Romeo

• The Sonnet Act 1:5


  First 14 lines are shared- the couple are perfect for each other and complete each other

  Iambic pentameter- like a heartbeat, represents their desire and nerves at new love

  Rhyme scheme (ababcdcdefefgg) Juliet echoes Romeo's words with her line endings showing she is influenced by him as a young lover

  Religious imagery- present a pure and sacred love

  Links the prologue sonnet - shows link between fate and love
• "Tears augmenting the fresh morning dew"-Montague, Act 1:1

  "Makes himself an artificial night", Montague, Act 1:1

  "Towards him I made; but he was ware of me"-Benvolio, Act 1:1


  He has been isolating himself from his friends and family and shutting himself in his room- we get the feeling he is a bit fickle and dramatic - a Petrarchan lover. And this is our first introduction to Romeo!
• "O brawling love, o loving hate"- Romeo , Act 1:1


  In the beginning, when he is pining for Rosaline he uses clichés and oxymoron's which makes him seem immature and inexperienced in love. His tragic flaw is falling in love too deeply too quickly. We could argue this is the only reason Rosaline exists, to demonstrate his passionate nature and tragic flaw
• "She will not stay siege of loving terms"-Romeo, Act 1:1


  Romeo is in emotional turmoil over Rosaline which reflects the chaos in Verona. Verona is divided by the family feud just as Romeo is divided by his unrequited love. The use of military terms such as "siege" foreshadows the ending because the end of the feud also means the end of his life
• "O she doth teach the torches to burn bright"- Romeo, Act 1:5


  Romeo's first description of Juliet being associated with the light. The lovers are associated with the dark where they can hide their love from the feud that haunts the daylight.
• "Did my heart love till now?"-Romeo, Act 1:5

  "For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night"-Romeo, Act1:5


  When he sees Juliet all feelings for Rosaline disappear which we could see as Romeo just being desirous of any beautiful woman, or because of his shift to blank verse and rhyme and because he begins a sonnet, we may feel his feelings are completely sincere. He has once again represented his tragic flaw however (falling in love too deeply too fast)
• "Verona brags of him to be a virtuous and well-governed youth"- Capulet, Act 1:5


  Even Romeo's enemies speak well of him because the whole of Verona does. Part of being a tragic hero is having noble birth and Romeo comes from a highly respected and wealthy family- the Montagues.
• "This holy shrine"-Romeo, Act 1:5

  "The gentle sin is this, my lips two blushing pilgrims ready stand"-Romeo, Act 1:5

  "Dear saint"- Romeo, Act 1:5

  Romeo starts to use religious language to describe Juliet and we see the depth of his love because in the Elizabethan era, using such images would be seen as blasphemous. The word "sin" contrasts with the "holy" and "saint" and "pilgrim" showing how their love contrasts from everything else and ultimately, their relationship will not be fruitful
• "Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take"-Romeo, Act 1:5


  We see the impulsive side to Romeo as he becomes more direct, persuading Juliet ( a young girl) to kiss him. Another part of his tragic flaw is his haste
• "Is she a Capulet? O dear account, my life is my foes debt"-Romeo, Act 1:5


  Upon finding out that Juliet is a capulet, the couple share a divided line which shows that the feud won't be able to separate them because they complete each other. This foreshadows the ending where even in death they will be together. Romeo says his life is in the hands of his enemy (fate)
• "Now old desire doth in his death-bed lie, and young affection gasps to be his heir"- Chorus, Act 2


  Rosaline has been completely forgotten and Juliet has filled that space in Romeo's heart. As an audience we question the sincerity due to how quickly he forgot Rosaline
• "(Capulet's Orchard)"- Act 2:2


  Romeo has jumped over the Capulet wall in his haste to see Juliet again which represents the metaphorical boundaries that are in place to separate the two lovers but also shows his pursuit of love
• "It is the east, and Juliet is the sun"- Romeo, Act 2:2


  He references Juliet as a source of light again, though we know the couple's love flourishes at night away from the rest of the world that contains the feud.
• "Kill the envious moon"-Romeo, Act 2:2


  Romeo personifies the moon as being jealous and these romanticised images could suggest he is being a little idealistic and dramatic with the flush of new love
• "The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars"-Romeo, Act 2:2

  Another reference to light and dark where Juliet's light represents her innocence and purity from the rest of the world. In the Elizabethan era, to remain chaste until marriage was necessary for a woman to be "pure" and would allow them a good reputation in society.
• "Bright angel"- Romeo, Act 2:2

  "Winged messenger of heaven"-Romeo, Act 2:2

  "Fair maid"-Romeo, Act 2:2

  Romeo confesses his love using a BLAZON ( a love poetry popular in Elizabethan times). It often involved the comparison of female body parts to nature (e.g. Juliet is the sun) but also religious imagery such as these. These unrealistic and exaggerated comparison show his fickle nature of love and tragic flaw
• "Call me but 'love', and I'll be new-baptised"-Romeo, Act 2:2


  Shows how Romeo will do anything for Juliet- ironic because we know he will go further than getting a new name- he will kill himself
• "I have night's cloak to hide me from their eyes"-Romeo, Act 2:2


  We see Romeo as brave because Juliet reminds him that if he is caught , he will be killed. But he references the dark again and demonstrates how unlike the rest of the world, the dark is where their love flourishes and it will protect them from the daylight (the feud)
• "Th' exchange of thy love's faithful vow for mine"-Romeo, Act 2:2


