...There are many themes in Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet; the most important themes are love, death and grief. These themes are displayed in the play in a number of scenes and incidents. Romeo and Juliet is the most famous and oldest recorded love story in the English literary tradition. Love is naturally the play’s dominant and most important theme this play may be over 400 years old but, is still relevant today due to popular and common themes in modern times. Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet is about two teenagers who fall in love at first sight, but is forbidden and unrequited because the two families (Capulet and Montague) are feuding. The lack of communication between the two in this play leads to both of the lovers taking their own lives so they can be eternally together. Love is unsurprisingly the play’s most overriding and most significant theme. The love that Shakespeare ultimately portrays in the play is a youthful lust that the kind of love that Romeo and Juliet display leads the star crossed lovers to enact a selfish isolation from their parent’s demands and expectations around them. Romeo and Juliet avoid their commitments to anyone else and choose to act selflessly only towards one another. Romeo and Juliet’s youthful lust is one of many reasons why their relationship grows so intense so quickly. Throughout the play, Shakespeare only describes Romeo and Juliet's love as a short-term burst of youthful passion. In most of his work, considering that no other relationships...
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...Conor Casey 9-10-13 Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet Paper Fate in Romeo and Juliet In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, fate is a key theme that is present throughout the play. The “star-crossed” lovers Romeo and Juliet, cannot stop fate from taking its course, and are unaware of the implications that it will have on them. In Romeo and Juliet, the young lovers find their untimely ends through the hands of fate. At the onset of the play the chorus enters and begins the play with a prologue. Introducing the reader to what is going on, the chorus talks of Romeo and Juliet saying, “A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life; / Whose misadventured piteous overthrows / Doth with their death bury their parent’s strife” (Prologue.7-8). Starting the play with this type of foreshadowing shows that this relationship is doomed by fate from the start. Fate by definition is the determining cause by which things are believed to come to be (Merriam-Webster). Fate in this play favors the Romeo and Juliet’s demise, opposed to their potential future. Romeo alludes to a feeling he has on the way to the Capulet ball saying, “I fear, too early: for my mind misgives Some consequences yet hanging in the stars Shall bitterly begin his fearful date With this night’s revels and expire the term Of a despised life closed in my breast By some vile forfeit of untimely death. (1.4.106-111) Another reference to the stars is made, as if some uncontrollable and higher entity is controlling...
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...Luhrmann's 1996 film version of “Romeo + Juliet” may seem completely different at a glance when compared to Franco Zeffirelli's interpretation, the two can actually be surprisingly similar if you look at it carefully.Both film versions generally have the same dialogue, both films allude the idea that both families are wealthy and have the same plot, and the characters are somewhat similar, but the difference between the 2 films are that Baz Luhrmann’s version is directed towards a young, teenage audience whose possible intent of this version of the movie is that Baz Luhrmann tries to get the kids interested in Romeo and Juliet, meanwhile Zeffirelli’s version is directed towards an audience who are more likely to be Shakespeare enthusiasts. In both movies, the dialogue is generally similar, as they are both true to the Shakespearian old english way of speaking, even though Baz Luhrmann’s version is modernized, and out of context, might not make sense to some viewers that they are speaking in old english, when it takes place in modern times. However, in Baz Luhrmann’s version, in some parts of the movie, they ever-so slightly modify the original lines from the play in order to slightly simplify it for the intended audience. Both movies show the same plot in different ways. Both movies have the feud between 2 wealthy families, in both versions, they both start with the fight between the Capulets and the Montagues, then we meet a Romeo in despair due to Rosaline choosing...
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...In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet are doomed from the start, and the audience is completely aware of this from the prologue. “From forth the fatal loins of these two foes a pair of star-crossed lovers take their life.” Romeo has an impulsive disposition, which guides his actions throughout the play and eventually leads to him take his own life. Romeo shows impulsiveness in several instances in Romeo and Juliet, proving that his impulsiveness is a very large part of him as a character, for example when he sees Juliet for the first time at the Capulet party. As soon as he sees Juliet, he pleads out “Did my heart love till now? Forswear it sight! / For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.” (I.V. 50-51) Romeo says all of this almost immediately after swearing that Rosaline is the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen and that Rosaline was his one and only true love. If he wouldn’t have ever been drawn in my Juliet’s beauty, he would’ve never been through everything that happens in the play. Also, when Romeo jumps the Capulet’s fence, Juliet demands that Romeo leave before her parents find him. He says to her, “With love’s light wings did I o’perch these walls/ for stony limits cannot hold love out, / therefore thy kinsmen are no stop to me.” (II.ii.66-69). Romeo doesn’t care if Juliet’s guards hurt him. Even though he could’ve easily died right then and there if the Capulets would’ve caught him, he wanted to be with Juliet. Romeo...
