How Does Shakespeare Use Juxtaposition In Romeo And Juliet

Juxtaposition can be defined as the use of two opposite ideas or topics placed near one another. In William Shakespeare’s play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, juxtaposition plays a huge role, when diminishing absolute power versus powerless. This unique use of juxtaposition can be seen through Egeus and Hermia, where Egeus represents absolute power and Hermia represents the powerless. Egeus, who is Hermia’s father, strictly forbids Hermia from marrying Lysander, and marry Demetrius instead. Hermia, on the other hand, wanted to marry Lysander, but knew she would have to do it in a hidden fashion, and as far away from her father as possible because if word got out to him, he would have her killed. This imbalance in power, and powerless through Egeus

Duality is displayed throughout the play of Romeo and Juliet. The things characters in the play say, the characters, and actions of the characters are ways duality is explored in the play. For example, when Friar Laurence is picking herbs he explains how the certain herb he picked could be both poison and medicine. Duality in the play is also explored by love and hate. In the play Shakespeare uses the love, hate duality to show how powerful love is. During the play, Juliet says ”My only love sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late! Prodigious birth of love it is to me. That I must love a loathèd enemy.”

Throughout Romeo and Juliet the theme of conflict is conveyed in many forms, mostly through physical violence; reflected in the era of the Renaissance where there was political turmoil and many European nations were at war. Shakespeare presents the theme in other forms as well; family versus family, sacred versus profane, parent versus child and language versus inner conflict. Conflict is a key in the structure of the play; it is highlighted in the beginning, middle and end. As an audience we are constantly being reminded of conflict which is reflected within the era the play was written in. The Renaissance was the 'rebirth ' of classical learning and was also the time when Science challenged many traditional Christian beliefs which resulted in Catholics fighting Protestants; the Gunpowder plot and the Spanish Armada. Shakespeare chose to dramatise conflict as it was the context in which he was writing plays. It is therefore arguable that this period was characterised by irreconcilable opposites in politics, religion and art. Nothing in the world can exist without its opposite- just as love cannot exist without hate, violence cannot exist without peace.

Duality is the nature in which anything and everything bear antithetical complexion, all of which are true. In our perspective, the Earth is an enormous planet; however, it’s also a speck of dust suspended in space. The villain and the hero of a story are one individual, just perceived differently; for example, Batman is nothing without Joker. Besides, how boring would it be to watch a Batman movie if there were no villains? Thus, you have no hero until you have a villain. Duality can also be characterized as the humanized form of good and evil, love and hate, fear and courage, or life and death. First of all, in Romeo and Juliet “fate” plays an immense role. Most conspicuously in Friar Laurence’s soliloquy, “In man as well as herbs–grace

Romeo’s overdramatic word choice helps give the reader a deeper meaning into the power of love against obstacles. Romeo constantly exaggerates his thoughts through the choice of words he uses in his daily language. When Benvolio questions Romeo, wondering why he is upset, Romeo explains how “love is a smoke made up with a fume of sighs,” (Act one, scene one) and goes on about his love for Rosaline. In saying so, Romeo conveys his thoughts about how love can be bittersweet. Love can consume one like a strong fume, but that fume can also be dangerous and engulf you in sadness. Romeo is portrayed as a romantic, showing the reader his deep love for Rosaline. However, Romeo then falls in love with Juliet. His love for Juliet is enough for him to not be

Have you ever heard the word Juxtaposition? Sounds different doesn’t it. The meaning of it is crazy and makes a lot of sense. A juxtaposition is the comparison of one thing to another. For an example light to darkness. It is put in ways or forms that may or may not be noticeable or easy to find. Juxtapositions are used in many books and novels that are popular or well known. The play by William Shakespeare “Romeo and Juliet” uses the juxtaposition of light and darkness repetitively. One thing about juxtapositions are they help a writer a lot for writing novels and books to show the lesson that is shown at the end of the book. They could also give hints early in the story or open your eyes to a different point of view the book is showing. There

In the play Romeo & Juliet, William Shakespeare utilizes opposites in both the thoughts and actions of the characters in Romeo and Juliet. Outlined are contrasts of crime and violence versus peace and law, love versus hate, and young versus old.

“A pair of star-cross’d lovers” in the classic tale Romeo and Juliet, is written by the famous playwright William Shakespeare. In the midst of the Capulet and Montague’s ancient grudge and hatred for one another, Juliet Capulet and Romeo Montague are confronted with a forbidden lust separated by their family’s feud. The story explores love, hatred, death and forgiveness, depicted through the stylistic features that Shakespeare employs to portray tension between the Montague and Capulet families. The tale of Romeo and Juliet sees their love trial among an endless brawl of hatred with many consequences.

