Romeo And Juliet
What techniques and devices does Shakespeare use to demonstrate the power and beauty of the love between Romeo and Juliet?
Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare is about a pair of star-crossed lovers ready to die for each other, the feuding families The Montague’s and The Capulets are enemies. This play is about the power and beauty of love and the major destruction of hate. The two teenagers fall in love with each other at the first sight without knowing that they are from rival families, When Romeo realises that Juliet is a Capulet he says, “My life is my foes debt”. When the fate helps them see the truth it is too late. The purpose of this essay is to look at how Shakespeare puts across, however passionate and beautiful the love between Romeo and Juliet is its not enough in the end. They don’t turn away, but together they fight for their love as they walk “The fearful passage of their death-marked love,” they sacrifice their lives just to be with each other and end the ancient feud.
Romeo and Juliet’s love is extremely powerful; as Romeo first sees Juliet he quotes “O she doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the deck of night as a rich jewel in a Ethiops ear-beauty too rich for use”, he then says “Did my heart love till now? Foreswear it, sight! For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night”, this shows the power and passion for there love. Romeo was once in love with Rosaline but she did not like him, there wasn’t much involved in the relationship, Romeo says “I have a soul of lead”, this shows he feels weighed down by his love for Rosaline. Juliet hasn’t had any relationships with men; she has only had love for her parents and mainly her nurse. Her Nurse had brought her up like a mother. The two teenagers prove there love is strong by scarifying their lives for each other. They take risks such as breaking up from their families, getting disowned by their parents and even getting killed! When things go wrong Friar Lawrence is always there to help, when Romeo is banished he comes up with the plan to get them back together, and he gives Juliet the herbal drink to make it look like she died. If there love was not powerful and strong they wouldn’t of gone through so many hindrance just to stay with each other. When Romeo got banished from Verona he was not scared of the consequences and he didn’t hesitate to come to Juliet, and when he is told that Juliet is dead he doesn’t wait a single second he goes straight to the apothecary to get poison. Romeo drinks the poison and dies with words “Thus with a kiss I die”, when Juliet awakens she finds her husband Romeo dead she chooses to die with him, before she stabs herself she says “O happy dagger”, because it will reunite her with Romeo in death. There are several ways in which Shakespeare makes the audience aware of the power of Romeo and Juliet’s love, by showing the magnificent risks they are both willing to take and the way they speak to each other in a poetic way.