ipl-logo

Romeo And Juliet Symbolism

610 Words3 Pages

Throughout the celebrated play “Romeo and Juliet,” William Shakespeare uses symbolism to explore enduring themes such as love, fate and revenge. The play, which tells the tragic story of star-crossed lovers from feuding families, uses a variety of symbols to deepen and reinforce the audience’s understanding of the play. Whether referencing the setting or the tragic end of the title characters themselves, these symbols contribute to the feelings of misfortune and despair present in the play. Light and Darkness The disparity between lightness and darkness is one of the play’s most significant symbols. Innocent, gentile characters like Romeo, Juliet, Mercutio and Benvolio, who display qualities of goodness are often seen during the daylight, …show more content…

In Act V, when he visits the apothecary, Romeo pays him in gold, stating, ”There is thy gold / worse poison to men’s souls.” This quip highlights Romeo’s understanding that above all, money is and has been the impetus for the feuding between the two aristocratic families. As further proof that neither family has learned from the tragedy, both state they will erect golden statues in their deceased children's honor. By contrast, silver represents love and beauty, such as when Romeo states, “How silver-sweet sound lovers' tongues by night" or when a musician claims that “Music has a silver …show more content…

Shakespeare weaves floral symbolism throughout the play; Romeo, the object of Juliet’s affection, is considered a “rose” -- a specific flower that symbolizes beauty and love, while Juliet’s other suitor -- the affable Paris, is considered just a “flower in faith” -- pretty, but not special in any way. At the end of the play, after Juliet takes Friar Laurence’s sleeping potion to appear dead, her bridal flowers symbolically and paradoxically become her funeral

Show More
Related
858 Words | 4 Pages

Arguably William Shakespeare’s most famous play, Romeo and Juliet follows two star-crossed lovers who struggle to hide their love from their feuding families. Much like how Shakespeare explores both the differences and the relationship between the Capulets and the Montagues, the play highlights the correspondence of opposing themes through three characters named Mercutio, Benvolio, and Tybalt, Romeo’s two friends and sworn enemy. Shakespeare includes Romeo’s counterparts to distinguish his unique personality and to emphasize relationships between major contrasting subjects in the play: comedy and tragedy, peace and conflict, and love and anger. Mercutio acts as both Romeo’s foil and the donor of much light-hearted humor within the play, which contrasts the tragic events that inevitably occur.

Read More
961 Words | 4 Pages

In Act V, Scene I, lines 61-89, Romeo goes to the Apothecary and convinces the Apothecary to sell him the poison. Romeo then explains what he will do with the poison, “Come cordial and not poison, go with me / To Juliet’s grave, for there must I use thee” (V.i.90-91). In Act V, Scene III, Romeo kisses Juliet and then says while drinking the poison, “Here’s to my love. [Drinking] O true apothecary, /

Read More
552 Words | 3 Pages

When presented with a dilemma, many teens may feel as if they can only talk to someone they trust. Everyone needs a companion to turn to in a time of need. This concept proves to be true in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as Romeo confides in Friar Lawrence about his issues with love. Through the metaphors of appreciation and dismal foreshadowing of death, Shakespeare authenticates the relationship of father and son between Friar Lawrence and Romeo. The use of solemn foreshadowing with the inevitable demise of Romeo and Juliet exemplifies the relationship the Friar and Romeo share.

Read More
838 Words | 4 Pages

The classical ideas of calmness, stoical patience, and broad-mindedness should be joined in human conduct with the Christian virtues of love, faith, and hope” (McKay 384). The themes of love and hope hold prominence in many of Shakespeare’s tragedies. His ability to illustrate characters through actions and emotions largely associates him with this central idea. The use of describing characters through emotive language is largely evident in Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare describes Romeo and Juliet as “star-crossed lovers”, and he perfectly illustrates this idea by showing the extremes that the two protagonists go through just to be in each other’s

Read More
1280 Words | 6 Pages

Fateful Flutters Do small choices really spark catastrophic consequences? Romeo and Juliet is a play written by William Shakespeare, set in the early 1300s in Verona, Italy. The two families of Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet take part in a feud, we do not know what this feud is about but it was strong enough to keep poor Romeo and Juliet apart. Throughout this play, we see Shakespeare’s characters struggle with simple things that change the course of fate. Shakespeare uses dramatic irony, conflict, and foreshadowing to prove this further.