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...Romeo The son of Lord Montague is Romeo. The Montague family is in a feud with the Capulet family. There are two ladies that get Romeo’s love attention and stir up his thoughts immensely. Throughout the story Romeo has figurative language. Romeo also makes unjust decisions, which causes a fatal accident. Through this in-depth study, Romeo’s actions, thoughts, and speech will show him to be an irrational character. There are various actions throughout this book portrayed by Romeo. In the beginning of the book Romeo is love-sick, and depressed (1.1.156-180). This is because he wants to be with Rosaline. Romeo then goes to the Capulet party and becomes deeply in love with Juliet. Romeo eventually becomes infatuated with Juliet and can’t live without her. He kills Tybalt because his mind is up in the clouds after marriage and he can’t think straight. He keeps it a secret that he is married hoping that the marriage would end the feud between the two families. He also makes Juliet rebel against her parents. These choices show how Romeo didn’t think before he acted. Romeo speech is figurative throughout the story. One thing that Romeo says is “sin from my lips… give me my sin again” (1.5.6). He says this because he so infatuated with Juliet that he wants another kiss (1.5.6). Romeo also says, “It is enough I may but call her mine” (2.6.8). He says this because all he cares about is having her for himself, no matter what the cost (2.6.8). These were some of the examples how Romeo speaks...
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...Light Over Dark: The Choice Romeo and Juliet Didn’t Make The purpose of the light/dark motif in Romeo and Juliet is to show how Romeo and Juliet are unable to tell light from dark, or good from bad. I think everyone has the potential to distinguish what choices lead to “light” and what choices keep them in the “dark”. So Romeo and Juliet had that potential but I don’t think they wanted to know about that, since nothing else mattered to them but them. In this play, Romeo and Juliet do never make a clear choice of light over dark because they almost do not want to deal that decision in the middle of their romantic journey. They could have brought their situation which was becoming more of a mess each day, into the light by talking openly about it. However that would’ve ended the feud between the families that would have to be dealt with in some way and I’m sure Romeo and Juliet would not have lost their lives doing that. By ignoring their responsibilities and ignoring the darkness that was rising on them quickly both Romeo and Juliet allow tragedy to take them both. In the first scene, Romeo is depressed because his love for Rosaline is a one-way love. His parents are worried because Romeo spends all his time in the dark. Even when it is light, he shrouds himself in darkness to reflect his dreary mood: Away from the light steals home my heavy son / And private in his chamber pens himself / Shuts up his windows, locks fair daylight out / And makes himself an artificial night (I...
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...Analysis of short story elements. I. Romeo and Juliet II. Act 5, scene 3 III. William Shakespear IV. Romeo, Juliet V. Friar Laurence, Balthasar, Pasar, Page VI. Man vs. Man VII. From his hiding place, Paris recognizes Romeo as the man who murdered Tybalt, and thus as the man who indirectly murdered Juliet, since it is her grief for her cousin that is supposed to have killed her. As Romeo has been exiled from the city on penalty of death, Paris thinks that Romeo must hate the Capulets so much that he has returned to the tomb to do some dishonor to the corpse of either Tybalt or Juliet. In a rage, Paris accosts Romeo. Romeo pleads with him to leave, but Paris refuses. They draw their swords and fight. Paris’s page runs off to get the civil watch. Romeo kills Paris. As he dies, Paris asks to be laid near Juliet in the tomb, and Romeo consents. IX. Just then, Friar Lawrence enters the churchyard. He encounters Balthasar, who tells him that Romeo is in the tomb. Balthasar says that he fell asleep and dreamed that Romeo fought with and killed someone. Troubled, the friar enters the tomb, where he finds Paris’s body and then Romeo’s. As the friar takes in the bloody scene, Juliet wakes. X. Juliet asks the friar where her husband is. Hearing a noise that he believes is the coming of the watch, the friar quickly replies that both Romeo and Paris are dead, and that she must leave with him. Juliet refuses to leave, and the friar, fearful that the watch is...
