to Saint Peter’s Church
Or I will drag thee on a hurdle thither.”
Now he is forcing her to marry Paris or else he will drag her to the church. From the start of the play his attitude is in complete contrast to what is now. This scene demonstrates Lord Capulet’s lack of sympathy for his daughter and also his extreme temper. He is unreasonable and his mood changes suddenly and without warning.
Throughout the scene, Shakespeare uses more examples of contrast. At the start of the scene it is all about Romeo and Juliet, and them being romantic and being in love. By the end of the scene it is all about Juliet fighting with her parents and hate. This contrast changes the mood of the scene quite dramatically. This makes the audience more interested because it is more interesting for them. This relates to the major themes of the play because Shakespeare uses contrast a lot to keep the audience interested.
Another way in which Shakespeare uses contrast is with the character of the nurse. She shifts her opinion on Romeo very quickly. Here she is talking about Paris
“A lovely gentleman.”
She also says that Romeo could never compare to him. Like Lord Capulet her mood changes very quickly. In Act 2 Scene 5, it was the nurse who organised Juliet’s marriage and honeymoon. Then now she decides she does not like Romeo. This shows how the nurse’s mood changes very quickly. She does not seem to understand Juliet’s love for Romeo. This makes the audience feel bad for Juliet; it makes them more involved in the atmosphere of the scene.
The strongest contrast in this scene is between the idyllic and loveliness of Romeo and Juliet’s world and the angry world of her parents.
