“She that makes dainty, she, I’ll swear, hath corn. Am I come near ye now?”
After he welcomes his guests, he has a little chat with his cousin. He thinks that his age is still around thirty-five. Then he realises that it is more than he thought and remembers with his cousin when they wore masks last time. The purpose of Capulet’s actions and speech is to move along with the party peacefully because he is warned by Prince of Verona not to create any violence.
“If ever you disturb our streets again,
Your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace.”
However, the main purpose of this speech is to make the audience feel like they are also a part of the party.
As soon as Romeo sees Juliet, he suddenly falls in love with her and forgets about Rosaline. Romeo describes Juliet in amazingly beautiful poetic language, which shows, that what he feeling for her is pure love.
“O she doth teach the torches to burn bright!
It seems like she hangs upon the cheek of night
What Romeo says about Juliet is similar to what Benvolio says to Romeo in the previous scene. Benvolio sends Romeo to the party so that he could compare Rosaline with other women. Benvolio says to him in the previous scene that:
“…And I will make thee think thy swan a crow.”
Romeo describes Juliet as a ‘snowy dove trooping with crows’.
Romeo is saying that Juliet is a dove among the other women who he describes as crows. That means even Rosaline is a crow for Romeo after seeing Juliet.
Romeo also says that he has not seen ‘true beauty till this night’ as he says:
“Did my heart love till now? forswear it, sight!
For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.”
It is an evident that Romeo loves Juliet purely because he uses very passionate and poetic words to describe Juliet’s beauty. This shows that what Romeo felt for Rosaline was not love; it was perhaps lust.
This scene is also dramatic as Shakespeare puts Romeo’s romantic speech, which is in contrast to the mood after Capulet’s joyful and joking speech. Until this moment of the scene, every thing is affirmative and now is turning in to a romantic mood. However, the theme of danger is soon to follow. It is vital that the audience believe in Romeo’s true love.
Tybalt swiftly hears Romeo and realises his voice. He gets angry and says to his rapier boy to give his sword. He says:
“This, by his voice, should be a Montague.
What dares the slave
Come hither, cover'd with an antic face,”
Tybalt’s entrance changes the atmosphere of romance in to danger. His way of speaking tells the audience the extreme dislike of Tybalt towards Montagues. As soon as he see Romeo the revenge in his heart raises up. He decides to tackle Romeo but Capulet stops him. Capulet tells him to calm down, as he knows the consequences of being violent because Prince has alarmed him about it. In Capulet’s eyes, Romeo is a ‘young Romeo’ who he describes as:
“Content thee, gentle coz, let him alone,
’A bears him like a portly gentleman;
And to say the truth, Verona brags of him
To be a virtuous and well governed youth.”
By using the word ‘portly’ Capulet does not mean that, Romeo is fat but well-mannered, deserving of respect. By calling Tybalt ‘gently coz’, he asks him to be like Romeo by being well mannered. Capulet is in a good mood and he does not want anyone to cause any trouble. Tybalt is still burning with revenge. However, his only way is to shut his mouth and leave from there, but only before making a promise that he will take revenge on Romeo later.
“Patience perforce with wilful choler meeting
Makes my flesh tremble in their different greeting.
I will withdraw: but this intrusion shall
Now seeming sweet convert to bitter gall.”
This is because Shakespeare does not want to disrupt Romeo’s and Juliet’s meeting through a violation. It is clear that there will be something between Tybalt and Romeo later on. This scene is in between two romantic scenes to restore the violence and disagreement between Capulets and Montagues.
Shakespeare also gives us an idea about how women were treated at that time. At that time, women were known as claccsons because they were treated as sex object. That is why Romeo first ‘falls in love’ with Rosaline and forgets about her once he sees Juliet. In the case of Juliet, she do not even know the person very well whom she is going to marry. She is going to see him for the first time in the party. Her parents did not ask her if she wants to marry him or not because at that time, parents usually choose a groom for their daughter. However, men had the right to choose their bride because people believed that they are superior sex and they have power over the opposite sex.
The atmosphere then changes completely as the lovers actually meet. Romeo holding Juliet’s hand:
“My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.”
He jokes that his lips are not worthy of her beauty and to kiss her will be a sin. Their conversation is full of religious metaphors in which Juliet is a saint and Romeo is the pilgrim who wants his sin forgiven by offering to ‘smooth the rough touch’ when he kissed her without her permission. He suggests that he would pay fine for touching Juliet’s ‘holy shrine’ which means her body. Shakespeare uses very fervent language as he is trying to show the audience how Romeo feels about Juliet. He is trying to induce her to kiss him by pretending that his sins can be forgiven. Juliet replies:
“
”
She is saying that saints and pilgrims kisses with their palms instead of lips. By saying this Juliet is resisting Romeo, however he does not get discouraged. He asks if it is true that both saints and pilgrims have their lips. Juliet answers that:
“
She says that they should use their lips to pray. However, this also means that if Romeo request to Juliet for a kiss then he will get it. Therefore, Romeo prays:
“”
Romeo and Juliet kiss eachother and then Juliet says that Romeo’s sin is in Juliet’s lips by kissing him. Romeo says that he could get his sin back from her lips by kissing her again. As they kiss again, Nurse comes and says to Juliet that her mother is calling her. Shakespeare uses religious imageries in the scene that shows how holy and pure their love is.
