In Act 3 Scene 5, How does Shakespeare show the increased isolation of Juliet?

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In Act 3 Scene 5, how does Shakespeare show the increased isolation of Juliet?

 Introduction and Plot

“Shall happily make thee there a joyful bride” heart breaking irony is found throughout Shakespeare’s masterpieces but none more so than in the epic tale of “Romeo and Juliet”. One of the key scenes in this play is Act 3 Scene 5. This is a powerful scene where the two lovers “Romeo and Juliet” have spent their wedding night together secretly in the Capulet’s orchard before the following day where Romeo must leave for Mantua. After Romeo leaves, Juliet is told by her mother that she is to be married to Paris in two days. After Juliet refuses, using clever mature language her father, Lord Capulet comes to her and threatens to throw her out on to the streets if she does not marry Paris. Juliet is then left with the nurse. Juliet asks the nurse to comfort her, but although the nurse was no comfort, Juliet lets her think that she was.

Language

“I would the fool were married to her grave”, chilling words from anyone, so to hear these words come from your mother’s lips is a catastrophic condemnation. This is also a bit of dramatic irony; as we know Juliet is going to die, but her mother doesn’t. Through out Act 3 Scene 5 the language used by Juliet changes quite regularly depending on emotions and who Juliet is talking too. Another example of the language change in this scene is by Lord Capulet, who starts off calm and collected, but when he realizes he is being disobeyed his language dramatically changes, and he starts using insults that in those times would be seen as a big shock, a bit like our modern day swear words. The language plays the key role in this scene, especially when Juliet is sobbing, when she says “I never shall be satisfied with Romeo, till I behold him -dead- Is my poor heart for a kinsman vex’d.” this can be read in two totally different ways. The one her mother thinks she means is that she won’t be satisfied till she beholds Romeo dead. But what she really means is that she wont rest till she beholds Romeo, and then she goes on to say “dead is my poor heart for a kinsman vex’d”. Although Juliet is clever with words, she is not as clever with them as Romeo is, “What envious streaks do lace the severing clouds in yonder east.” Is just one of his thousands of clever lines, in this one he is suggesting that their love is so magnificent that the sky its self is jealous of it. Another clever quote in this scene by Romeo is “Jocund day stands tip toe on the misty mountain tops” in saying this he has personify dawn as a man about to leap across the mountain tops any second. When telling Juliet he must leave, he uses an antithesis “I must be gone and live, or stay and die”. In doing this there is never a dull sentence or paragraph and is permanently making the reader think about what is being said.

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Throughout “Romeo and Juliet” good and bad is associated with light and dark but no more so than in Act 3 Scene 5. Although light is usually seen as happiness and good, in Act 3 Scene 5 it takes a dramatic twist in to being the enemy. This is because when daybreak comes Romeo will have to leave for Mantua and part from Juliet. When morning comes Romeo says he must leave, but Juliet does not want him to and they start to debate whether it is morning or night. It is here when Romeo suggests the light is ...

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