Hyperbole In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

Tamora, formerly Queen of the Goths and presently the Empress of Rome states the lines, “Have I not reason . . .” [to] “Or be ye not henceforth called my children.” (2.3.91–115), to her two sons Chiron and Demetrius. This speech is delivered when her sons interrupt her verbal altercation with Bassianus and Lavinia, who interrupted Tamora and her lover, Aaron, plotting a scheme. While both Bassianus and Lavinia suspect Aaron and Tamora of scheming, neither of them realized that it was against themselves. Immediately after Tamora’s lines her sons stab and kill Bassianus and take Lavinia away to rape and mutilate her. Shakespeare uses this scene to illustrate the depths of Tamora’s manipulation over her children Demetrius and Chiron and to

100-101). The use of hyperbole exaggerates the dreadful imagery invoking fear into her children. Similarly the alliteration of a “thousand hissing snakes” and the emphasis on the multitudes, “thousands and ten thousand”, makes the image more appalling. Furthering the frightful imagery in this passage are the words “fiend” and “urchin”, which represent evil spirits or demons, according to the sidenote. Shakespeare uses Tamora's exaggerated description of the pit combined with the demonic imagery to play on the audience’s fears. However, this depiction of the woods stands in stark contrast to the imagery she describes to Aaron at the beginning of this scene where she says; “The birds chant melody on every bush, / The snake lies rolled in the cheerful sun, / The green leaves quiver with the cooling wind” (2.3. 12-14). In Tamora’s attempt to cheer up Aaron, she describes these same woods as happy. The contrast of the description in this scene draws attention to Tamora’s lies and highlights the lengths that she will go in order to manipulate her children into taking revenge on Bassianus and

If Tamora was truly afraid for her life, and the horrific death her sons have saved her from, she would be in a frantic state. The calmness with which Tamora delivers her lines only highlight the fact that she is lying and attempting to manipulate her children. Shakespeare again draws attention to Tamora’s lie through the monosyllable rhythm through two repetitive lines; “They told me here at dead time of night” (2.3 99) and “But straight they told me they would bind me here” (2.3.106). The repetition of “they told me”, which the audience knows are false claims against Bassianus and Lavinia, telegraph Tamora’s speech as a