  At the end of the balcony scene they agree to marry (remember they have known each other for less than a day!)
• "This I pray, that thou consent to marry us today"-Romeo, Act 2:3

  "They stumble that run fast"-Friar Lawrence, Act 2:3


  Romeo goes to the friar and typically ignores the friar's advice against haste. Romeo wants to marry Juliet that same day and again we see his tragic flaw of impulsiveness that will eventually bring about his downfall.
• Act 2:6 - The Wedding


  The wedding of Romeo and Juliet is the rising action as we are interested in what is going to happen next however we anticipate a climax (this will be Romeo's refusal to duel with Tybalt)
• "sweeten with thy breath" "rich music's tongue" "imagined happiness"- Romeo, Act 2:6

  Romeo uses very elaborate language in his declaration of love to Juliet which interestingly she is not keen on. Words are not enough to describe the love they share
• "I do protest I never injured thee, but loved thee better than thou canst devise"-Romeo, Act 3:1


  Romeo is in no mood for fighting Tybalt after just getting married but it is his refusal to duel that actually accelerates the violence. Not only does it anger Tybalt more but Mercutio despairs at Romeo's lack of masculine honour- a huge part of a man's reputation in Elizabethan society
• "Good Mercutio, put thy rapier up"-Romeo, Act 3:1


  Romeo tries to avoid a fight by getting Mercutio to stand down but it actually catalysts him into a rage about masculine honour . When Mercutio eventually dies Romeo shows his tragic flaw again by hastily acting out of anger instead of the love he just displayed
• "(They fight. Tybalt falls)"-Act 3:1


  Romeo blames himself for putting his love for Juliet above his loyalty to Mercutio and attacks Tybalt with no regard to Juliet now which shows his impulsiveness and tragic flaw.
• "O sweet Juliet, thy beauty hath made me effeminate"-Romeo, Act 3:1


  Elizabethan society believed that a man too much in love lost his manliness and here Romeo is starting to believe that. We see 2 versions of Romeo in Act 3:1, the one who is loyal to his wife regardless of it seeming like cowardice and the one who acts out of anger and kills Tybalt
• "O I am fortune's fool!"-Romeo, Act 3:1

  Tybalt's death forces Romeo to realise that he is a victim of fate. The quick turn of events suggests the inevitability of the couple's doom because ultimately fate is in control.
• "Ha, banishment? Be merciful, say death"-Romeo, Act 3:3

  "There is no world without Verona walls"-Romeo, Act 3:3


  After the previous scene where Juliet reacts considerably maturely to the news of Romeo's banishment, we see a more immature and selfish side to Romeo who cannot see how banishment is any better than death
• "To mangle me with that word banished?"-Romeo, Act 3:3

  Romeo repeats the word "mangled" which Juliet used in her scene with the nurse which shows again how fate is working against the couple and ultimately has the upper hand
• In Act 3:3, Romeo tries to kill himself after hearing the news of his banishments


  We see the selfish side of Romeo because he has just killed Tybalt with no consideration of Juliet and is wanting to kill himself now with no consideration for Juliet
• "I must be gone and live or stay and die"-Romeo, Act3:5


  The couple have just spent their wedding night together but the dawn has once again interrupted them and caused them to part. This is a sad scene because it is the last time that they will properly see each other
• "And breathed such life with kisses in my lips"-Romeo, Act 5:1


  Romeo, now in Mantua has dreamt that he died and Juliet resurrected him with a kiss so is in good spirits at the start of this scene. This is full of dramatic irony because his dream anticipates the ending where Juliet will try to kiss the poison from his lips
• "Then I defy you, stars"-Romeo, Act 5:1

  When Balthasar tells Romeo that Juliet is dead he acts out of defiance to fate, realising fully that they are puppets on a string. However his haste (tragic flaw) will act as fate's vehicle
• "Hast thou no letters to me from the friar?"-Romeo, Act 5:1


  Dramatic irony because we know that if he will just wait and not act hastily he will receive one and the ending of the play might have been different
• "Well, Juliet, I will lie with thee tonight"-Romeo, Act 5:1


  Romeo decides almost straight away that if he cannot be with Juliet in life he will join her in death
• "I sell thee poison, thou hast sold me none"- Romeo, Act 5:1


  Romeo has bought poison from the apothecary but says that it is money that acts as poison to a person's mind because it can do far more damage than what the apothecary can sell (is this the influence of a sacred love on Romeo?)
• "By heaven I love thee better than myself"- Romeo, Act 5:3


  Romeo tries to avoid a fight with Paris, and says similar words of what he said to Tybalt when refusing his duel. This shows again how fate is in control
• "One writ with me in sour misfortune's book"-Romeo, Act 5:3


  Romeo describes Paris as a victim of fate and shows sympathy towards him
• "This vault a feasting presence full of light"- Romeo, Act 5:3


  Light and dark imagery used to describe Juliet as a source of light in the dark and miserable tomb because of her beauty
• "Death...hath had no power on thy beauty"-Romeo, Act 5:3


  Romeo continues to refer to Juliet being beautiful in death - dramatic irony because we know she is slowly recovering and will soon wake up . He personifies death and claims that it is keeping Juliet so beautiful so that they can be lovers. It is also bleak irony because we know that this beauty will force Romeo to commence his own suicide