Romeo and Juliet

‘ROMEO AND JULIET’

WHAT DOES SHAKESPEARE HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THE THEME OF LOVE IN ‘ROMEO AND JULIET,’ WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO ACT 1, SCENE 5?

The only way to get true love is by going through hate, these are the key themes that William Shakespeare has inter-weaved together to create one of the world’s most famous play, ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ This play was written during 1595, which awoke the Elizabethan era; therefore the idea of love and hate would appeal to this audience. During this enlightening love story, there comes two warring families, the ‘Montagues’ and the ‘Capultets,’ however truelove is found between these two houses. The two lovers are, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. They are symbolised in this dramatic play as ‘doomed lovers,’ meaning that their true love will end in tragedy by the implacable enmity of their feuding families. Shakespeare fills the play with dramatic oppositions and dramatic irony, which making the two themes ‘love and hate’ an important part of the play. ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is filled with tragedy, love, action and enticing language creating this perfect love story.

Before this play has begun, Shakespeare uses the ‘Prologue’ to outline the plot of the play by the use of a ‘Sonnet,’ and introduce the idea of the themes of love and hate. The Prologue may spoil the suspense but it allows the audience to concentrate on the language all through the play. This Prologue would catch the audience’s attention straight away by using the form of the Sonnet. Shakespeare introduces Romeos and Juliet’s love as being ‘star-crossed,’ highlighting the fact that they were destined to fall in love, even though they come from rival families. However, the description of Romeo and Juliet’s love as ‘death-marked,’ foreshadowing to the audience that their love is also destined to end in tragedy.

All the way through this play William Shakespeare expresses his frustration in his language, for instance he uses alliteration to express his anger, ‘From forth the fatal loins of these two foes,’ Shakespeare uses the letter ‘f’ as it has an angry or frustrated sound to it, and Shakespeare is fully aware of this. Also this shows that Romeo and Juliet’s death is governed by fate and Shakespeare is angry about the part both families play in their tragic deaths. Shakespeare then uses the form ‘Paradox’ to show contradiction, ‘Civil blood.’ This is contradicting both foes as it is saying that if the two families or the two lovers were civil there would be no blood. The Prologue introduces the two themes of love and hate being entwined by the passionate language that Shakespeare has used all the way through the play. It holds more hate related words than love related words, this is almost to say that true love is hard to find and that hate is more common during this Elizabethan era.

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In act 1, scene 1 Benvolio and Romeo are discussing love at length. At the beginning of their conversation Shakespeare suggests that Romeo is in love with the idea of love, ‘Alas the love, whose view is muffled still’ this just outlines for the audience that what Romeo feels about Rosaline is not true love. Therefore they can focus on the language Shakespeare uses to present Romeo’s love towards Rosaline, using Oxymoron’s and Paradox. Also Shakespeare suggests that Romeos love for Rosaline is unrequited, ‘this love feel I, that feel no love in this. This highlights the simple fact that Rosaline does not love Romeo but Romeo loves her. During this conversation Shakespeare outlines that Romeo is confused about love, ‘O brawling love, O loving hate, O heavy lightness,’ these are oxymorons, comparisons, ‘O heavy lightness,’ comparing from two obvious opposites. Shakespeare has used oxymoron’s to portray the idea that Romeo is confused, the audience will see that Romeo doesn’t know what is right or wrong. As well as oxymoron’s and paradox, Shakespeare also uses military terms like ‘well armed, siege, encounter of assailing eyes,’ these are all military terms and by using these, the audience sees that Romeos love for Rosaline is like a battle or a fight, however love shouldn’t be like this, it should be true and simple, this is saying that Romeo has not found true love between him and Rosaline. The audience would be able to compare these military terms to the religious and holy terms used in act 1, scene 5 where Romeo is in love with Juliet this time, there is a vast difference with the effect that is portrayed. After this, Romeo compares Rosaline to a God, ‘with Cupids arrow, she hath Dians wit,’ here Romeo is comparing Rosaline as ‘Dian’ the goddess of chastity and hunting who avoided Cupids arrow, in this case Romeos love is Cupids arrow and the audience will understand this metaphor. The use of Gods is carried on in line 205 when Romeo refers himself as Zeus. ‘Nor ope her lap to saint-seducing gold,’ this is showing that if Romeo was Zeus, Rosaline still would not have sex with Romeo. The audience will now realise by the language that Romeos love for Rosaline is ‘lust’ and he only wants sex.

