juliet

• Capulet: "My child is yet a stranger in the world,/ She hath not seen the change of fourteen years;" (I.ii.8-9)


  Shakespeare emphasises how Juliet is stuck in a period between childhood and adulthood: Capulet describes her as a "stranger", yet discusses her forthcoming marriage to Paris. This alludes to how Julliet is constantly caught between opposing forces. Juliet is only 13, which was still an uncommon age to get married in Shakespeare's time.
• Nurse: "...Thou wilt fall backwards when thou hast more wit,/ Wilt thou not, Jule?"

  Shakespeare illustrates how patriarchal Verona is, as the Nurse and her husband had discussed Juliet reaching sexual maturity even when she was a child. This highlights how Juliet has always been seen as an object to be married off. The use of the rhetorical question is ironic, as Juliet is not being given a choice. It rather cements the inevitability of Juliet's circumstance.
• Romeo: "O she doth teach the torches to burn bright!...As a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear-" (I.v.43-52)


  Regular rhyming couplets heighten the feeling of love - they are two lines fit together as a singular unit/ anatomy. This suggests Juliet is able to reciprocate Romeo's feelings. Juliet is metaphorically portrayed as transcendental in this extract, as she "teaches the torches," is a "snowy dove" amongst "crows", and her beauty is "for earth too dear". Furthermore "dove[s]" generally have biblical connotations of good luck and crows have connotations of bad luck. Shakespeare establishes the lexically cohesive conflict between light and dark in this extract. This alludes to the "artificial night" in Scene 1, which emphasises the weight of Juliet's presence in the character's narrative arc. Shakespeare also portrays the objectification of Juliet, with the metaphor "As a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear-".
• Juliet: "My grave is like to be my wedding bed". (I.v.134)


  Shakespeare showcases a meta-theatrical foreshadowing of the play's events. Freudian ideas of eros and thanatos can be identified in this quote; love and sex lead to death. Shakespeare allegorically links the "wedding bed", a symbol of intimacy, sex and love, to a grave which is associated with death and decay. Demonstrates how oppositions are intertwined in the play.
• Juliet: "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?/ Deny thy father and refuse thy name;" (II.ii.33-34)


  Juliet reveals the futile and trivial nature of the feud that separates them by acknowledging that is only due to a name. This demonstrates her wisdom and shows a more spiritual and wise understanding of the cogs of Veronian society. "Deny", and "...refuse" are imperatives, which suggests a conflict with fate: she wants Romeo to take action. When she asks Romeo to "refuse [his] name", it indicates a youthful sense of idealism and naivety. This highlights two sides of her character, her wisdom and her youthfulness; she is intelligent but naive.
• Juliet: "If they do see thee, they will murder thee." (II.ii.70)


  Shakespeare establishes Juliet's character as a reasoned and realistic person. Her transition to simple one-liners emphasises her cautious thinking. The use of the dominant monosyllabic wording adds realism and steadfast nature to her character. "Murder" is the only word that is not monosyllabic, indicating it's importance in the line. The presence of violence drives this line and unlike love, it is not poetic, but real and definite like the simple syntax of the line.
• Juliet: "O swear not by the moon, th'inconstant moon.../ Do not swear at all/ Or if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self" (II.ii.109-113)


  Shakespeare presents Juliet as favouring actions as she rejects the ideas of traditional fake love and encourages Romeo to follow a love more spontaneous and unrehearsed. Juliet's half-line imperative riposte "Do not swear..." emphasises her decisive nature. Shakespeare's monosyllabic phrases highlight how assertive she is; this is antithetical to Romeo's lyrical language. The caesura in line 13, puts more weight in the imperative command of Juliet's. This means she is not a passive participant in this event
• Juliet: "O Fortune, Fortune, all men call thee fickle;/...Be fickle, Fortune:/ For then I hope thou wilt not keep him long..." (III.v.60-64)


  Anthropomorphism of "Fortune", makes fate's presence more real. Fricatives of "Fortune" with "fickle", draws attention to these words. The form of address "thou", shows that Juliet is on equal footing with "Fortune". This could be attributed to the fact that "Fortune" was personified as a female during the Elizabethan era. Indicates a relationship between Juliet and "Fortuna", who are both women.
• Juliet: "Good father, I beseech you on my knees,/ Hear me with patience but to speak a word./ She kneels down." (III.v.158-59)


  Stage direction of "kneel[ing]" makes this action religious- like praying. The word "father", both literally means biological father, but also the religious holy "father", who is God. This indicates that Capulet is in charge and dominates the family, whilst Juliet must be subservient.
• Juliet: "I pray thee leave me to myself tonight.../To move the heavens to smile upon my state,/ Which, well thou knowest, is cross and full of sin." (IV.iii.2-5)


  This shows her final detachment from the two maternal figures of her life. It indicates that she asserts her independence and growth into a new level of emotional maturity. Use of dramatic irony, "thou knowest", exposes how Juliet is attempting to make the nurse feel guilty. Maidens had to sleep with Nurses as a symbol of preserving their virginity. This alludes to patriarchal pursuit of controlling female sexuality
• Juliet: "...O happy dagger,/ Taking Romeo's dagger/ This is thy sheath;/ Stabs herself/ there rust, and let me die." (V.iii.169-170)


  Uses inverted metaphors; the dagger is personified as "happy", whereas her body becomes its "sheath". This shows the idea that love and death are inextricably linked. Shakespeare lexically cohesively phrases Juliet's dialogue with monosyllables, which highlights her affirmative and assertive quality. In Roman tradition, stabbing was the most honourable and noble form of suicide. Thus, Shakespeare presents Juliet as a tragic hero. Tragedies are often linked with the conflict between individual action and arbitrary fate. This is her only act of violence, but is also the play's final act of violence. Juliet's action, thus exerts a change in society. Shakespeare therefore is promoting the idea that action is necessary to bring about a new order