“Ay me, sad hours seem so long”
Romeo does that he’s going mad and not being himself
“This is not Romeo, he is some other where”
Romeo is talking to Benvolio about love and how painful it is to have your heart broken.
“Why such is love’s transgression”
And;
“This love that thou hast shown doth add more grief to too much of mine own”
Romeo is completely distraught with the whole situation. Romeo uses a lot of oxymoron’s to show he is confused, like; “loving hate” “feather of lead” “bright smoke” “cold fire” and “sick health”. In the text Romeo calls himself a madman because that one girl he loves doesn’t love him at all. Benvolio is trying to give Romeo some advice saying move on from Rosaline, you have the choice of all the girls in Verona and then Romeo replies saying that he would choose Rosaline over any other girl in the world.
On discovering Rosaline is attending the ball Romeo is advised by Benvolio that he should go to the ball and look at all the other beautiful women in Verona, but the only reason Romeo wants to go is because he can be close to Rosaline. Romeo does go to the ball but he thinks that Rosaline will be the most beautiful girl there no matter how much Benvolio tries to persuade him. “Ne’er saw her match since first world begun”
Basically he is saying that Rosaline is the most beautiful girl in history to ever walk the earth, he also says
“One fairer than my love? The all seeing sun”
This means she’s the most beautiful girl the sun has ever seen. Romeo said that he would feel happy to be in the same room as Rosaline
“But to rejoice in spendour of mine own”
On the way to the ball Romeo is having second thoughts about going. Romeo says to Benvolio and Mercutio that he is going to be a torch-barer;
“Give me a torch; I am not for this ambling
Being but heavy, I will bear the light”
And then Mercutio says he should be dancing and meeting everyone not torch-baring.
“Nay gentle Romeo, we must have you dance”
Earlier in the text Romeo was saying the only reason he’s going to the ball is so he can simply gaze at his fairest love, Rosaline. Romeo uses a lot of metaphors in the text; the first one he used was;
“I have a soul of lead, so stakes me to the ground I cannot move”
Romeo is trying to explain his that he is feeling very upset and depressed and lead is very heavy (dense) is stopping him from moving about. The second quote he used was explaining how he felt; “is love a tender thing? It is too rough, to rude, to boisterous, and it pricks like a thorn”
Romeo is not only hurting inside but it’s also physically as he says it pricks like a thorn, and that he is rough and is living the opposite of what he thought love was. Romeo has a feeling that something bad will happen on result of going to the ball as he said;
“I fear, too early, for my mind misgives, some consequence, yet hanging in the stars shall bitterly begin his fearful date with this nights reveals and expire the term of a despised life closed in my breast, by some vile forfit of untimely death”
It’s a very long quote from Romeo but he is saying that something bad will happen and he’s not ready to have more grief in his life, when he says everything is closed in his breast he is saying all his problems are closed up in his heart and anymore problems will overload his heart and kill him.
On the way to the ball Romeo is still miserable and feeling depressed. Romeo says that he will only be a torch-barer near the walls so he can’t get caught gazing at Rosaline and doesn’t have to get involved in the dancing. Romeo has now entered the ball and saw Rosaline; his eyes immediately lit up and is now smiling and feeling warm and special just to be near the girl he loves. But then that all changes when he caught eyes upon Juliet. When Romeo lays eyes upon Juliet from across the room all his love for Rosaline has been swept out of his mind and this beautiful girl Juliet is taking over. Romeo thinks she’s the most beautiful girl ever. He goes to a serving man and asks him who Juliet is as he does not yet know. Romeo does a massive speech declaring her beauty and uses much descripted words to describe this beautiful girl like;
“Like a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear”
When he says that he is saying that Juliet is like a beautiful white diamond in a black man’s ear where the diamond dazzles and shines and stands out of the black man’s ear. He also uses another one like;
“So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows”
In this quote he is saying that she is a gorgeous white dove compared to everyone else that look like dark ugly crows.
Tyblat over-hears Romeo’s speech and goes over to Lord Capulet and tells him that his villain enemy’s son is at the ball, the Montague’s and Tyblat is telling lord Capulet that Romeo is expressing his love for his only daughter Juliet, but lord Capulet tells Tyblat just to endure him and leave him be as lord Capulet doesn’t want a scene at his ball.
Romeo feels that Juliet is too good for him and Romeo is an unworthy person. Romeo is lacking confidence because of what happened with Rosaline and he is scared to be rejected again. The first thing Romeo says is;
“Oh she doth teach the torches to burn bright”
He is saying that she lights up the room with her unbelievable beauty and he cannot believe he didn’t set his eyes on her before Rosaline. He uses this quote next to explain that he is unworthy;
“And touching hers make blessed my rude hand”
He is saying that Juliet’s hand is holy and his is rude and unworthy and that he should worship the ground she stands on. He now believes that he was never really in love with Rosaline and now he compares Rosaline and Juliet together he decides to say;
“For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night”
When Romeo and Juliet meet, Romeo uses a lot of religious words to explain his love which is quite romantic. He says to Juliet that she is a holy shrine and Romeo wants to worship her but he feels he is unworthy and not good enough for her, but then Juliet says that he is a good pilgrim and he wrongs his hands too much. He is referring himself as a pilgrim as he has not yet visited the holy shrine of Juliet and he wants to go there and worship her. In line 100 he says;
“Have not saint’s lips and holy palmers too?”
He is saying that saints and palmers have lips, they too have the desire to put them to use as Romeo wants to do as well.
Juliet clearly wants to kiss Romeo but she seems to be shying away. Romeo says to her;
“O then dear saint, let lips do what hands do.
They pray; grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.”
He is saying that he should let lips do what hands do and when people pray they put their hands together and Romeo wants to put his lips together with Juliet but then Juliet replies with;
“Saints do not move, though grant for prayers’ sake.”
So she is trying to say that saints put their hands together and don’t move but Romeo is still determined to kiss her so he replies with;
“Then move not while my prayer’s effect I take”
And then he kisses her, Romeo says that his lips are no longer cursed and Juliet has blessed his lips and he can now worship her. Romeo feels a lot more confident and doesn’t feel unworthy of Juliet. Juliet also has feelings for Romeo so at last for Romeo it is requited love.
The way Romeo reacts to him finding out that his love is his family’s worst enemy; he reacts in a way of sadness because he thinks that his parents will not allow him and Juliet to get married. Out of all the families Juliet could have been in it had to be the family his family despises. He reacts very badly to this and is very distraught to what it has happened.
Romeo doesn’t really change that much throughout the play but dramatically changes in parts like when he sees Juliet for the first time and his worst time was when he found out Juliet was a Capulet.
