In the beginning of Act 1, scene 5, they servants are getting ready for the masked ball and it’s a happy, joyful and comical scene, which is a relief for the audience because the end of the last scene was full of tension. The servingmen speak in prose, which is a low class way of speaking.
“You are looked for and called for, asked for and sought for, in the great chamber.”
(Act 1, Sc. 5, lines 11-12)
As you can see, it’s not written like a poem like all the other characters in the play. To us, it’s normal to speak and write like that, but in the Elizabethan times, it was stated as ‘low class.’ The word ‘you’ is written and this is the formal way of speaking whereas, ‘thee’ and ‘thou’ are informal and you can also say them when speaking to family.
In today’s world, when a boy sees a beautiful girl, he often thinks that he is in love when he actually isn’t. That is similar to the emotion Romeo experienced with Rosaline and after he sees Juliet he questions himself, quoting:
"Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight!”
(Act 1, Scene 5, line 51)
Here, Romeo is questioning his love for Rosaline, and asking himself if he knows what true love actually is. When Romeo sees Juliet, it was love at first sight. He says a form of a soliloquy but it’s quite an unusual one because instead of being alone on the stage, the masked ball is taking place behind him. Romeo and Juliet symbolise love. He says a big speech about how beautiful Juliet is. He quotes:
"O she doth teach the torches to burn bright!”
(Act 1, Sc. 5, line 43)
This is a metaphor. Romeo is comparing Juliet saying that she lights up the room. She’s brighter than any other light. She stands out. Another quote in his speech that implies that she stands out is when he says,
“As a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear”
(Act 1, Sc. 5, line 45)
He’s saying that Juliet is a rich, jewel in an Ethiopian person’s ear. So it’s a contrast, black and white, light and dark, etc. Imagine a dark skinned person wearing a bright silver earring. The earring would stand out because it’s bright and light and her skin is dark. In other words, Juliet stands out from the rest.
“Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear:”
(Act 1, Sc. 5, line 46)
What Romeo is saying here is that Juliet is too beautiful for this Earth. That Juliet is too precious for everyday use and too valuable for this world.
“So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows”
(Act 1, Sc. 5, line 47)
Again, it’s another comparison. White beautiful dove, among black, ugly crows. It’s again a black and white comparison. This is unusual because its refers to Benvolio’s speech, which is,
“And I will make thee think thy swan a crow”
(Act 1, Sc. 2, line 89)
Benvolio says that when they go to the masked ball there will be many other beautiful girls there, so Romeo will forget all about Rosaline. So instead of Romeo thinking Rosaline is the beautiful thing that he thinks she is, another girl in the masked ball will take his mind off Rosaline. Which is exactly what happens which is a huge coincidence…
“The measure done, I’ll watch her place of stand,
And touching hers, make blessed my rude hand.”
(Act. 1, Sc. 5, lines 49-50)
This basically means that when the dance has finished Romeo is going to watch where Juliet stands and her touching her hand will make his rough hand blessed because she is so special.
Every time there is a speech between Romeo and Juliet the words that are said are always about love and peace in the way they are talking to each other.
“My lips, two blushing pilgrims ready stand
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.”
(Act 1, Sc. 5, line 100)
Romeo has just met Juliet and Romeo says at first that he wants a kiss from her and he’s confident when he’s saying it. But Juliet’s smart, she’s just met this stranger and she’s not going to kiss him straight away because she wants to get to know him first. So she says some things that relate to religion to tease him a bit.
“And palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss.”
(Act 1, Sc. 5. Line 99)
And it goes on with Juliet teasing Romeo until in the end they kiss and they are in a pure love situation.
Every time Tybalt is on the scene, there are always words of hatred and anger.
“To strike him dead I hold it not a sin.”
(Act 1, Sc. 5, Line 58)
Tybalt is talking about Romeo in this quote. Tybalt overhears Romeo in his soliloquy and is raging mad that a Montague is at the masked ball uninvited that he wants to kill him.
Social etiquette is the strong emphasise of behaviour. The importance of social etiquette shows that Lord Capulet knows Romeo has come uninvited to the ball but he would rather have Romeo at the party than have Tybalt make a violent scene because that would give Lord Capulet a bad reputation. Despite the fact that he hates all Montagues, Lord Capulet sacrifices that hate to keep the peace in his house. In the scene where this takes place, Lord Capulet uses the words ‘you’ and ‘thou’.
The pure hatred of the scene is shown through Tybalt. Tybalt is a very volatile person, so every word he expresses are angry and poisonous. When we first meet Tybalt he says
“What, drawn and talk of peace? I hate the word,
As I hate hell, all Montagues and thee.”
