We are then introduced to the character Romeo. At this point of the play, he believes he is deeply in love with Rosaline. His language is lacking in substance and the truth in his feelings for her. His language is also very sweet and this shows in his attitude. Everything he says is also well thought through, as if he has been sitting and thinking of every little detail he wants to say. Shakespeare also uses oxymoron’s to make this scene effective. An example of this is “Here’s much to do with hate, but more with love, why then o brawling love, o loving hate”. Romeo mentions love and hate which are a contrast to each other. This gives the audience to believe Romeo is not in real love. This is because he shows no emotion in what he is saying. Also the use of imagery is used as Romeo refers to Rosaline to a goddess named Diana. This goddess is of hunting, she avoids cupids arrows. This is only a myth so the audience may not have believed that he was in proper love, because what he was saying isn’t true.
Shakespeare uses light imagery in Romeo and Juliet we can see this when Romeo initially sees Juliet. He compares her immediately to the brilliant light of the torches and tapers that illuminate Capulet’s hall: “O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!” Juliet is the light that sets him free from the darkness of his continuous depression.
In the balcony scene Juliet is talks about Romeo unaware he is listening in secret from the bushes below. “O Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name. Or if thou wilt not, be sworn my love and ill no longer be a Capulet. ‘Tis but thy name that is my enemy, Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.” Juliet is saying “why are you Romeo”, meaning why is he a Montague and not a Capulet as it would be acceptable for Juliet to love Romeo. She asks Romeo to deny being a Montague and giving up his family name but if he does not want to then she will. Her enemy is not Romeo himself, but his name therefore if he leaves his name then he will no longer be her enemy. Her feelings for Romeo are so strong that she is willing to do anything to be with him.
When Romeo finally speaks, Juliet tells Remo that if the “kinsmen” find him, they will kill him. However Romeo replies by saying “for stony limits cannot hold love out, and what love can do, dares love attempt. Therefore thy kinsmen are no stop to me.” Romeo is saying that If they found him they would kill him and therefore he would have been killed for loving someone and wanting to see them. Romeo is being polite by saying that nothing can keep him from being with her, not even her relatives. He is trying to sound brave for Juliet and his love for her which is more playful and happier than his love for Rosaline which at times was quite depressing. The rest of their conversation is very passionate and they declare their love for each other. This leads them to make vows and finally agree to get married. To Romeo and Juliet their love for each other and being together is far more important than the hatred between their families.
In Act three, scene five, Capulet tells Juliet that she is to marry Paris in a few days, however Juliet refuses to marry him, mainly because she is already married to Romeo by this time. After a long and angry speech Capulet says: “Thursday is near, lay hand on heart, advise. And you be mine, I’ll give you to my friend; and you be not, hand, beg, starve, die in the streets, For by soul, I’ll ne’er acknowledge thee...” Capulet is both threatening and advising Juliet as he is saying that if she marries Paris then everything will turn out well and he will still acknowledge her as his daughter. However, if she does not, then he will throw her out in the streets and he will not care what happens to her for she will no longer be thought of as his daughter. He says this partly out of love as he thinks it will make Juliet happy, but his words are harsh and painful for Juliet to hear from her father. He is angry that Juliet is disobeying him and does not know not know how to handle it as he is surprised. Therefore, I think this is scene is both love and hate but neither feeling is stronger.
Shakespeare uses the theme of love widely throughout the play he does this by expressing his own views through the characters and their opinions. As the play unfolds we begin to see several themes evolving, although Shakespeare’s views appear to contradict one another. For example the Nurse and Mercutio believe that love can only be sexual whilst we see the complete opposite of this in Romeo and Juliet’s powerful love for one another. Shakespeare also shows love is all to do with fate which destroyed Romeo and Juliet. Many instances in the play reveal the love of Romeo Juliet would end in death. From the very beginning it is evident that they were destined by the stars to bad fortune. Shakespeare may have believed that there is no way to control fate or change what is in the stars.
The masquerade party was above all the most important aspect of fate. The fact that Romeo was wearing a mask and his face was hidden allowed Juliet to fall in love with him before she saw who it was. If Juliet had known who Romeo was she would probably have not fallen in love with him. Fate could not have been changed whatever was mean to happen no one could change that. This portrays Shakespeare intake about love.
Shakespeare also shows his view of hate through the consistent visual motif using the contrast between light and dark. This is often showed in terms of night and day imagery. This contrast has not given a particular metaphoric meaning. Light is not always good and dark is not always evil. On the other hand, light and dark are generally used to hint at opposed alternatives. This is shown when the early morning hours after the lovers’ only night together. Romeo is forced to leave for banishment in the morning, and Juliet not want him to leave her room, both try to pretend it is still night and that the light is actually darkness: “more light and light more dark and dark our woes.” When this scene occurs we can see that hate is overcome by love and also that the private part of your life will always collide with the public part of your life.
Even though the story was written many years ago, people can still relate to it. It is still relevant to audiences today because people can still really hate each other; people still fall deeply in love, as did Romeo and Juliet. Some families even have major feuds which lead to killings or banishments of daughters or sons. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet shows us that love can fix any hatred in our world if you just let it happen. Also he has shown us that love is stronger by making a dramatic conclusion of killing both the lovers which brings both the families together.
