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Romeo And Juliet Symbolism Essay

1552 Words7 Pages

One of the most well known poets in all of the world, William Shakespeare, is now being studied all over the world by many scholars. Shakespeare wrote thirty-eight plays and a total of one hundred and fifty-four sonnets. One of his best known plays Romeo and Juliet was wrote somewhere in the time period of 1594 and 1596. Romeo and Juliet is one of William Shakespeare 's most tragic love stories due to its many betrayals, heartbreak, and untimely deaths. Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564, the same year the Black Plague struck his town. Shakespeare 's parents were John and Mary Shakespeare. He was the third child, but their first son. Since not a tremendous amount about his early life is known, those years are called the “Lost Years.” …show more content…

Throughout the celebrated tragic play of Romeo and Juliet, readers can see many different forms of symbolism being used to explore the feelings of love, fate, and revenge. These examples of symbolism are used to deepen and reinforce the readers’ understanding of the play. One symbol Shakespeare used was the contrast of light and darkness. He used this symbolism to portray the light as innocent gentle characters like Romeo, Juliet, Mercutio. He used the darkness to show those who exhibit evil or violence such as Lord Capulet and Paris, who usually only showed up at night. Another symbol in the poem was the poison. Taken in its literal sense, it is the substance Romeo used to kill himself in Juliet 's tomb after hearing of her death and knowing he could not go on without her. In another sense, the poison can also be viewed as a symbol of how strong Romeo and Juliet’s love was for one another by portraying how one could not live without the other and by showing that they both would rather die than go on without one another. Lastly, there is another symbol that is a tad bit harder to recognize. The Blossoms of Tragedy is pointing toward the symbolism of flowers and how they may describe the feelings one has for another. An example would be when Romeo compares his love for Juliet as a rose. The flower symbolises beauty and love

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