(Act 1, Sc. 1, lines 64-65)
Here, he is saying that he hates peace like he hates all Montagues and hell. Tybalt is the personification of hatred. Tybalt always vows revenge, which causes the issues of hatred.
The language between Romeo and Juliet always talk about the declaration of love which is why they use a sonnet. A sonnet is a fourteen line speech where the last two lines rhyme, but the unusual thing about this is that this one is that two people are included in the sonnet where it’s normally supposed to be only one.
The Nurse understands the process of marriages so she talks abut getting a lot of money if Romeo marries Juliet, when she tells Romeo that he is going to get the “chinks” meaning money.
Romeo and Juliet’s love is shortened in to a small period of time. It’s like it’s been condensed which is an impossible situation. I mean, you try meeting someone, getting married the next day, on your wedding day your best friend gets killed, your lover being banished, your father telling you that you will be married to someone you don’t like in a couple of days, taking a potion that makes you appear dead on the wedding day, your lover comes to the ‘funeral’ and then the person who your father wanted you to marry comes into the room where your husband is, your husband kills that man, kills himself, you awakening from the potion and finding both men dead so you decide to kill yourself. It’s pretty much impossible for all this to happen in this short period.
One of the clear contrasts of love and hate between Romeo and Juliet is seen in Act 1, Sc. 5.
Romeo had a premonition of death. Shakespeare deliberately opens scene 5, which is happier to relieve tension. The servingmen use prose, which is lower status. The servingmen’s chat prepares the audience for the grand entrance of Lord Capulet, Lady Capulet, Tybalt, Romeo and the rest. Lord Capulet is making himself to be a great host. We know from the start that Romeo and Juliet wont grow old together. Growing old is time that passes so quickly, like when Lord Capulet and his cousin were talking about when they were younger and used to wear masks and “tell a whispering tale in a fair lady’s ear.” It’s like old age vs. youth. There’s a contrast of old and young in the scene like when Capulet is talking with Tybalt. The servingmen didn’t know who Juliet was, but if they did know who she was, there wouldn’t have been a story in the first place.
In Romeo’s soliloquy he uses a metaphor that is a beautiful contrast of colour. In line 46, states it is ominous because its kind of true. That is another sign of a bad feeling and Juliet does die.
Line 47, where Romeo says about the swans and crows, links to Benvolio’s speech in Act 2, scene 2, line 89. There is a constant contrast of light and dark. Romeo considers Juliet so precious and him unworthy towards love for Rosaline, which is nothing and not pure love.
Tybalt overhears Romeo. If that hadn’t have happened, Tybalt wouldn’t plan revenge and therefore Mercutio wouldn’t die and horrible events wouldn’t have happened.
Tybalt makes an incredible assumption that R9omeo is there to insult his family. Tybalt sees everything as a gesture and always has a bad conclusion.
Romeo is ruptured in a love cocoon and Capulet and Tybalt argue next to him. This shows another contrast of love and hate side by side.
In conclusion, from the very beginning, the love of Romeo and Juliet was destined to be destroyed. It is tragic that both these people had to give their lives just so they could love each other. There were circumstances throughout the course of their lives that led up to their deaths. If their parent's had not been feuding and if the Nurse had not betrayed Juliet, the outcome of this story would have been different, although fate could not be changed. This was the most important factor in the lives of Romeo and Juliet. Love is the biggest thing that can happen in human life. It can make your life incredible or forgettable. In the case of Romeo and Juliet, it was both. They had something between them that would never be destroyed. Their determination to stay together through the tough times was incredible. Even when they knew that their relationship would never be normal, they never gave up. It was a case of love at first sight when their eyes locked on each other. The story of Romeo and Juliet is more to do with love than hate. Nearly every scene of the text has love conveyed in some way in them. From the pain Romeo suffered from the rejection of Rosaline, to the first scene where the two meet. The only scene in the whole story where love isn't conveyed is the very first scene where we see the first conflict between the Capulets and the Montagues. That just shows how much of an impact love has in Shakespeare's story about two star-crossed lovers. Romeo and Juliet had such a strong love that they would die for each other. This is what Shakespeare is trying to show us what love is all about and this is why he chose to write this story, not to show hate, but to show love. The love in the story is not only shown between Romeo and Juliet. It is also shown in the form of filial love between Romeo and Mercutio. Romeo 'loved' Mercutio as a friend so much that he would vow revenge on the person that brought upon his death. The friendship was everlasting and would always be treasured by Romeo, even after Mercutio's death. Hate is only shown between the two families only when they are together, not when they are living their normal lives. Most of the hate comes from Tybalt's mouth anyway; we hardly hear any words of hate from anyone else's mouth. I have come to the conclusion that Romeo and Juliet is more to do with love than hate because of the style of language used and the way the characters express how they feel about one another.