Explore the dramatic presentation of love in Romeo and Juliet(TM)
In the Prologue of 'Romeo and Juliet' we are immediately introduced to the theme of love that runs throughout the play. "Two star-crossed lovers". Shakespeare introduces us to various types of love, portrayed through different character relationships. For instance, we see conventional love through Romeo and Rosaline and the idea of the Patrachan lover, romantic and sexual love, which is seen between Romeo and Juliet and, finally, parental love, portrayed in Capulet and Lady Capulet and Juliet. We also see love from a more cynical view, through Mercutio. In 'Romeo and Juliet' two characters primarily link love and sex. They are the Nurse and Mercutio. At the mentioning of love these two people always talk about sex. This can be seen mainly in Act 1 Scene 4, and how Mercutio thinks about love. At this point in the play Romeo is very distant and unhappy, Mercutio uses this as an opportunity to try and humour Romeo, using wit, sexual innuendo and imagery. "O'er ladies lips, whos straight on kisses dream". He uses more sexual innuendo throughout the play when the subject of love is mentioned. This is also seen when discussing Rosaline outside Capulet's mansion. He uses sexual images, for example, "Quivering thigh". This suggests a cynical attitude towards love, as he is never heard to mention non-sexual attributes when talking about a woman. The Nurse also links love and sex
How does Shakespeare Present the Theme of Love in Romeo and Juliet?
How does Shakespeare Present the Theme of Love in Romeo and Juliet? Shakespeare presents the theme of love in different ways for each of the characters and for some, such as Romeo, Shakespeare's portrayal of this theme changes as the play progresses. Shakespeare's first portrayal of the theme of love is in the first act when Romeo is talking of his love for Rosaline with Benvolio. Here Romeo is very confused as he uses oxymorons such as 'o brawling love, o loving hate,' (line 107) which shows how he is confused by his relationship with Rosaline as she does not return his love. Romeo continues to speak about the pain of love as he says 'being vexed, a sea nourished with lovers tears.' (Line 186) This shows how Romeo feels that he is being tormented by his love and he also, in this line speaks of all the lovers who have shed tears over their love and says how this is keeping the sea levels high by saying that the tears nourish the sea. On the following line Romeo says 'A madness most discrete.' (Line 187.) This line shows love in another light - as madness. Romeo feels that he is being driven mad by his love for Rosaline. The portrayal of Romeo's love changes entirely when, at the Capulet party, Romeo meets Juliet. When Romeo sees Juliet for the first time he begins to speak of Juliet's beauty. He says 'She doth teach the torches to burn bright,' (Line 41 I v.) This shows how
Romeo's letter to his father - Romeo and Juliet.
Dear Father, As you read my last words to yourself I am lying dead not because of a sword wound but because of a broken heart. Confusion and puzzle must be swarming through your head like a beehive but as you come to the last word of this letter you should hopefully understand and forgive me. I received an invitation that invited me to my only foes mansion but I met my only true love there. Rosaline was the one that I thought had my heart but my thoughts were deceived and my eyes saw the truth. As I gazed through my mask I saw her. I asked myself 'Did my heart love till now?' only about a quarter of an hour later I knew the answer to this question. I asked for a kiss and was denied at first. When going to kiss I said thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged. Our lips touched and my heart throbbed I pleaded 'Give me my sin again.' As I requested she did. A women interrupted our moment and told Juliet that her 'mother craves a word' with her. 'What is her mother?' I asked with curiosity and the answer that I got was like a sharp pain through my heart. A Capulet I asked myself how can this be? 'my life is my foe's debt' A Capulet or not I had to go and see my lady again and see I did. She appeared at her balcony. She gazed into the star night as I looked into her eyes 'Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven,' I fell more in love. She spoke 'Ay me!' I muttered to
How does Shakespeare use imagery in his play Romeo and Juliet to intensify the drama, create atmosphere and illuminate the central themes?
