In the second section, Romeo makes a romantic speech about Juliet. Now the audience know that Romeo is a Montague and is a rival of the Capulet’s. This makes the scene dramatic because it is changes the mood from Capulet’s jolly and humorous speech to Romeo’s calmer, more serious speech. Romeo’s speech tells the audience for the first time what he really thinks about Juliet. Romeo says “For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.” What Romeo means here is that Juliet stands out from everybody else at the ball and that he has never loved anyone as much as Juliet. There are lots of rhymes in Romeo’s speech, which include, “O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright, It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night.” This is also a metaphor. There are also similes in the speech such as, “As a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear. Shakespeare has now used 2 themes in the scene, but then there is a section of hate, as Tybalt spots Romeo and tells his uncle, Lord Capulet.
Tybalt is a Capulet, and cousin of Juliet. He sees Romeo making his speech. Tybalt says to Capulet, “This by his voice should be a Montague. Fetch me my rapier, boy. What dares the slave come hither, covered with an antic face to fleer and scorn at our solemnity? Now by the stock and honour of my kin, to strike him dead I hold it not a sin.” Here Tybalt wants his sword because he wants Romeo dead, because he thinks he has come to spoil the family festivities. Tybalt’s speech is hateful and strong towards Romeo. Capulet’s reaction is good, changing the mood again. Capulet says that he only knows of good things of Romeo and describes him as a well brought up youth. He says “Content thee, gentle coz, let him alone, a bears him like a portly gentleman.” Capulet thinks Tybalt is being silly and just wants to kick Romeo out of the ball because he is a Montague. The audience might be thinking there might be fight, either between Romeo and Tybalt because Tybalt wants Romeo out of the ball, of between Tybalt and Capulet because they both want their own way.
Next, Romeo gets to dance with Juliet, and they begin to get talking to each other. Romeo thinks that if he could kiss Juliet it would mean nothing greater in the world. At first Romeo thinks that he is unworthy of Juliet’s beauty and to kiss her would be a minor sin. Romeo and Juliet talk in a sonnet. A sonnet is a 14 line short poem which follows a strict rhyme scheme. The usual rhyme scheme is: a-b-a-b c-d-c-d e-f-e-f g-g. In the sonnet, lots of religious words are used, such as “holy shrine”, “pilgrim”, “prayer” and “saints”.
In the last part of the scene, Romeo finds out Juliet is a Capulet, and Juliet finds out Romeo is a Montague. They both are shocked, but still decide that they love each other, even though they are from rival families, and they pronounce this at the famous balcony scene (Act 2 Scene 2.)
In conclusion, I think that the scene was very dramatically effective. This is because there were 5 sections to the scene, and Shakespeare used 5 themes to change the mood each time. I think that the themes of the play are still relevant to a modern audience. I think it is a very important scene in the play, because it sets the story for the rest of the play