Romeo and Juliet: Analysing Two Scenes

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Romeo and Juliet English Coursework                13/10/2008Y:\svn\trunk\var\docs\working\working\839164.doc

Romeo and Juliet:  Analysing Two Scenes

In all of Shakespeare’s plays, there are many speeches and soliloquies. This is no different in Romeo and Juliet as Shakespeare uses the power of direct speech to set the scene of immense emotion with powerful vocabulary. There are many techniques that he uses throughout the play to describe the various feelings and sensations that the characters feel. By using a soliloquy or monologue, Shakespeare isolates the character and allows them to express themselves with impunity.

This speech is located at Act 3 Scene 2 Lines 97-127. Juliet has just found out that both Mercutio and Tybalt are dead and that it was Romeo who killed Tybalt; and has been banished for his actions. After being told this by the Nurse, Juliet then uses contrasting words and phrases to describe her husband and the feelings she has towards him. The Nurse adds to this by slandering all men and condemning Romeo. Juliet interjects and starts to defend her new husband and the speech. This is significant to the plot as it effectively means that Romeo and Juliet will no longer be able to see each other legally. Juliet, during this speech, makes the decision of sticking by her husband instead of her family. This means that she will have to leave her family in some way in order to be with Romeo, since he is banished from Verona.

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This speech is very interesting and reveals the thoughts and feelings of Juliet at a critical point in the play. During this speech, she feels a mixture of emotions, including confusion, pain, despair and love. At the start of this speech, Juliet is very confused: she does not know whether to condemn or love her husband:

        “Shall I speak ill of him that is my husband?”

The fact that she questions herself shows that she is bewildered and does not know what to do. We can see that Juliet is very hurt by what happened and that is, emotionally, ...

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