Romeo asks the Nurse who Juliet’s mother is. She says to him that it is the lady of the house. Romeo forlornly realises that Juliet is a Capulet. Nurse says to him:
”
Nurse follows Juliet. By hearing, what she said Romeo clearly says that he does not care about any money.
“
Romeo is saying that he be indebted his life to Juliet but she is his enemy as being a Capulet.
After the guests leave, Juliet asks name of the different guests to the nurse. She is doing this because she wants to know who her love is but she also wants to hide it from the nurse. Juliet sends nurse to Romeo so that she could know who he is. Nurse informs Juliet that his name is Romeo and is a Montague. As soon as Juliet hears this, she becomes heart broken and says:
”
But it is ‘too late’ now because she has already fall in love with him and she cannot help it. She, just as Romeo, know what the consequences of their love would be. However, they are not ready to change their minds, as they believe that love is just once and forever.
Shakespeare gives the audience expectations about what will happen later in the play. Both of them will be struggling to be together because of their family feuds as their relationship becomes stronger and harder. Shakespeare gives hint about what will happen if Capulet and Montague know what is going on between their children. The audience know what is going to happen to the lovers therefore they will feel sympathy and support for them. From this moment of the play, the tragedy starts to unfold.
Shakespeare’s use of language contributes to the dramatic effects on the stage. The scene begins with the chatting between servants, which creates an impression of excitement and builds up a lively atmosphere. This is because of the way they talk and shout for example, one servant who is shouting at the others:
This also is a dramatic effect because it makes the audience laugh as it is a joke and also it will keep the attention of the audience. Capulet’s welcome speech also welcomes the audience to the scene. Even if Capulet is welcoming people who came to the party, in the stage there will be only a least number of people. There fore the audience will feel like they also have a part in the party. When Romeo first sees Juliet from his first words, we can realise that he is fall in love with her at the first sight “enrich the hand of yonder knight”. Shakespeare uses passionate and poetic sonnets to describe Juliet’s beauty. Then Shakespeare suddenly shows Tybalt who realises Romeo through his voice. This is to make the atmosphere romantic and dangerous at the same time so that he could also build up tension among audience. As Tybalt burns with revenge the atmosphere turns in to danger as he says:
“Now, by the stock and honor of my kin,
To strike him dead, I hold it not a sin.”
Capulet stops him and tells him to calm down. At first he talks to him peacefully. However, when Tybalt began to show his extreme arrogance, Capulet loses his control and flushes with anger. His way of speaking suddenly changes:
The phrase ‘go to’ probably means to ‘get off my face’ which shows how angry he is to him. Shakespeare suddenly changes Capulet’s expression from a peaceful manner to an an incensed manner through the structure of his language. Shakespeare has used religious images in the scene where Romeo and Juliet meet because he wants the audience to understand how pure and sacred their love is. However, there is another reason why Shakespeare brings saints and pilgrims to their conversation. It was because of the high influence of Roman Catholic Church in Italy at that time. In many ways Romeo and Juliet is related to the Italian literature and this is just on of them.
The dramatic effectiveness, which Shakespeare uses in this scene, is far-fetched. The sudden change of the group of characters or the place or the emotion creates the dramatic effectiveness in this scene. For example, the scene starts with the prosing between the servants, which involves joking. Then it changes in to an eventful atmosphere by the Capulet’s speech. After that, Shakespeare tries to create romance through the speech of Romeo when he sees Juliet. However, the atmosphere changes in to danger when Tybalt gets incensed by seeing Romeo. Then the aspect of power comes, as Capulet gets angry to Tybalt as he begins to attack Romeo. Then Shakespeare changes back the atmosphere in to romantic as Romeo and Juliet meet. However, scene becomes ironic as Shakespeare gives a hint to the audience in the prologue as there is danger still to follow.
“From ancient grudge break to new mutiny”
Then the danger is revealed as Romeo and Juliet find out what the truth is. The scene has extreme emotions of highs and lows, which plays as a roller coaster.
In conclusion, I would like to say that the main reason why Romeo and Juliet is one of the famous plays is the use of the poetic language, which Shakespeare has used, because of the dramatic effectiveness it has, because of the dramatic irony and because of the atmosphere of romance, tension and danger, it creates. This play is a good example, which shows the Elizabethan attitudes towards love. Modern audience may feel pity for the young lovers, and for Juliet especially who was forced by her father to marry Paris which shows the discrimination towards women. However, these star crossed lovers have a great place in both Elizabethan and modern audience.
