Prior to meeting Juliet, Romeo uses very strong language to express his love for Rosaline and how beautiful he believed she was
‘Why such is love’s transgression’ which suggests Romeo believes his love for Rosaline oversteps limits, Romeo believes that no one can love Rosaline more than him. Romeo also uses phrases to describe Rosaline’s beauty to Benvolio like when Benvolio states, ‘I aim’d so near when I supposed you lov’d’ Romeo replies to emphasise his love for Rosaline ‘A right good mark-man! And she’s fair I love.’ Romeo feels Benvolio was right he is in love deeply with a beautiful women by saying ‘a right good mark-man!’ He means Benvolio was spot on and by ‘fair’ he means beautiful. ‘O she is rich in beauty, only poor that when she dies, with beauty dies her store.’
This means she is wealthy in beauty, only poor in beauty when she dies and her fertility perishes with her beauty. Romeo feels Rosaline is so gorgeous that when Benvolio suggests looking at other beautiful women he feels this will make him fall in love with her even more ‘to call hers (exquisite) in question more’ which means looking at other women will make Rosaline ‘s beauty seem even more exquisite by comparison with others. This shows Romeo feels that Rosaline’s beauty is so special and unique that comparison with other women will just highlight how special her beauty is, Romeo is infatuated by Rosaline at this point.
Act 1 scene 5 reveals to Shakespeare’s audience how unstable and changeable Romeo’s attitude to love is as his feelings for Rosaline were easily forgotten in the scene and transferred to Juliet, after all he said about Rosaline previously. Romeo doesn’t even acknowledge he had love for Rosaline when he meets Juliet
‘Did my heart love till now? Forswear it’ The word ‘forswear’ shows that Romeo is denying/ doesn’t believe he had feelings for Rosaline. Romeo falls in love with Juliet at first sight. He became overwhelmed by her physical beauty ‘Sight! For ne’er saw true beauty till this night’ this quotation shows Romeo feels he has never seen true beauty until he meets Juliet, he believes he knows of know one who is beautiful except Juliet, he may of thought he saw beauty in Rosaline but Juliet is true beauty. This shows just how adjustable Romeo’s love is as he had great admiration for Rosaline and her beauty until he saw Juliet and now he believes he has never seen anyone who is actually really beautiful apart from Juliet, which totally contradicts what Romeo said about Rosaline to start with.
Juliet’s display of love towards Romeo is slightly more passive/ timid than Romeo is. Although Juliet has the same thoughts as Romeo she doesn’t express her thoughts as freely as Romeo until he reveals his feelings towards her in a very explicit and passionate way, then Juliet reveals her feelings also. Romeo had to initiate everything with Juliet by going to the Capulets Orchard, If Romeo didn’t creep into the orchard to visit Juliet after the ball she probably may have just forgotten about Romeo. Juliet almost surely would have gone along with marrying Paris as it was at her parents command and girls in those days were very obedient and obeyed their parents. Juliet is also more restrained of her feelings towards Romeo because she is scared of her father’s reaction when he discovers she is in love with a Montague.
Romeo uses various types of imagery to express his love for Juliet. When Romeo first arrives at the Capulet’s orchard he speaks aloud of his love, thinking he is alone. In fact Juliet has come on to her balcony of her bed room. He declares ‘It is the east, and Juliet is the sun! Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief’. Romeo refers to Juliet as the sun, this shows how infatuated Romeo is with Juliet because if there wasn’t a sun no-one would be able to survive, The sun enables life, Romeo is suggesting that Juliet is as precious as the sun.
Romeo also states unaware of Juliet’s presents
’The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars as daylight doth a lamp’. Romeo compares the glow of Juliet’s cheeks to the brightness of stars, this shows high admiration and the fate of his life. Romeo even goes to the extent of using religious imagery ‘call me but love, and I’ll be new baptis’d; henceforth I never will be Romeo.’ He compares his love for Juliet to a religious experience, this is extreme, this shows infatuation that is reaching obsession, He idealises Juliet. People say a religious experience like a baptism is a life changing experience, Romeo describes he’s love for Juliet in comparison to such and experience.
Romeo and Juliet also use strong obsessive language to portray their love for each other. Romeo more so as Juliet is worried about her parents reaction. Romeo even confesses his family name is hateful to himself because it is the enemy to Juliet’s family ‘My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself, because it is enemy to thee, had I written it, I would tear the word. This presents great affection towards Juliet as he has gained hatred towards his own family name due to the infatuation of a member of his families enemy.
Romeo is questioned by Juliet how he climbed over the walls to her orchard when the walls are so high and hard to climb and given the place is so dangerous if any of her kingsman was to find him there he would be killed? He replies in such an affectionate way
‘With love’s wings did I o’erperch these walls for stony limits cannot hold love out, and what love can do, that dares love attempt; therefore thy kingsman are no stop to me.’ This shows Romeo feels that there are no limits to what he would do for Juliet as his love for her is so great even the risk of death does not bother him. Romeo says many other phrases to Juliet that express the extreme feelings he has gained for Juliet.
Juliet also uses powerful language to describe her adoration for Romeo, although she does not express as much as Romeo in this scene as she is scared of the danger. Juliet wishes Romeo belonged to another family so he could be with her with out any grief from her parents and tries to understand why his name matters when he is the man she loves’ What a Montague? It is nor hand nor foot nor arm nor face nor any other part belonging to a man. O, be some other name! what’s in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name ,it would smell as sweet, which is no part of thee I take myself.’ This shows that Juliet does like Romeo as she deeply thinks why a name is important and wishes that he could have another name so it would be acceptable for them to be together.
Juliet also states ‘This bud of love, by summer’s ripening breathe, may prove a beauteous flower when next we meet ‘This metaphor shows that Juliet feels this is just the start of their love and their love will grow over the years.
The staging of the scene adds great effectiveness to Shakespeare’s theatre audience because of the way Shakespeare’s theatre was laid out, the seats were high up in the theatre opposite a staged balcony with a ground level stage below. This scene can be performed well in Shakespeare’s theatre and make the audience sense great involvement as Juliet can be seen directly opposite the audience on the higher balcony and below would be Romeo declaring his love for her, this would have made the audience feel like they are virtually in the scene themselves because of the way they are positioned, this is where the sense on involvement is created.
The imagery adds to the theatrical impact of this scene because the language used at such an early stage of knowing each other is exceedingly bizarre. Romeo and Juliet have only known each other a few hours and they use such imagery to declare their love for each other which is abnormal especially at their age they are both in their early teens, people of today are more cynical. Romeo and Juliet exchange vows within the same night of meeting each other this would never happen nowadays. This shows the audience the nature of love in those days, As the life expectancy was shorter the rate in which life was lived was a lot faster. Nowadays people would get married a lot later the average age would be mid-twenties as people live a lot longer, and would also probably get engaged after at least a year or two of knowing each other. Romeo and Juliet got married within the same week. This shows the speed of which life was lived on those days, everything was done a lot more quick. However the life expectancy in those days does not justify the speed in which Romeo and Juliet exchange vows within a few hours, this is incredibly quick even in those days. Romeo and Juliet fell in love at first sight and from then onwards they was so deeply in love, it was as they was under a spell, they became totally smitten to each other and their love for each other appeared to be gained almost instantaneously.
Act 2 scene 2 was such a popular scene because it demonstrated how two virtual strangers fell in love at first site, and exchanged vows within the same night of meeting, Most people question if falling in love at first site is possible. This is what I believe has created the scene’s great popularity.
