During the Balcony scene Romeo and Juliet are very honest about their feelings, (this is proved as they show their love) and ask why their names mean so much hate the. Juliet is expressing her love the most, as at the start of the scene Romeo sneaks into Juliet’s garden and hears Juliet declaring her love to him. So he interrupts in and says: ‘Oh speak again bright angel’ Juliet does not know he is there so she is afraid but Romeo says it is him and continues complimenting her. At the end of the scene Romeo leaves Juliet’s garden because Juliet’s nurse is calling her. Romeo leaves by saying sleep well.
The character changes in this scene are very important to the play because Romeo and Juliet establish equality in the scene. Romeo has already shown that he loves Juliet in the last scene but Juliet hasn’t shown her love to him until the end of Act 1 Scene 5 where she is talking about Romeo. You are convinced when Juliet says: ‘My only love sprung from my only hate!’. This is a strong indication as she says her only enemy, which is the Montague family, has the one she loves.
There are three key themes within this play, which are highlighted within this scene. The first one is hatred shown when Juliet says ‘O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?’ meaning O Romeo, Romeo! Why must you be Romeo? This shows hatred, as she doesn’t like Romeo because he is a Montague. The second theme is love. You can see this when Juliet says ‘Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.’ Juliet is offering herself to Romeo saying she will take his name and become his wife. The third and final theme in the balcony scene is fate. This is shown when Romeo says ‘some consequence yet hanging in the stars, shall bitterly begin his fearful date with this nights revels…………… clos’d in my breast by some vile forfeit of untimely death.’ This is ironic and shows fate because in the future Romeo and Juliet kill themselves because it was their destiny to be together. Fate is also shown a little after this when Juliet says ‘I should kill thee with to much cherishing’ this is a very good way to show fate as at the end of the play Romeo and Juliet kill themselves as a consequence of to much cherishing.
The first conversation Romeo and Juliet had was written in the form of a sonnet. It was done like that because in Shakespeare’s day sonnets were a very formal way of winning someone’s feelings. But later on during the balcony scene they show mutual love for each other and start to speak in iambic blank verse, iambic blank verse has 10 syllables in each line and has no rhyme. Yet sometimes Shakespeare adds the odd rhyming couplet for example Juliet says ‘Good night, and good night! As sweet repose and rest Come to thy heart as that within my breast’ meaning may you sleep as sweet and as soundly as I will rounds off their conversation. This change in language shows that Shakespeare is trying to change the relationship between Romeo and Juliet by showing that they are equal.
When Romeo and Juliet first meet Romeo uses very imaginative metaphors such as ‘Saint’ and ‘she doth teach the torches to burn bright’. This is used to show that Romeo looks up to Juliet, and by referring to her as ‘a symbol of light’ suggests that he thinks she is the one for him. By calling her this and referring to himself as a ‘Pilgrim’ he puts himself sown and makes her even more superior. This self-degrading piece of speech that Romeo uses are carried on by him into the balcony scene where he says ‘tis not me she speaks’. Juliet later in the scene shows her love for Romeo and gains equality by calling him her ‘lord’. She also says that if she loved him any more she would kill him, this is shown when she says ‘Yet I should kill thee with to much cherishing.’ The Balcony scene is a very emotional and romantic scene Romeos opening speech sets the romantic scene up for high expectations and it lives up to them. Juliet also adds to the romance when she is ironically pondering over her feelings aloud but she is totally unaware that Romeo can hear. Whilst she is doing this Romeo is talking quietly to himself and the audience, saying ‘shall I speak at this’. This scene also creates a tense exciting atmosphere as Romeo is risking his life by being in his sworn enemies orchard.
I feel without this scene the play would not be complete simply because the ‘star-crossed lovers’ relationship may not have been able to develop. This is the scene where they gain ‘equality’. Without it Shakespeare would not have been able to create the sense that Romeo and Juliet would not be able to live without each other.