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...HATRED AND VIOLENCE BREED ONLY TRAGGEDY Romeo and Juliet is a tragic play written by William Shakespeare. “Hatred and violence breed only tragedy”, is a major theme in this play. The Montague and Capulet are two rival families. They were involved in a family feud that goes back years before anyone can remember. However, the grudge still continues, due to the fact that both families are not ready to forgive and forget the past. The families’ ongoing quarrels and feud, lead to the deaths of several characters including the star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet. The characters who died first in Romeo and Juliet are Mercutio and Tybalt. They were associated in each other’s deaths. Tybalt, hot-tempered cousin of Juliet, vowed to get revenge on Romeo for sneaking in to the Capulet Ball without an invitation. The day Tybalt came seeking for Romeo, is the day he was wedded to young Juliet. Romeo wants to keep peace between him and his new relative but Tybalt keeps tantalizing him with rude insults and remarks. Romeo, not wanting to pick a fight, retrieves and soon Mercutio jumps in because he wants to defend his best friend. Tybalt and Mercutio challenge each other to a sword fight. Romeo tries to stop them because he does not want his best friend or his relative to get hurt so he intervenes. At that moment, Tybalt stabbed Mercutio “under Romeo’s arm”. In anger and guilt, Romeo retaliates and catches Tybalt, and because of his impulsiveness, Romeo kills Tybalt. Mercutio's death resulted...
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...Analysis of the Function of Speed in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet is an avalanche. As a loose pebble in the snowcapped mountain wobbles in the wind, Romeo yodels to Juliet in the cliffs just to send it tumbling, lightly, down a vertical abyss. It does not end there, of course, for this pebble held back the rocks and boulders constituting the height of the peak, and the reaction now begins as each individual stone rolls with momentum. They pick up speed and snow, growing in velocity and size until the inevitable occurs and Romeo and Juliet are engulfed in the upheaval and finished forever. William Shakespeare’s version of the play Romeo and Juliet, taken from Arthur Brooke’s play similarly titled Romeus and Juliet, is a fast paced tragedy in which a boy and girl from two feuding families meet, fall in love, bond in matrimony, and commit suicide in a matter of four days. Compared to the nine-month romance that takes place in Brooke’s play, Shakespeare’s version is a consciously hastened piece of work during which the most significant parts of a young couple’s lives begin and end in less than one week. Speed, a well-utilized literary tool in Shakespeare’s play, serves to emphasize emotion, as opposed to reason, in the characters’ decisions. Through this device, Shakespeare demonstrates his skills as a playwright by showing control of time in the play. Perhaps the most well known episode in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the balcony scene is a prime example...
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...of Romeo and Juliet written by Shakespeare in 1595 is about a love relationship trying to rise above anger, family feuds and other challenges. The main theme centers on romance especially of the leading characters – Romeo and his Juliet. The story takes places in the city of Verona where it was ruled by a prince. Romeo and Juliet falls in love instantly on their first meeting and live through their dream of marrying and living together. But, the city is full of anger by a long feud between their lovers’ families - the Montagues and the Capulets. This fued leads to varies fights, efforts and plots to break up the lovers. Sadly It ends by Juliet killing herself, and shortly after Romeo does the same thing out of despair. Their sad and hopeless endings does in the end bring good to the city as both families decides to end their fights and issues live in peace. Shakespeare cleverly tells this story in a emotional narration fully of drama enhanced through is effective use of poetic device and dramatic techniques. After reading this intense story and almost living through its acts and scenes, I will analyze the techniques used by Shakespeare and how they convey the themes love and fate in this powerful play. My focus will be on scene 2, Act 1. I scene 2, A .. In Scene … to the long disagreement between their families – the. The story takes place in romantic city of Verona where any families it interrupts the city of Verona and causes tragic results for Romeo and...
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...William Shakespeare is considered one of the greatest writers of all times. One of his most famous tragic plays is Romeo and Juliet. Within this play Shakespeare takes characters, events and themes to model human behaviours. Within Act III, Scene I it displays both characters and events that demonstrate human behaviour. When Tybalt and Romeo quarrel and Romeo refuses to fight Tybalt, it all ends tragically with Tybalt slaying Mercutio. Within Act III, Scene I this is revealed by the way the characters are portrayed within the scene with the different personality types for each of the characters. Human behaviour is also modelled with the events that occur and who the characters react to the situations that occur within the scene. The themes of death and haste also occur within the Act III, Scene I and these themes which relate back to human behaviour in through the events and the way the characters react. Looking at characters, events and themes in depth the audience can see how within this tragic scene human behaviours are explored within the text. The characters within Romeo and Juliet all have completely different personality types. Mercutio is a believable character as he represents a care free character that is not afraid to do or say what he likes, in a way he just does not care what people think of him. In Act III, Scene I Benvolio warns that the Capulet’s are coming and that they should move off the street. Mercutio replies with “By my heel, I care not”, which means...
