Symbolism Of Act 5 Scene 4.5 In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

In Scene 4.5 of Romeo and Juliet, Juliet is found dead in her room by the Nurse, her parents, Paris, and Friar Laurence, all of whom express their feelings of grief and shock in the moment. Within this scene is an illumination of many character’s traits, including Capulet’s, who expresses his disappointment of his daughter’s death on her wedding day. Lines 62-64 say “O child! O child! My soul, and not my child! Dead art thou! Alack, my child is dead, and with my child my joys are buried”. This part of the scene displays Capulet’s fatherly traits as a caring and loving parent, the side of him that we have not seen prior in the play, referring to Juliet as not his daughter but rather his “soul”, who he wished the best for, and hoped to benefit

This motif is used to display Juliet’s gentle and gracious nature as a “flowery”, beautiful item, making the connection from her tragic death as the “deflowering” of the young flower that she was. A symbol that is shown in this scene is Death, described by the characters as “wretched”, “black”, “cruel”, and even as a “murderer”, almost personified by the characters, as in one case, Lord Capulet speaks to Death, asking it “why cams’t thou now to murder..?” (line 60, pg 199). Death is symbolized as a murderer, begged by the characters to have mercy on their hearts, shamed for taking away their

For example, the concept of death is often associated with this medieval time in history, as, according to The British Library, the message was fairly clear, “death would find you regardless of your status”. Death was not an uncommon occurrence in the 16th century, as we know the life expectancy was shorter by many years and people were more likely to die due to disease, violence, and more. Since this is true, many people resorted to religion and practiced it through religious burials and funerals, much like the one mentioned by Capulet on Page 201, lines 86-89. This section reads, “our wedding cheers to a sad burial feast, our solemn hymns to sullen dirges change, our bridal flowers serve for a buried corpse...”. This mention of a funeral, burial feast, and hymns line up with the time period’s cultural value in religion and its tie to inevitable