"Discuss the dramatic effectiveness of the soliloquies in Romeo and Juliet."

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Kirsty O’Hara

Shakespeare Coursework

“Discuss the dramatic effectiveness of the soliloquies in Romeo and Juliet.”

Romeo and Juliet is a tragic love story, which was written in 1595 by William Shakespeare. The play is about a young couple who have fallen deeply in love with one another, but are unable to be happy because of the everlasting feud between the two families have together. In Romeo and Juliet long speeches are made by characters, to add suspense these speeches are called soliloquies and are used to express one’s true thoughts and feeling’s to the audience aloud.

           The Friar’s soliloquy has a massive dramatic effect on the audience. I think this because in the Friar’s soliloquy it has a lot of opposites, tomb, womb, medicine, poison, weeds, flowers, night, day. These opposites give us the idea that the Friar is trying to tell us something by forwarding the plot; he starts to talk about life and death, “The earth that’s nature’s mother is her tomb, what is her burying grave that is her womb.”  “Within the infant rind of this weak flower, Poison hath residence and medicine power.”  The Friar reminds us of things that have already happened or are going to happen, the friar gives us a sort of premonition by saying “Poison” we know that Romeo die’s from poison. The Friar also says “And vice sometime by action dignified, “this gives us the impression that the Friar is talking about Romeo killing Tybalt, but Romeo very deeply regretting it.

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           The Friar’s soliloquy is before we are aware that Romeo and Juliet are going to marry so our emotions are running very high, as we are happy for them both. But then he goes on to talk about the aspects of living, which makes the audience feel very emotional.

           We learn from the Friar’s soliloquy that his character is a very kind and thought full man, he thinks a lot about nature. As he talks about plants, day and night  “the grey-eyed moon smiles on the frowning night, Check’ ...

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