ipl-logo

Romeo And Juliet Personification

462 Words2 Pages

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

Show More
Related

The Dark-Lensed Glasses In Ralph Ellison's The Invisible Man

690 Words | 3 Pages

The authors ability to create a dynamic character that has no identity and searches to find one is a feat attainable only by the best. The narrator’s motivations to buy the disguise may have begun as just a way to hide, but ended up being much more. The narrator continues to wear them as a way to have a new identity and to feel more important and less “invisible”. By knowing why the narrator wore a disguise, how he felt, and knowing the symbolic significance of wearing them we are able to have a deeper understanding of the character and his

Read More

Masks in 'We Wear the Mask' and 'To Kill a Mockingbird'

1218 Words | 5 Pages

In Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem, “We Wear the Mask” the speaker wears a mask to hide his internal suffering because he does not want the rest of the world to think he is weak. This poem relates the prejudice black people face against white people. The speaker starts the poem with the lines, “We wear the mask that grins and lies,” (1). Here he describes the kind of “masks” that he wears.

Read More

Similarities Between We Wear The Mask And Richard Cory

730 Words | 3 Pages

Literary devices used in poetry can effectively convey the themes and messages that the poets aim to express. Both “Richard Cory” by Edwin Arlington Robinson and “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar explore the theme of appearances versus reality and masking true emotions and feelings. In society, there is a common expectation to put on a happy face and portray a perfect identity. The poets used their poems to express a message in which concealing oneself is not always shown easily and no one can know what someone else is feeling behind their mask. In the poems “We Wear the Mask” and “Richard Cory,” the authors used irony, imagery, and duality to reveal the theme of hiding true emotions.

Read More

Examples Of Masks In The Great Gatsby

796 Words | 4 Pages

A young wealthy man and his acquaintances all some point use a mask. The masks people put on can not only hurt them, but hurt those around them as shown in The Great Gatsby. Mr. Gatsby a man of mystery greatly displaces on how he wears a mask throughout most of the story. Jordan and Nick are at Gatsby party and they walk up to his bookshelf and starts to admire all of them . As they are looking at the bookshelf, an owled eyed man states, “See!

Read More

Civilization Vs Savagery In Lord Of The Flies Quote Analysis

546 Words | 3 Pages

… the mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness” (Golding 68-69). Jack is filled with childish joy

Read More

Compare/Contrast

802 Words | 4 Pages

This common theme is very apparent but it is even more so in “We Wear the Mask” when Dunbar writes, “We wear the mask that grins and lies, it hides our cheeks and shades our eyes” (Dunbar 1-2).

Read More

We Wear A Mask Hyperbole

502 Words | 3 Pages

Masks are worn by individuals to cover part or all of their faces, usually as a disguise. This quote illustrates how people disguise their true feelings by wearing masks with grins. In actuality, he is not referring to a physical mask; he uses the mask to symbolize hiding their true feelings from the outer world, as a strategy to protect oneself from others. A rhetorical device Dunbar uses is hyperbole, which can be seen in the line "With torn and bleeding hearts we smile." (Dunbar p.654).

Read More

Richard Cory And Lord Of The Flies By Edwin Arlington Robinson

980 Words | 4 Pages

“Richard Cory” and Lord Of the Flies utilize the idea of MASKs symbolically in order to commentate on the mosaic of mortal MAN and its plethora of pitfalls. MASKs in Lord Of the Flies operate as a catalyst for SAVAGE evolutionary instincts to MANifest themselves in Jack’s hunters. As blood spills, the pillars of civility and learned decency of British society crumble, and the boys fall into a blind rage of bloodlust. The group is aware of this sharp plunge into barbarity, as stated in the text, “They understood only too well the liberation into SAVAGEry that the concealing paint brought,” (Golding 172). Despite this cognizance, the hunters continue to wear the paint.

Read More

We Wear The Mask By Patrick Henry

726 Words | 3 Pages

The Poem “We wear the Mask” showed how people tend to hide their problems. Lines one through four states, We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our

Read More

Lord Of The Flies Environment Vs Environment

538 Words | 3 Pages

To add on, on page 64 it exclaims “The mask compelled them.” By this it is saying how the face paint affected the way they acted in the environment and the actions they took

Read More

Use Of Imagery In Torn And Bleeding Hearts By Paul Dunbar

195 Words | 1 Pages

The author states “hides our cheeks and shades our eyes''(Dunbar, 2). The author used this in the poem to get the image of a mask inside the reader's mind while reading it. In today's society we have many oppressed people

Read More

We Wear The Mask Identity Essay

621 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout the poem, We Wear The Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar, Dunbar shows to the readers that the character is struggling with their identity, this struggle connects to Erik Erikson's crisis of “Identity vs Role Confusion”. In the poem, the author states “We wear the mask that grins and lies. It hides our cheeks and shades out eyes” (Dunbar, lines 1-2). This quote provided the readers with information stating that the character is covering their identity. It shows that the character is afraid of who they are and want to change their appearance.

Read More

Wonder By R J Palacio Character Analysis Essay

654 Words | 3 Pages

Wonder, by R.J Palacio, is a heartwarming story of August, a kid with facial deformities, and how he copes with life and the challenges he faces in his new school. Even though the whole premise of the book infers how no matter what, you should be proud of who you are, masks are definitely a recurring object in the book. In the book Wonder, masks are a very important aspect in the story because they display difference, how people hide their true self, and why people are meant to break free of discrimination. First off, masks are important because they hide people’s, in this case August’s, true self. No matter how funny a mask can be, they are always used for only one true reason; to hide your face or true form.

Read More

Essay About Love In Romeo And Juliet

1144 Words | 5 Pages

At the beginning of this popular Shakespeare play, Romeo claims to be in love with a girl named Rosaline. He cries for days about her before he meets Juliet because she rejected his love for her. When Romeo first appears in the play, he appears to be too distracted with his heartache from Rosaline’s disenchantment of Romeo’s affection. His dwelling over his “love [for Rosaline], feel no love...

Read More

Phantom Of The Opera Essay

844 Words | 4 Pages

In reality, masks are oftentimes used in celebrations like at Carnival or Mardi Gras in order to add more excitement and merriment to the actual event. However, in literature, masks are used metaphorically for hiding the true nature of a person. According to Gaston Leroux, “[n]one will ever be a true Parisian who has not learned to wear a mask of gaiety over his sorrows and one of sadness, boredom, or indifference over his inward joy (Leroux 29).” Leroux is talking about how the citizens of Paris all wear masks in order to get on with their lives. To wear a mask is to be a part of society, whether it is with sincerity or not.

Read More

More about Romeo And Juliet Personification

Related Topics

Open Document