The nurse and Mecutio have similar opinions of love. They both believe in sexual love as opposed to real love. The nurse advises Juliet to find herself a husband who can please her at night rather than a man whom she really loves. When Romeo does not return home one night Mecutio instantly believes that he has slept with someone. The nurse and Mecutio both make sexual innuendoes, for example the nurse says “…thou dost fall’st upon thy face? thou wilt fall backward when thou comest to age’ and Mecutio says ‘O that she was an open arse and thou a popperin pear…”.
As well as the contrasts between love there are contrasts between the personalities of characters. Mecutio and Romeo are best friends although they have completely differing personalities. They are dissimilar in nearly every way. Romeo is romantic, though Mecutio believes sex is the only part of love. Romeo is shy and withdrawn whereas Mecutio is loud, and loves to be the centre of attention. Romeo is fairly peaceful and does not wish to cause further trouble between the two houses, yet Mecutio is fiery and enjoys provoking passions.
The nurse and Juliet also have a close relationship yet differ with one another. The nurse is old compared to Juliet’s youthfulness. Juliet is very innocent which contrasts with the worldly nurse’s coarseness.
The whole of the cast of characters contrasts amongst the old and young. The older characters are the Friar, Old Capulet, Lady Capulet, Montague, Lady Montague, and the nurse. The younger characters being Romeo, Juliet, Benvolio, Mecutio, and Tybalt. Many of the scenes have both old and young characters conversing together, for example; the Friar and Romeo in Act 2 Scene 3; the nurse and Juliet, Old Capulet and Tybalt in Act 1 Scene 5; Juliet and her parents, Montague and Benvolio in Act 1 Scene 1. This contrast in the age of the characters leads the audience to realise how an old family quarrel can be carried down through the generations and not be forgotten.
Not only are there contradictions between the members of the same house but there are also similarities between certain characters from the opposing houses. Mecutio and Tybalt correspond with each other as they are both bold and fiery characters. The Lord and Lady from both houses are similar, as also are Romeo and Juliet. In my opinion Shakespeare adds these similarities to make the audience contemplate what it would be like if the two families were in harmony together: they could be good friends as they are alike in many ways.
Romeo and Juliet are the two main characters throughout the play; to keep them interesting Shakespeare forms contrasts between themselves. The first moment Juliet is introduced to the audience is in Act 1 scene 3. she is presented as a young girl, when her mother and the nurse speak continuously of her age being 13 years. Her mother, Lady Capulet is speaking to Juliet about marriage. Juliet responds with “…it is an honour which I dream not of…”. This shows that she tries to please her mother, that she is very naive and further more how child-like she can be, as she converses in one syllable words, with the exception of ‘honour’.
In Act 1 scene 1 we meet Romeo who is in mourning due to his unrequited love for Rosaline. In contrast with many plays, Romeo, as the ‘hero’, is not heroic or brave, but shy, withdrawn and confused. Shakespeare refuses to style his plays as stereotypical, by showing Romeo being different to normal lead characters. In this scene he talks to Benvolio in riddles saying “…its not having that, which having makes them short…”. Romeo feigns confusion as he describes things with oxymorons; ‘loving hate’, ‘feather of lead’, and ‘brawling love’.
Romeo and Juliet meet together and fall in love during Act 1 scene 5. In this scene both characters completely change altering from their previous selves. They both speak using religious words such as ‘shrine’, ‘holy’, ‘pilgrim’, ‘Palmer’, and ‘faith’. Words such as these elevate all love and feelings they have for one another. Juliet formerly used a limited vocabulary, but here we see her demonstrate her use of longer words and also puns, “for saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy Palmer kiss”. In Act 1 scene 3, Juliet would never have used such a complex sentence structure to her mother, which shows a great change takes place in her after meeting Romeo. Romeo no longer talks in riddles or uses oxymoron’s, but talks clearly, speaking romantically; “…O then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do: they pray grant thou, lest faith turn to despair…”.
Following Lord Capulet's dance Romeo meets Juliet in the Balcony scene. Both characters use sophisticated, romantic language, but have stopped using religious words to portray their feelings. Romeo, beside himself with love, talks foolishly, for example, “…with love’s light wings did I o’erperch these walls…”. Romeo and Juliet discuss their love. Juliet especially makes long, confident speeches, in contrast to the short sentences she previously applied.
“…how now who calls…”. In this scene Juliet acts as the more mature character, fearing for Romeo’s life, “…the place death, considering who thou art, if any of my kinsmen find thee here…”. In contrast to this, after they spend their only night together, Romeo becomes more sensible, and Juliet the one begging Romeo to stay, Romeo says “…I must be gone and live, or stay and die…”.
In Act iii scene v, Juliet goes against her parents wishes and says that she refuses to marry Paris, “…he shall not make me there a joyful bride…”. This contradicts with the character we observed in Act i scene iii, who tried to please her parents, regarding Paris, “…I’ll look to like, if looking liking move…”.
In order for Shakespeare to ensure his audiences’ full attention, he deliberately designs each scene to contrast with the previous and so forth. For example, Act ii scene v ends happily with the marriage of Romeo and Juliet. The audience will be given a false sense of security, as they are invited to believe everything would end happily. The scene is followed by the fight, death of Tybalt and Mecutio, and the banishment of Romeo. This scene would completely change the atmosphere in the audience. Contrasts such as this are used throughout the play, but the audience would not necessarily realise that they were there.
Another stereotype that Shakespeare refuses to use in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is that between day and night. Day is often assumed to be happy, and night the time for evil. In ‘Romeo and Juliet’ this is the portrayed oppositely. All the happy scenes take place at night, for example; Old Capulet’s Dance and the Balcony scene. The unhappy scenes such as the death of Mecutio and Tybalt, the banishment of Romeo, and the funeral of Romeo and Juliet, all happen during the day.
The contrasts between night and day, and black and white, are used frequently in the dialogue of the play to describe things. Romeo describes Juliet’s beauty flooding the darkness of the tomb with “…her beauty makes this vault a feasting presence of light…”. When Romeo first sees Juliet he describes her as “…a rich jewel upon an Ethiop’s ear…”. This emphasis the difference between black, the Eithiop’s ear, and the white of the jewel. Another example of this contrast between black and white in creating effect is “…so shows a snowy dove trooping with crows…”.
In conclusion there are a lot of contradictions in Shakespeare’s play; ‘Romeo and Juliet’. All of these contrasts are necessary to ensure the full captivation of the audience and their entertainment. The differences between Romeo and Juliet are needed to portray that their love together changed them as people as an indication of how strong their love was. Shakespeare did not follow a stereotypical play format but contradicted the view thus leaving the audience with personal thoughts and feelings.