Romeo and Juliet appear to be conflicting characters as shown in a scene where Romeo finds himself outside Juliet’s window. Juliet asks Romeo “[h]ow comest thou hither, tell me, and wherefore? [t]he orchard walls are high and hard to climb” (2.2.67-68), but Romeo replies “[w]ith love’s light wings did I o’erperch these walls” (2.2.71). Juliet acts in a more realistic and mature manner, whereas Romeo’s unrealistic behavior contrasts with Juliet’s character. By portraying the characters as opposites, Shakespeare conveys the idea of balance. This idea can be found in a certain character as well. Romeo’s character of good and evil is depicted during the fight with Tybalt. When Tybalt instigates Romeo by saying “thou art a villain” (3.1.62), Romeo remains calm and declares “Villain am I none. Therefore farewell” (3.1.65-66), displaying his good character. Later on, after Tybalt kills Mercutio, Romeo craves revenge and decides to avenge his friend, allowing his negative side to take over. This internal conflict of good and evil in a character is another example of the idea of equilibrium in the play. Characters and their characterization are significant additions to the idea of harmony.

Back in the late 1600s, Shakespeare pokes fun at the poems and sonnets of his time that paint love as a symbol of a perfect and steady relationship, rather than the raw and unpredictable force that can cause both sorrow and euphoria. In Shakespeare’s play Romeo & Juliet, he displays how dynamic Romeo’s character is through his speech and actions as Romeo matures into Juliet’s devoted lover, which Shakespeare uses to drive the story forward in such a small time frame. Initially, Romeo is excessively dramatic, using poetic language to describe his emotions, revealing his immaturity as a lover. Subsequent to Rosaline’s rejection, Romeo describes his feelings to Benvolio through a series of contradictions or oxymorons. Romeo desperately asks

“Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs; Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes; Being vexed a sea nourish'd with loving tears:What is it else? a madness most discreet, A choking gall, and a preserving sweet”(Act I.Scene i. Lines 190-194).Romeo is most commonly known as just being a character who is desperately in love, but there are other sides to him as well. In Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare the main character, Romeo undergoes a change in himself. Romeo goes through a phase in the beginning where he is sad and in the middle loved, and by the end he feels arrogant and hopeless.

In the story Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare portrays Romeo as an emotional, love-struck teenager who cannot keep his emotions in check. Often times, his mood will be very negative based on a situation that has recently occurred with a woman. He can go from happy to emotional in seconds, based on something he is thinking about or something someone says to him about the topic of love. Through similes, allusions, and imagery, Shakespeare shows that Romeo and Friar Lawrence have a close-knit, father-son-like relationship that both of the men take very dearly to their hearts. “It is the East, and Juliet is the sun” (Act 2, Scene 2).

In Romeo and Juliet, the main character Romeo has a very melancholic temperament. Throughout the play he is a character who is dominated by his emotions. In the first scene where Romeo is introduced, he is in despair over Rosaline. He states, “Ay me, sad hours seem long” (1.1.166). His melancholic disposition is immediately apparent and stays with him throughout the play as he is constantly overtaken by his emotions.

In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Romeo illustrates the qualities of a dramatic person. For example, while describing what love feels like to Benvolio, Romeo claims , “Being vex’d, a sea nourish’d with lovers’ tears” (1.1.192). By comparing nature to love, Romeo believes love is a powerful, uncontrollable force that can make a person think they are in heaven or in hell. A sea is a place with a huge amount of water, thus it would be an impossible feat to cry that much and a human body cannot support that much water leakage. Moreover, when Benvolio wishes to come along, Romeo exclaims, “This is not Romeo, he’s some otherwhere” (1.1.199). Love has the power to do almost anything, but it does not have the power to completely change someone

In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare uses the theme of Duality for the representation of Good versus Evil to learn about each character. The Montagues and the Capulets are introduced as two families who have had a long past of abhorring one another for a reason not specified. Juliet reveals to the audience of the friction between the families by saying “Prodigious birth of love it is to me/That I must love a loathed enemy!” (I v 154-155.) Juliet states this quote after she realizes that Romeo is a Montague, which is who she is supposed to hate, but she actually loves, which supports the love and hate category in duality. Later in the play, in Scene 2, we are drawn to a scene where Friar Lawrence is giving a monologue which he states, “Within the infant rind of this small flower /Poison hath residence and medicine power: /For this, being smelt, with that part cheers each part; /Being