Essay on Romeo and Juliet - page 3
Keywords: Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet essay character development
By Jenny on 02/07/2009
Level: GCSE Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11)
Page Number: 3 of 5 pages: 1 2 3 4 5
seem long”,
this indicates that Romeo’s days seem longer because he is miserable – bad days seem long.
“Here’s much to do with hate but more with love”
in away this sums up the whole play, and the theme of love and hate is returned to with
“O brawling love! O loving hate!”
showing how easily the two things get confused. This also the start of Romeo talking in oxymoron’s, for example
“O heavy lightness! serious vanity!, Mis-shapen chaos of well-seeming forms! Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health! Still-waking sleep, that is not what it is!”
finishing with
“This love feel I, that feel no love in this.”
All these clearly show us that Romeo is feeling very confused about love – he is so baffled that when he tries to explain he talks nonsense!
We can also see that he is confused from the line
“Tut, ………………… some other where”
this makes you realise that Romeo is so bewildered that he feels he is not there and has been taken over by somebody else.
When Benvolio realises how hopelessly in love Rome is he declares
“I’ll pay that ………………… die in debt”
which means that he is determined to help Romeo forget his unrequited love if it is the last thing he does.
However Romeo is unconvinced is shown in the line
“thou ………………… forget”.
His feelings are exactly shown in the line
“Not mad,……………………… tormented”
he feels that he is tied up and tormented while being kept from the only thing he wants.
Benvolio is still determined and says
“I will ………………… a crow”
- he is convinced that he can change Romeo’s mind.
Of course Benvolio is right, Romeo sees Juliet and forgets all thought of Rosaline.
However, just before he goes into the party at which they meet he has a strange feeling of foreboding,
“I fear too early ………………… some vile forfeit of untimely death”
it is as though for a second he knows that something is going start that will lead irrevocably to his “untimely death”, and that the fact that it is “hanging I the stars” tells him that it is fate and he cannot escape it.
This would have had a powerful effect on the Elizabethan audience who would have believed in fate.
Romeo dismisses it though with
“But he …………………… gentlemen”
and enters the party. Once inside he sees Juliet and everything changes.
The first thing he says on glimpsing her is
“What lady ……………… yonder knight?”
and his language is already changing. He no longer sounds confused and unhappy,
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