The first time Romeo sees Juliet is in act 1, scene 5, where Shakespeare uses an epigram to describe Romeos love for Juliet. There is a vast difference in the language used to talk about Rosaline and this scene where Romeo is speaking passionately about Juliet. Romeos love for Rosaline was presented to the audience as being confused and frustrated by the use of oxymorons, however in this scene where Romeo expresses his love for Juliet, Shakespeare has used passionate comparisons and hyperbolic language. The audience will spot this important difference and therefore notice comparisons like ‘a rich jewel in an Ethiops ear.’ Here Romeo uses light and dark imagery; Juliet being the one that stands out; as ‘a rich jewel.’ Juliet is the compared as a ‘snowy dove trooping with crows,’ this shows Juliet as being light and compared to a bird of peace in the middle of everyone else who are referred as ‘crows’ (dark creatures). Again Juliet is the one that is standing out. The audience will now be thinking that Romeos love for Juliet is true and will question his love for Rosaline. Romeo even questioned it himself in the epigram, ‘did my heart feel love till now?’ Romeo now believes that he had never loved Rosaline but he has found true love with Juliet.

In Act 1, Scene 5, Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time and Shakespeare addresses there meeting in the form of a ‘Sonnet.’ By using this form, it allows Shakespeare to present the ‘perfect love;’ requited, respectful but playful. The audience will be able to recognise this as true love through the form that is created ‘perfectly’ by Romeo and Juliet. Also they will realise that Romeo and Juliet are in love by the language Shakespeare has used, and how passionate each other’s language is to one another. Romeo compares Juliet to a ‘holy shrine’ meaning that Juliet represents peace and forgiveness, where as Juliet compares Romeo to a ‘good pilgrim’ as he can forgive his sins with Juliet being a ‘holy shrine.’ Shakespeare has used religious language all through this sonnet to create a picture to the audience that their love is destined to be and shows Romeos and Juliet’s devotion to be together. Religion is used constantly throughout this scene, explaining the fact that Romeos sins can now be cleansed now he has met Juliet. Romeo now realises that his love for Rosaline was wrong in the eyes of God, however his sins have been forgiven ‘by thine, my sin is purged,’ by the touching of Romeos and Juliet’s lips, Romeo sees his sins as forgiving, and still highlighting to the audience that their love is fate. The repetition of the words ‘kiss’ and ‘lips,’ is significant; the cleansing of Romeos sins and also brings the idea to the audience that their love is at a physical level now. The audience will know that Romeo and Juliet have found true love and are destined to be together. Juliet says, ‘you kiss by th’book.’ This is reference to the holy bible, showing that their love is right in the eyes of God, and also the word ‘kiss’ comes up again, this time having a symbolic importance to show their love is requited.

By using the Sonnet, Shakespeare has made this scene seem special to the audience, like Romeos and Juliet’s love. Shakespeare has chosen the Sonnet as a metaphor for Romeo and Juliet’s first meeting, presenting their love as ‘perfect.’

All the way through Act 1, Scene 5 Romeos and Juliet’s passionate love for each other is intruded on Tybalts anger. The structure of Act 1, Scene 5 is made up if the interweaving of love and hate. The Epigram is introduced, where Romeo describes his love for Juliet and straight after that moment, Tybalt expresses his anger at Romeos intrusion. The Sonnet closely follows this, which is the first meeting between Romeo and Juliet. The two moments of love are both interrupted by the hate of Tybalt. Whilst Romeo and Juliet are expressing their love for each other, Tybalts language suggests to the audience, that this intrusion or meeting by Romeo will end fearfully, ‘I will withdraw, but this intrusion shall, now seeming sweet, convert to the bitt’rest gall,’ by this Tybalt is predicting that Romeos and Juliet’s love will end in tragedy.

Shakespeare also has Romeo, Juliet and Tybalt speak in verse to show the strength of the emotions they feel.

Tybalts antagonism and anger towards Romeo is described in a way that the hate is so strong, that Tybalt has to use false words. ‘Fleer’ has been invented by Shakespeare to emphasise to the audience that Tybalts anger is so intense that it cannot be put into words. Tybalt then uses a technique, which has been an effective technique all through Act 1, alliteration, is a perfect way to put Tybalts frustration into words, ‘patience perforce with wilful choler meeting,’ the audience could almost say that Tybalt is spitting the words out to Capulet to emphasise the strength of Tybalts emotions.

Shakespeare then uses dramatic irony, near the end of Act 1 Juliet predicts her own fate, when she says ‘If he be married, my grave is likely to be my wedding bed,’ the audience know that this is true by the use of the Prologue, however it still remains a mystery to Juliet and all the other characters. This is dramatic irony.

At the very end of Act 1, Scene 5 Juliet tells the nurse and the audience, ‘My only love sprung from my only hate,’ putting the whole act into perspective by announcing that love and hate are very closely linked.

Paying close attention to Act 1, Scene 5, Shakespeare has used a tremendous number of techniques to show the audience his ideas about love and hate. By the use of these techniques, Shakespeare has reminded the audience by this play that love is religious, that it is true, that it can be hard to find and the most important, it is always balanced by hate. This shows that love is a very rare emotion.

Concluding my evaluation of the play I believe that Shakespeare was a remarkable writer of his time & ours. His ideology and beliefs of love, hate and other strong emotions are insightful and complex as he shows us his view on them “through and through” the whole play, giving us the audience, a little peep into this brilliant writers very complex mind