Literary Elements In Romeo And Juliet

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The play, Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare has been idolized as an iconic love story, telling the tale of two star-crossed teen lovers and the sacrifices that they make for each other. Many people don’t know, however, that this play is very far from a stereotypical love story, as it encapsulates the life and tragedy of the two lovers, as well as showing an intense development of character and theme throughout the story. The scene is set in Verona, Italy, where the Capulets and Montagues reside. The two families have feuded in the past, and they are bound to do so again when Romeo and Juliet’s story emerges. Readers are first introduced to Romeo Montague, who, in the moment, is depressed and solemn, upset over the fact that …show more content…
Romeo is shown as being sorrowful, and slightly immature in this scene as he mourns over the fact that Rosaline, the woman he believes that he “loves”, has sworn off marriage and men to be a part of a sisterhood of nuns. His immaturity is shown when he describes his loveless feelings in great detail. Romeo recites, “Here’s much to do with hate, but more with love/ Why, then, O brawling love! O loving hate!/ O any thing, of nothing first create!/ O heavy lightness! serious vanity!/ Mis-shapen chaos of well-seeming forms!/ Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health!/ Still-waking sleep, that is not what it is! This love feel I, that feel no love in this” (Shakespeare 21). This passage stated by Romeo displays his immaturity and pity for himself as he speaks with his cousin Benvolio about how he feels no love since he “lost” Rosaline, and how he is pitying his loveless life. This exclamation of sadness by Romeo soon is forgotten when he sees Juliet for the first time, claiming that she is “true beauty” that he has never seen before, which shows his impulsiveness and immaturity once more (53). Throughout the course of the play, however, …show more content…
Soon after Juliet had proposed marriage to Romeo, Romeo went to Friar Lawrence to ask if he’d marry the two. Friar Lawrence, skeptical of Romeo’s sudden change of heart, refuses to do so at first, fearing that the marriage would end poorly. Moments later however, Friar Lawrence realizes the benefits that the marriage might have on not only the couple, but the families, and even the entire city of Verona as well. Friar Lawrence confessed, “Thy love did read by rote and could not spell./ But come, young waverer, come, go with me./ In one respect I’ll thy assistant be,/ For this alliance may so happy prove/ To turn your households’ rancour to pure love (89). This quote from Friar Lawrence shows that he is hesitant and apprehensive to marry the young couple at first, admitting that their relationship, if that, was not ready for a marriage yet. It then continues to show that, as he takes the well being of the Capulet and Montague families into consideration, the pros far outweigh the cons in the situation for Friar Lawrence, believing that the marriage of Romeo and Juliet would end the two family’s feuding. Over the course of the story, however, Friar Lawrence develops into a much more risky, determined, and fearless person, while still possessing the same
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