Romeo and Juliet: Act II Close Reading of one of Juliet's speeches from "The Balcony Scene," Act II, Scene II -- the theme of 'star crossed' (i.e. doomed) love
JULIET
Well, do not swear: although I joy in thee,
I have no joy of this contract to night:
It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden;
Too like the lightning, which doth cease to be
Ere one can say 'It lightens.' Sweet, good night!
This bud of love, by summer's ripening breath,
May prove a beauteous flower when next we meet.
Good night, good night! As sweet repose and rest
Come to thy heart as that within my breast!
The balcony scene of "Romeo and Juliet" has provided modern romantic tragedy with one of its most long-standing images of young love and beauty. The play's most familiar image is that of young and beautiful Juliet standing above her beloved Romeo on a balcony while professing her affection for the honest and open young man. However, a close reading of the text suggests that the actual language of these adolescents is filled with dramatic foreshadowing of their eventual fate -- the language of death that runs through the play, regarding the romance of the protagonists. Even when Juliet is declaring her love for Romeo, there is a sense that between...
JULIET Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I'll no longer be a Capulet. British actor, director and playwright Robert Rawles went one step further and used his passion and expertise of the theater and Shakespeare to rewrite Romeo and Juliet in a true modern-day language version called Rikki and Julie to help students better explore the play
) "Sonnet 130" by Shakespeare and "Sonnet 23" by Louis Labe both talk about love, as so many sonnets do. Their respective techniques however, differentiate them from each other. Shakespeare uses a rhyme scheme that became known as Shakespearean rhyme scheme or English rhyme. He writes about love in a sarcastic manner though. He is mocking the traditional love poems and the usual expressive manner in which women are often compared
SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS William Shakespeare and his plays are the main topic of discussion in this paper. William Shakespeare is one of the greatest names whose literary contributions and writings are considered as assets for the literary world. Shakespeare's plays and writings are of considerable importance for the readers all around the world because his writings and power of expression are unmatchable. William Shakespeare and his plays have in fact formed
(Shakespeare V.ii.201-4) In these scenes, the Chorus adds something significant to the play. The Chorus encourages us to use our "imaginary forces" and create the "might monarchies./Whose high upreared and abutting fronts/the perilous narrow oceans parts asunder" (Prologue.21-3). In addition, the Chorus tells us to "Think when we talk horses that you see them/Printing their proud hoofs i' the receiving earth;/for 'tis your thoughts that now must deck our kings" (Prologue.
Yet despite the fact that the play's title is nothing but his name, Othello is arguably not really the central figure of the story. Iago is far more instrumental in moving the plot forward; it is his (not fully explained) hatred of Othello that the play is concerned with, and though Othello is obviously necessary as the object of Iago's hatred and jealousy, he takes a largely passive role in
Homosexuality in Shakespeare's Tragedies Elements of sexuality and lust are very openly present in the works of Shakespeare's tragedies. No matter if one is reading Othello, Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet, one can't deny the frequent allusions to concepts such as love and lust, hatred and desire, want and self-absorption, even violence as they relate to relationships and sexuality. This common theme pervaded much of the work that was written during
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