The first meeting of Romeo and Juliet is referred to as the ‘Palmer’s scene.’ This is when they meet at the Capulet’s ball, when their eyes meet across a crowded room. This scene is always presented romantically and it continues through the scene as if time has stood still. Romeo sees Juliet and asks who she is because he thinks she is so beautiful. The person he asks says he does not know. Romeo always relates Juliet’s beauty to light.
‘She doth teach the torches to burn bright!’
Romeo has fallen in love with Juliet and it is a case of love at first sight. When Romeo talks to Juliet he uses a lot of religious language, the religious images run throughout the conversation such as ‘saint’ and ‘pilgrim’. The religious images show the spiritual side of love and it ethos the marriage sense.
Romeo refers to himself as a ‘pilgrim’ this is because pilgrims made long journeys to shrines, he refers to Juliet as a ‘shrine’. Pilgrims brought back palm leaves as proof of their visit and they were known as ‘Palmer’s’. Romeo and Juliet touch each other’s hands, palm to palm and there is a build up of tension for the audience before they kiss. The two characters’ are like little school children in this scene. Romeo and Juliet are interrupted by the Nurse who tells Juliet her mother needs a word. The audience may think that Juliet’s mother has seen her with Romeo.
Romeo then asks the Nurse who Juliet’s mother is and the Nurse tells Romeo,
‘her mother is the lady of the house’
Romeo then discovers that the love of his life is a Capulet the enemy of his family, he then leaves and Juliet then asks the nurse who the gentlemen was and again the Nurse tells her who he was. Juliet is heartbroken with the news that her love is a Montague.
‘My only love sprung from my only hate’.
This quotation is the motto for the whole play.
The balcony scene in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is the most well-known and romantic scene from the whole play. Juliet is standing on her balcony bathed in light; she talks about Romeo not knowing that he is stood below her balcony. Romeo does the same; he talks about Juliet not knowing she is there. This makes the setting romantic and dangerous, creating tension for the audience.
Both Romeo and Juliet declare their love for each other, not knowing they have each other’s company. While Romeo starts to declare his love for Juliet she appears on the balcony.
“It is my lady, o it is my love…”
Romeo carries on talking and then Juliet starts to declare her love for Romeo with the most well known line from the play.
“Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?………”
Both Romeo and Juliet carry on talking in turn, the audience are waiting for them to speak to each other. Then Romeo replies to something Juliet says, which surprises her, Romeo and Juliet know that Romeo is in great danger because if he is caught in the Capulet residence he will be killed.
“And the place death, considering who thou art…”
Romeo knows that he could be killed but he would do anything for his Juliet so he acts as if he doesn’t really care about getting caught.
“And what love can do, that dares love attempt: therefore thy kingsmen are no stop to me”
Romeo’s love for Juliet has given him courage.
The language which Romeo and Juliet use refers to light a lot, this creates a romantic ethos and powerful atmosphere to the play. The language emphasises on the fact it is night because in Shakespeare’s day the plays were performed during the day in open theatres. The language though achieves the romantic setting. Romeo and Juliet make vows of marriage, which is slightly strange because they have only just met each other, but they are sure they are in love.
After you were married in Shakespeare’s day you had to sleep with your new partner otherwise the marriage was unofficial. Juliet is very excited about the thought of sleeping with Romeo and experiencing the sexual side of love, which the Nurse talks about. There would be a lot of tension building throughout the audience during Juliet’s soliloquy because they know Romeo who is Juliet’s husband has killed Tybalt. As Juliet talks she uses images of death while she talks about the night of passion she is waiting for.
“Give me my Romeo, and when I shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars…”
This is a fusion of physical spiritual side of love. She thinks of Romeo after death, as like a star in the night sky. Juliet is also longing for the night to come.
“Come, Night, Come, Romeo, Come, thou day in night….”
The repetition in this quotation tells us of Juliet’s passion and anticipation.
When dawn comes after Romeo and Juliet’s night of passion, both of them try to convince the other it is still night, even though they know if they stay together it is a threat to their love.
“Wilt thou be gone? It is not yet near day”
Juliet says this line, as she doesn’t want Romeo to go. Both Romeo and Juliet give in when they realise they cannot spend another minute together.
“Night’s candles are burnt out, and jocund day”
The candles could represent the symbol of their love using light; their time together is over because the candles are burnt out.
More Tension is building up in the audience because they know Romeo has to leave. The nurse enters the scene to warn Romeo and Juliet.
“Your lady mother is coming to your chamber…”
This gives Romeo and Juliet enough time to say their last goodbyes; Romeo leaves just in time because Lady Capulet enters.
In Juliet’s death scene there is another tense moment for the audience there is a lot of tension and dramatic irony. Because Romeo didn’t get the message that Juliet had taken a sleeping potion, Romeo comes back to Verona and sees Juliet’s body and Romeo kills himself. When Juliet wakes she wants to know where Romeo is because he should have been with her.
“ I do remember well where I should be; and there I am. Where is my Romeo?”
In this quote Juliet says I remember where I am supposed to be and I am their so where is Romeo? The friar is reluctant to tell Juliet but eventually he gives in and tells her. Juliet goes to where Romeo lies and she sees he has taken some poison.
“I will kiss thy lips, haply some poison yet doth hang on them…”
The line itself is quite romantic because Juliet is saying she wants to die so she can be with Romeo. When Juliet kisses Romeo she says
“Thy lips are warm”
This is a desperate moment in the play for both Juliet and the audience. Both the quotations I have used are only short but they have a huge Impact on the audience.
Juliet realises that they just missed each other so Juliet kills herself with Romeo’s dagger, as she stabs herself she says,
“There rust and let me die”
The word rust in the quotation above is a very powerful violent and dramatic, Juliet wants to stay with Romeo forever- until the dagger rusts inside her.
Shakespeare presents love in many ways. Friar Lawrence saw love as a means of bringing the families together, which is why he agreed to marry Romeo and Juliet. He also believed love had a lot to do with the religion of the two families and the church. Friar Lawrence also thought that if Romeo and Juliet were married it would stop the feud between the families because they would see how happy the children were.
Shakespeare does use the fashionable idea about courtly love the fashion was for men to worship women from afar. This didn’t mean the man had to have any physical involvement. Courtly love as we know it now is “ Fancying” someone. An example of Courtly love in the play is the way Romeo is obsessed with Rosaline at the very start of the play. Romeo felt it was the manly thing to love/worship someone but when he met Juliet it stuns him with the reality of love.
My recipe of love I’m pleased to say was not a disaster; in fact it had everything needed to create true love. Love is never all happiness and roses, for real love to last there will always be some form of hate and jealousy. Shakespeare bases “Romeo and Juliet” on five different types of love they are; True love, Unrequited love, sexual love, parental love and rough love.
Each type of love presented in a very different way. When you finish reading or watching “Romeo and Juliet” the love has changed quite dramatically. To start off with the love was fun but by the end of they play the love is serious and romantic but also very tragic.
The love in the play is true love in my opinion and as a 15 year old girl I can relate to parts of what Shakespeare writes about. Maybe a 15 year old doesn’t know what true love is but to young girls love is special. Teenage love shouldn’t be snatched away from you! If you weren’t allowed to experience love now it would change your view of love for the rest of your life. But as Shakespeare covers so many different types of love in the play I think that everyone can relate to different aspects.
“Never has there been a tale of woe, of that of Juliet and her Romeo”