GCSE Coursework: Shakespeare - Romeo and Juliet How does Shakespeare use imagery in his play Romeo and Juliet to intensify the drama, create atmosphere and illuminate the central themes? In Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", Shakespeare uses imagery to create atmosphere, intensify drama and illuminate central themes. By using a variety of metaphors, dramatic irony, use of figurative language and his explanation of poetic forms he conveys meaning and character excellently. He incorporates all of these dramatic devices and more to convey the plot and reveal those things that were Elizabethan concerns. Shakespeare starts the play with a prologue. This was very popular in Shakespeare's time and he uses a sonnet to imply love because it was established as a poetic form for love and devotional poetry. It's used to set the scene and describes what is going to happen. It describes Romeo and Juliet as "Star crossed lovers"; this shows the audience the play is going to be about romance but also despair and feuds and not being in control of one's own destiny. The sonnet shows Shakespeare's ability to distil the essence of language and draw the audience into the action. Using the sonnet Shakespeare achieves the 'suspension of disbelief', which shows his class as a writer because it highlights the theatricality of the play, to show the audience that the play is completely fictional.
How does Shakespeare convey the theme of love and conflict in the Prologue, Act 1 Scene 5, Act 3 Scene 2 and Act 3 Scene 5 of 'Romeo and Juliet'?
HOW DOES SHAKESPEARE CONVEY THE THEME OF LOVE AND CONFLICT IN THE PROLOGUE, ACT 1 SCENE 5, ACT 3 SCENE 2 AND ACT 3 SCENE 5 OF 'ROMEO AND JULIET'? When writing about love and conflict in the play, I will focus on four parts of it; the Prologue, Act 1 Scene 5, Act 3 Scene 1 and Act 3 Scene 5. In each of them, I will look for love and conflict, and how is it related to many other things in the play, such us the development of characters or Shakespeare's dramatic style. The essay should help those who will read it understand what is hidden, or seems to be hidden, beyond Shakespeare's use of language, form and other things. All of my points are based on the different bits of the play and how I myself interpret them in relation to the theme. The whole play is introduced by the Prologue. In the 20th century film I saw with my class, the Prologue was given in the form of TV news, where a woman was introducing the story, as they usually do in the news, saying things like ''Three Italian soldiers died in Iraq in an explosion yesterday. Protests against the war rise.'' or ''Famous footballer X stopped playing football. Millions of fans wail.'', and then showing and speaking about the whole story. This quite well explains how the Prologue works. It tells us the destination of the story (''In fair Verona, where we lay our scene.''), explains who the story is about (''Two households, both
How Shakespeare portrays Romeo and Juliet in Act 2 Scene 2
How Shakespeare portrays Romeo and Juliet Act 2 Scene 2 is a particularly famous scene in William Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet. Often called the balcony scene, it is where the two lovers first meet to proclaim their love for each other. The balcony scene takes place after the ball in the Capulet Mansion, in Juliet’s orchard. The characters are presented in an unusual way, illustrating many recurring themes of identity, life and death, nature and love. The thoughts and feelings of Romeo and Juliet are conveyed through metaphors, enriching the reading or performance of the play. The actions and responses of others emphasize the division that is supposed to be between Romeo and Juliet and what makes it so moving is that we, the audience, knows what this division will bring about at the end of the play. The film by Baz Luhrmann of Romeo and Juliet enhances the visual experience and brings to life the metaphors used in a way that Shakespeare would have never been able to show visually. Shakespeare’s play contrasts with the societal views and expectations of young people and goes against the social norms expected in Elizabethan times. At the start of Act 2 Scene 2 Romeo, in a monologue, reveals his love and desire for Juliet as she appears at a window above him oblivious that Romeo is just beneath. The use of celestial imagery and mythological references are common
In Act 3 Scene 1 of 'Romeo and Juliet', Shakespeare uses language to make the fight scene dramatic. How does Baz Luhrmann draw on this and use other devices to create tension for his audience?