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...When Romeo for the first time sets his eyes on Juliet he uses light imagery to express his feelings ‘arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon’. For Romeo, Juliet is the sun who has brought brightness into his life. This beautifully romantic imagery highlights the purity of Romeo’s feelings and underscores to the reader the powerful force of love that Romeo is now entangled in. Moreover, Shakespeare uses religious imagery to underscore purity and strength of Romeo’s feelings. The protagonist refers to Juliet as a ‘bright angel’, who is ‘a winged messenger of heaven’ and as a ‘dear saint’. This religious imagery underscores the perfection of Romeo’s love to Juliet – just as angels and saints aregood and perfect, to Romeo, she is so too. Interestingly, in Act 2 Scene 2 Romeo’s syntax becomes more structured and less broken down by the constant repetition of ‘o’ – ‘the brightness of her cheek would shame those stars/As daylight doth a lamp; her eye in heaven/Would through the airy region stream so bright’. Through change in syntax, Shakespeare signals to the reader Romeo’s changed attitude to love –he is no longer bewildered, but he is ascertained in his strong and passionate feeling to Juliet.Finally, Romeo’s blind love towards Juliet is underscored by the use of dramatic irony in Act 2 Scene 2, adding suspense and tension to the play. Romeo says, ‘henceforth I never will be Romeo’, ‘my name dear saint is hateful to myself because it is an enemy to thee’. Through this, Romeo denies...
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...Romeo and Juliet: The Movie I believe that this play/movie is based off of a conflict theory. The reason I say this is because both families here are trying to gain power and also trying to be the dominant family. As I go into detail on this movie it will explain the conflict theory. William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is fully summarized in Shakespeare's prologue: "Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona where we lay our scene. From ancient grudge break to new mutiny where civil blood make civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, a pair of star crossed lovers who take their life" (Universal, 1996). This movie is a masterful culmination of the director's phenomenal ability to create a powerful introduction, to select a realistic, but surreal setting, to choose realistic actors, and to enact specialized dramatic effects. Sitting in the theater, watching this movie for the first time, I heard static break in to interrupt the beginning credits. A newscaster, sounding serious, came on the screen in a special report. I sat up to pay attention. She was reporting a tragedy that had recently happened in some place called Verona. I was pulled in thinking it to be a true special report. Ah-hah!! It was a trick. A trick to get people to do just what I did. Trained are we to listen to newscasts, our life-line in present day society, where we receive a lot of our information. A trick, and...
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...------------------------------------------------- Romeo and Juliet Mini Essay 3.4 The idea of love for young men, especially Romeo is more attraction than relationship. Both Romeo and Juliet are fairly young, so the qualification for their love is either 'fake' or 'real'. Both Romeo and Juliet saw each other as deep, true lovers but realistically the love both of the character developed was infatuation. Romeo sees Juliet as the beautiful woman in the world or the most beautiful girl he saw far. Simultaneously Juliet sees Romeo as the most handsome guy she has ever seen. Both of the lovers based their love on appearance of the other. Romeo's love is only the desire of lust. According to the character list Romeo is described as someone who likes the idea of love. Being in love is appealing to him. Towards the beginning of the play Romeo decides to be in love with Rosaline. After being supposedly rejected by Rosaline, sulking Romeo goes to the Capulet banquet to see Rosaline but instead he "falls" in love Juliet. Friar Laurence correctly describes Romeo's case of love regarding the fact of his fairly fast movement from heart break to new love. "Holy saint Francis, what a change is there! Is Rosaline whom thou didst love so dear, so soon forsaken? Young men's love then lies, not truly in their hearts but in their eyes." (I. ii 61-4). Romeo's respond to friar's comment by justifying his cause, "I pray thee chide me not, her I love now, doth grace for...
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...What would you do for love? Would you sacrifice your life for the people you love? “Romeo and Juliet” is a thrilling play that demonstrates both love and hate. Love and hate both come at a cost, whether you lose something you love or something happens that you hate. As Mohandas Gandhi said “Hatred always kills, love never dies.” The play Romeo and Juliet demonstrates and expresses 3 main points relating to this quote. Those main points are love, hate, and marriage. Romeo and Juliet is portrayed as a “love” story but Shakespeare sets it up as a pain and death story. Romeo is in love with a woman named Rosaline at the beginning of the play. Juliet has never thought about getting married before her mother brings up the idea of marrying Paris. Shakespeare has to set their tale as ill-fated at the beginning (as “two star-crossed lovers” ) not only because their families hate each other, but because they do not know anything about what true love really is or even what life is like in the real adult world. When Romeo first lays his eyes upon Juliet, he is overwhelmed by how beautiful she is. He immediately forgets about Rosaline and wants to meet Juliet. Romeo saw Juliet at a ball he never intended on going to. For a few days he kept to himself and was thinking about how much he loves Rosaline. Eventually, Romeos cousin Benvolio convinces him to go. Romeo thinks that there is no point to go but Benvolio tells him “At this same ancient feast of the Capulet's sups the fair Rosaline...
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