Danielle Matamba Matamba 1 Marryat NC English 1 8 February 2023 Analysis of Shakespeare’s Iconic Romeo and Juliet Balcony Scene The classic author, William Shakespeare, is well known for his usage of figurative language in his most famous tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. Many scholars consider Shakespeare the master of figurative language. In Romeo and Juliet, he uses different forms of figurative language to help create tension and add to the tragedy.
Friar uses personification along with other literary devices that helps the reader understand the theme. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare uses elements of language in Friar Laurence’s speech to convey the idea that everything is both good and evil. In the first half of the soliloquy, Friar talks about the sky in a way that demonstrates how it is good and evil, like the light of the sun and the darkness of the moon. Friar starts his Soliloquy by saying, “The grey-ey’d morn smiles on the frowning night, Check’ring the Eastern clouds with streaks of light” (2.3.1-2).
The play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare and the novel All the Bright Places written by Jennifer Niven, demonstrates how both writers use the significance of names to emphasize the characters portrayal in the plot line. Shakespeare’s use of names sets an obstacle in order for the marriage of Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet to occur. Specifically, Juliet’s soliloquy is, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose/ By any other word would smell as sweet” is displaying that names play a role in the order of events, because the name of a person might not affect his personality, just how others view him (2.2.43-44).
Throughout the play “Romeo and Juliet”, Shakespeare develops a theme, that someone’s name shouldn’t decide anything for them or define them, by using various literary devices such as metaphors, foreshadowing, as well as irony. The tale of Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy where two fall in love and end up taking their lives because of their family feud which came between their love. During Juliet’s soliloquy, she voices her frustration that their families are feuding, too, for a reason nobody knows of. She compares Romeo to a flower when discussing how even “which we call a rose [was called] by any other name[, it still] would smell as sweet” (Shakespeare 2.2). The metaphor talks about how a rose wouldn’t change even with a different name, it talks
When she announces this, she is implying that his family name has nothing to do with their love and they should be together. For instance, a rose would still smell the same even if we called it something completely different than "rose." She believes that Romeo’s personality is not defined by him name. Romeo's name is only a label, and Juliet would have still loved him even if he had a completely different name. She is expressing her love for him through her feelings.
Additionally Juliet compares Romeo to a rose. “A rose by any other word would smell as sweet. So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called,
Through poet's the use of hyperbole, Romeo is depicted as a hopeless romantic who appreciates the inner beauty of his lovers and not just looks. When being invited to Capulet’s party, Romeo speaks about Rosaline and says, “ One fairer than my love? The all-seeing sun, Ne’er saw her match since first the world begun" (1.2.98.) Shakespeare uses the image of the “sun” to highlight the subject's exceptional beauty, emphasizing that even the “all-seeing sun” has never seen anyone as beautiful. This shows that Romeo is deeply enchanted by her and that he sees her as a source of light in his life.
In the second act of the play, Shakespeare writes. “What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet" (Shakespeare Act 2, scene 2, lines 46-47). During this part of the story, Juliet is talking to Romeo, and they are discussing how names hold no meaning and proclaim their undying love for each other. This is significant because it proves how Juliet has become independent and strayed away from her parents.
In this passage, Shakespeare utilizes metaphor and negative diction to characterize Romeo as a person who is conflicted and frustrated by love, which ultimately reveals the theme that love is uncontrollable, conflicting, and short-lived. Towards the end of act 1 scene 1, Romeo still has a big crush on Rosaline, but Rosaline has no feelings for him. Hence, Romeo experienced a sense of depression and is conflicted by love. In this passage, Shakespeare uses numerous metaphors. “Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs.”
Furthermore, Juliet questions gender roles in the play when she questions the meaning of a rose being called a rose. What's in a name? that which we call a rose/ By any other name would smell as sweet;” (Shakepseare 2.2.46-47). It could be believed she said this to compare it to gender.
An additional metaphor is found when Romeo compases beauty to a note, which is a metaphor because it compares the beauty of others to something to simply be aware of and effectively compare with others (specifically Rosaline). This passage greatly contributes to the theme of pervasive love in the play. Although it does not focus on the love for which the novel is named, Romeo’s belief that he cannot forget Rosaline emphasizes the theme of love of an all encompassing nature. A love which, for better or worse, will grip those who it strikes and occupy
“I conjure thee by Rosaline's bright eyes, By her high forehead and her scarlet lip.” It is subtle here because Mercutio still doesn’t know about Juliet but it is also subtle in the sense that it offers two elements to the scenario: 1) By mentioning Rosaline before the tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet, it appears that Shakespeare (through Mercutio) is offering us a conclusion from the Rosaline era. 2) Shakespeare lends an emotional value to the love of Romeo and Juliet by contrasting it through Mercutio’s focus on Rosaline’s physical appearance merely. “Shakespeare uses Mercutio's cynical attitude to distinguish Romeo and Juliet's love as innocent, spiritual, and intense. Because the audience is aware that Mercutio's speech falls on deaf ears, Mercutio's speech illustrates that the Romeo, the loves-truck youth, has begun to mature in his outlook on life and love.”
To show us love would still be love if not called lve and that she would still love Romeo if he weren't a Montague. This line was one of the most famous in the whole play because it showed us how names carry no meaning but are only as significant as what the name holds. Romeo coveys his feelings towards his name with a sympathetic and bitter tone to reply to the pain Juliette feels. “take thee at thy word: Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized;
Juliet realizes that a name does not define a man. A name is just a classification determined at birth that does not show who you are as a person. She uses a rose as a metaphor to show that the classification of something does not
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would be as sweet” (Act II scene II lines 43-44). This quote from Romeo and Juliet that occurred in Act II scene II is very significant in the play and describes the same way of thinking from the memoir, “By any other Name.” In the play, Juliet says this line based on the fact that the man she falls in love with has a name that opposes her own.
