As the party, continues Romeo arrives at the scene. He has disguised himself as a pilgrim. He hides his face beneath the mask so that he is not recognised as a Montague. He is nervous, as he will finally be able to tell Rosaline, (which is the reason why he came to the party in the first place) how he feels about her. As he searches for Rosaline, he spots someone else. As soon as he sees Juliet her beauty stuns him. “O doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night”.
He speaks in rhyme, with the word of each sentence as a rhyming couplet. Shakespeare uses this to make the dialogue more romantic and poetic. Romeo is bewildered by her grace as he watches her from afar, behind his mask.
As he watches her Tybalt spots him. He recognises Romeo as the enemy and wants to live up to his nobility of a Capulet, and fight him. Capulet spots him and tells him that he should not fight him. “Content thee, gentle coz, let him alone, a’bears him like a portly gentlemen”. He is trying to tell him that he should be civil and not fight in front of all the guests. Tybalt finds this insulting, and that Capulet is not being himself. “Why, Uncle, ‘tis a shame”. Tybalt feels that he will have to keep his honour as a Capulet, and restrain himself until after the party. “ I will withdraw, but this intrusion shall, now seeming sweet, convert to bitt’rest gall”.
In these lines, there is a strong opposite of words, which are describing the same thing. When Romeo and Juliet meet, and Romeo is shocked by her beauty. This exchange between Romeo and Juliet is a sonnet, a popular form of love poetry in Elizabethan times. A sonnet has fourteen lies and ten syllables in each line. The rhyme scheme is structured as follows:
The first eight lines A-B-A-B-C-D-C-D. The following four lines E-F-E-F. The final couplet G-G.
Shakespeare creates a sonnet for dramatic effect. It makes the audience or reader pay attention as the dialogue becomes more poetic and lyrical. The sonnet is based on love and it uses religious imagery as Romeo feels that Juliet’s beauty is the work of God. “This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this, My lips two blushing pilgrims, ready stand, To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss”. Shakespeare uses religious imagery because in those times it was considered as a very important way of life. People would readily understand the images and stories. In these lines he says that he would do anything just to receive a kiss from fair Juliet. A sonnet is used to create love through language. This is effective and makes the scene more romantic and passionate.
Through this scene there is a mixed set of moods. This makes the scene more exciting, as there are more things going on at the same time. This makes the audience or reader, keen to continue, as there is a suggestion of more things to come. Below is the sonnet used in this scene:
Once Romeo and Juliet find out that they both come from apposing families, there moods change slightly, to worried, but they are still madly in love with each other, and are still a little overcome by their kiss to worry. They are madly in love, with each that they don’t think it will matter who they are.
In this scene the overall mood is happy, as the guests dance merrily to fine music. A lot of food and drink is being consumed meaning that everyone is full and jolly. Only Tybalt, who takes things is life quite literally, spoils the mood with his personal thoughts.
