Although the great romance in Romeo and Juliet, one of the most famous romances in the history of literature, is between the two title characters, the novel begins with another romance. This romance, which is alluded to at the beginning of the novel, is an unrequited one between Romeo and Rosaline. This love, which has captured the entirety of Romeo’s attention, is addressed by Benvolio, who urges Romeo to examine other women and move on. However, Romeo stubbornly asserts that as he sees nothing of the women’s faces at the Capulet’s costume party, he will simply continue to dwell on Rosaline: ROMEO. These happy masks that kiss fair ladies' brows, Being black, puts us in mind they hide the fair. He that is strucken blind cannot forget The …show more content…
He compares this to how a blind man would think primarily about the wonders of his former sight. He concludes by pointing out that he cannot absorb the beauty of others and defiantly declares he will not be taught to forget. The first literary device used in this passage is personification, as the masks are personified as “kiss(ing)” the faces of women, which is personification as it indicates the masks are performing human tasks by comparing them to that which kisses the faces of women. Metaphors also serve as prominent figurative language in this speech, as seen with the metaphor of a blind man who dwells only on his site, which is a metaphor as it more specifically refers to the human nature to compare things (such as lack of site or new people) to other things (such as the sites once seen or the people already known). This metaphor compares this human nature to how a blind person may dwell on the site they once possessed. 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