Love

• "It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden" (Act 2, Scene 2)
• Asyndetic listing:

  • The use of asyndetic listing creates a breathless rhythm, presenting Juliet's emotional upheaval. Mirrors the tumultuous nature of Romeo and Juliet's encounter.
  • Reveals Juliet's inner conflict as she is seduced by Romeo's affection and disillusioned by the speed of their connection.
  • Juliets haste foreshadows her own hamartia, her struggle to mediate between passion and hate.
  • Juliets measured caution acts as a foil to Romeo's impetuous desire as while he is driven by immediate gratification and spontaneity, Juliet initially embodies more rationality.
• Rhetorical Repetition:

  • Repetition of "too" exemplifies epistaxis which intensifies Juliet's inner conflict.
  • Mimics her breathing, which is breathless and overwhelmed, yet analytical.
  • Conveys inexorability where relationship is spiralling forward at an uncontrollable speed
  • Dramatic Irony deepens as the audience begins to see her anxieties are justified, her critique of the relationship becomes a prophesy of doom.
• Context it relates to:

  • Ovid's Metamorphoses: Idea of lovers who are prevented from being together is seen in Pyramus and Thisbe about babylonians who fell in love but can't be together due to families rivalry. Mirrors tragic architecture of Romeo and Juliet, "too rash, too unadvised, too sudden" resonates with the lovers in Ovid's tale whose impetuous plans result in mutual destruction.
  • Astrology: Elizabethans believed that celestial bodies dictated the outcome of people's lives ad events. Juliet's effort to control the relationship as "too rash" is a resistance to the inexorable pull of the stars. Reflect an internalised tension between autonomy and astrological determinism.
• WOW knowledge:

  Temporal Compression:

  • The plays rapid pacing, compressing the action into 5 days hightens the sense of chaos and youthful impulsivity, structurally reinforcing Shakespeare's exploration of haste and recklessness.