In Act 3 Scene 1 of 'Romeo and Juliet', Shakespeare uses language to make the fight scene dramatic. How does Baz Luhrmann draw on this and use other devices to create tension for his audience? 'Romeo and Juliet' is about two families, the Montagues and the Capulets, who have been introduced to a physical and verbal war. The play starts off with the prologue, where a man comes onstage and reads out the plot of the play and the key ideas, although this gives away the surprises, it builds tension at the crowd are constantly on the edge of their seats waiting for the events to happen that they have been told about. The opening scene sees the two families, who have been fighting for generations, in another battle, this takes place in public and is witnessed by the prince who decides anymore fighting will end in exile or death. This creates tension as anymore fighting carries a more drastic punishment and so the tension is built because certain members of the family become more conscious about where they are fighting and the possibility of the prince seeing them. The first fight scene is the first scene of the play; this is a much smaller fight and creates more tension in the way as you expect more fight scenes that are bigger. The first fight scene starts off the Montagues saying to the Capulets 'Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?' this shows that fights between these two
How does Shakespeare use dramatic devices in act 3 scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet
How does Shakespeare use dramatic devices in act 3 scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet in order to make it such an interesting, exciting and important scene? Romeo and Juliet the story of a young couple who are so very much in love however their families are feuding over at an ancient grudge. Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet fall deeply in love at an early age but their lives are short lived as they die tragically. Tragedy is defined as "a play or dramatic form of a play, or the dramatic form it represents, in which the leading character suffers intense conflicts and a wretched fate, often because of some weakness." Romeo and Juliet fits into the tragedy genre because at the climax of the play the two main characters die unnecessarily. Up until act 3 scene 1 Romeo and Juliet is passionate and romantic play. In Act 3 scene 1 the complete opposite as both of the main characters suffer from the weakness of their families. This occurs when Tybalt Capulet tries to kill Romeo. This shows the tension between the two feuding families and how passionately loyal the family members are. After Tybalt is killed lady Capulet says "for blood of ours, shed blood of Montague." This hints at the continuing theme of tragedy throughout the play. This is also a use of dramatic irony because at the end of the play Romeo and Juliet die and they are from both families. The Capulets and the Montague's
How does Shakespeare convey strong emotion in act 1 scene 5
How does Shakespeare convey strong emotion in Act 1 scene 5? When Romeo sees Juliet he speaks about her, using metaphor: "She doth teach the torches to burn bright!" This suggests that Juliet's beauty is almost incandescent - electrifyingly beautiful. Shakespeare also includes alliteration within the phrase - "teach the torches"; this increases the pace to convey an increasing sense of excitement from Romeo as he remains entranced by Juliet. This emphasised by the exclamation mark. Shakespeare then personifies the sky as he compares Juliet's beauty to a star that "hangs upon the cheek of night". By using personification, the reader can understand the trance that encapsulated Romeo. Shakespeare continually makes reference to the contrast between light and dark as typically in the 16th Century, one's beauty correlated with the fairness of one's complexion. He also says the she is 'Like a rich Jewel in an Ethiop's ear'. This shows how Juliet stands out compared with all of the other girls including Rosaline. By using this simile, Shakespeare introduces an aspect of preciousness to love; the jewel to a poor African would be very treasurable and if he's not careful then the jewel or Juliet could be taken away from him i.e. by Paris. Shakespeare purposefully makes references to the physical attributes of Juliet that attract Romeo as it conveys a youthful and very physical love
How does Shakespeare show Romeo's mood change in Act 3 Scene 1. You should consider his language, his actions and how you think the role should be acted.
How does Shakespeare show Romeo's mood change in Act 3 Scene 1. You should consider his language, his actions and how you think the role should be acted. In this Essay I shall be talking about this very important part in the play, Act 3 Scene 1. This part in the play show's a how Romeo's mood changes from being happy, to being devastated in a very short time. My aim is to explain why Act 3 Scene 1 is such an important part of the play. At the beginning of the play we learn that Romeo was deeply in love with someone called Rosaline. He was very depressed because he wasn't going out with Rosaline, then as soon as he saw Juliet he totally forgot about Rosaline and he got hooked on Juliet. When he first saw Juliet he thought that she was the most beautiful person in the world, He'd never seen such beauty in all his life. "O she doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night..." Romeo used a metaphor in this sentence, because Juliet doesn't teach the torches to burn brightly, Romeo is actually saying how is so beautiful she is. When Romeo enters in act 3 scene 1 on line 49, he would come onto the stage quickly, almost skipping because he is so happy, he is so happy because he has just married the girl of his dreams, Juliet. We know she is very special to him, because when Romeo saw Juliet he said; "Did my heart love till now? Forswear