Read More
869 Words | 4 Pages

As rich a jewel in Ethiop’s ear― Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear. (1.5.43-46) In this quotation, Romeo

Read More
799 Words | 4 Pages

Shakespeare's use of this symbol underscores the central theme of the play, which explores the erratic and transformative power of love, reminding the audience that it can be both enchanting and

Read More
782 Words | 4 Pages

In William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, two lovers are bound to death by fate, and the audience is informed of this fact by the large amount of foreshadowing seen throughout the play. In each scene, at least one example of foreshadowing can be seen. This literary device is used to help form the tone of the story and give readers a feeling for what is going to happen next. For example, before the Capulet party, Romeo says that he had a dream, in which he had died, and that his death in the dream was linked to his attending the Capulet party.

Read More
1128 Words | 5 Pages

Haylee Freeman Romeo and Juliet Edition 4 English II 05 May 2023 Romeo and Juliet Essay There is a very unique symbol in Romeo and Juliet. Weapons are often used to symbolize death and anger throughout the play. A dagger is mostly symbolized as death in the play.

Read More
1726 Words | 7 Pages

Throughout the work the characters use religious symbolism, and the corruption of those symbols to indicate foreboding and foreshadowing as to the tragic fate of the characters. The corruption and appropriation of religious symbols from their original meaning to be symbolic of Romeo and Juliet relationships is both a symptom and a causation of their inevitable

Read More
158 Words | 1 Pages

My eight symbols for mask include angel, books, chain, crown, daylight, junction, rose, and thorn. Angel stands for the guardianship that the nurse has over Juliet. Books stand for the knowledge that the nurse has and she is very intelligent. Chain stands for the bond that is held by juliet. Crown stands for the power that is over juliet.

Read More
1035 Words | 5 Pages

Each and every day, people make sacrifices for their loved ones. Maybe they choose to get up earlier in order to do chores or miss an important meeting so that they would have time for each other. There is no greater example of sacrifices for loved ones than in Romeo and Juliet however, where Shakespeare explores two star-crossed lovers, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, who come from two families that have a deep hatred towards each other. The pair meet each other, secretly wed, and then in order to stay together, commit suicide out of despair and distress. Through Romeo and Juliet’s acts of defiance and sacrifice, Shakespeare proves that while hate has the power to destroy and kill, love is even more powerful as it has the power to transform.

Read More
324 Words | 2 Pages

Introduction: Memory, symbol, and pattern affect the comprehension of literature in a number of ways specific to the individual who is reading the passage (in part due to the ability to recognize patterns in complicated literature.) This memory allows readers who are trying to understand the passage, recollect information to compare and contrast other texts to the main passage to grasp more knowledge and information. Symbols, on the other hand, are connections to other ideas, mostly to do with a heightened sense or deeper meaning. This can definitely be seen when I was trying to read Romeo and Juliet, in which the connection made through symbols, motifs, and themes such as “love conquers all,” helped better my understanding of Shakespeare’s

Read More
884 Words | 4 Pages

In the infamous tragedy of the play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by William Shakespeare, the theme and influence of death are poignantly prevalent through the course of the play. The use of death in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is portrayed through 3 instances of the deaths of 4 major characters, Romeo, Juliet, Mercutio and Tybalt, in which the context of each death, are relative to the cause and development of their demise. Shakespeare capitalizes on the sophistication and complexity of death along with its varying impacts in relation to the context in which guides their tragedies. The death of Romeo is the result of his intense love and passion for Juliet as he refuses to exist in a world without his true love, “ The lean abhorrèd monster keeps thee here in dark to be his paramour? For fear of that, I still will stay with thee, And never from this palace of dim night depart again.”

Read More
713 Words | 3 Pages

But I can give thee more,/ For I will raise her statue in pure gold,/ That whiles Verona by that name is known,/ There shall no figure at such rate be set/ As that of true and faithful Juliet.” (5.3.313-318) Love is what brought them together, and love is also what brought upon death.

Read More

More about Romeo And Juliet Symbolism

Open Document