Dreams can be an escape from reality, but dreamers must guard themselves against becoming trapped in that fantasy. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is the tragic love story of two lovers who are fated to doom. Mercutio’s “Queen Mab” speech explores the idea of how dreams can be deceiving which relates to Romeo and Juliet’s deceptive love for one another. By examining Shakespeare’s use of diction and imagery, the motif of dreams becomes evident. In the exposition, Shakespeare operates the use of imagery in Mercutio’s “Queen Mab” speech. Throughout his speech, Mercutio describes Queen Mab extremely small when he illustrates her as “In the shape no bigger than an agate stone”(1.4.11) and “Not half so big as a round little worm”(1.4.21). However, Mercutio also states that Queen Mab delivers “nightmares” to people when he states “And thus being frightened swears a prayer or two”(1.4.29). When the soldier awoke from his dream he finds himself fearful, but not in danger. Even though Queen Mab may be extremely small, her negative dreams cause a tremendous impact on others. The smallest things can have a positive or negative impact on an individual. Romeo and Juliet’s love seemed like a little harmless thing, but the reality was that their “love” led them to their eternal doom. Shakespeare applies the use of diction in the climax to further advance the motif of dreams. When Romeo first sees Juliet lying in the tomb he describes her as “Is crimson in thy lips and in thy
How do Shakespeare and Baz Luhrmann engage their audiences in the opening scenes and set up the major themes of the play and film? William Shakespeare was baptised on the 26th of April 1564 and he passed away on the 23 April 1616. He was an English poet and regarded as the best writer in the English language. William Shakespeare wrote many plays and one of his most famous ones is Romeo and Juliet. In Shakespeare’s times his actors would perform the play on a stage in the middle of the city.
In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare uses the love shared between Romeo and Juliet to show how moving love is and how deeply it can affect us. The strong affection Romeo and Juliet have for one another was ultimately their undoing. When Romeo heard news of Juliet’s death, Romeo rushed to the apothecary and asked him, “Let me have A dram of poison... That the life-weary taker may fall dead.” (V. i.63-65).
Is it love or lust? That’s for you to decide. If you think that young teens are immature and don’t know what love is, take a look at Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, it will prove your point perfectly. There are many arguments about Shakespeare’s “master of love” Romeo Montague. Some may say that he is a strong, independent man, who fights internal conflicts and his fears all in the name of love, while others say he’s a cowardly crybaby who makes absurd decisions resulting in tragedy among families.
Mercutio quickly calls him out, claiming “dreamers often lie” (I.4.56) and dreams are “nothing but vain fantasy” (I.4.105-107). Mercutio suggests his beliefs are skeptical and dreams do not show fate, aren’t genuine, and don’t pertain to the real world. Finally, Romeo, who sulks over love, is told by Mercutio to “borrow Cupid’s wings” and “soar with them above a common bound” (I.4.17-18). Mercutio tries to get Romeo over love, and Romeo responds negatively, saying he is too sore to fly due to the shot of Cupid’s arrow. This displays Mercutio’s optimistic and Romeo’s pessimistic personalities.
The king spoken about in Shakespeare’s Henry, is plague with sleeplessness and ponders why those lower than him can. The syntax express the king’s frustrated state of mind. Without the diction we lose the lead way that gives an idea of the king’s thoughts. Imagery only paints the picture of the perplexed nature of being unable to sleep.
In the prologue to Act 2 of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare uses literary devices, such as personification, comparisons/contrasts, foreshadowing, diction, and analogies to explain the love forming in the relationship between Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare’s use of personification in the first quatrain helps clarify Romeo’s recent feelings towards
In the play of “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare there are two star-crossed lovers, their names are Romeo and Juliet. The two of them go through many obstacles and hardships just to meet with one another. However, the rivalry between the Montagues and Capulets get in the way of their love. The author uses descriptive writing to portray the love between Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare uses literary devices, such as the metaphor, personification, oxymoron, and apostrophe, to show the lengths Romeo and Juliet would go to for each other’s love.
In Shakespeare’s tragedy play, Romeo and Juliet, “the two star-crossed lovers”, were killed due to grief and the harshness of them moving too quickly as they first met in the night of the party and got married in the next 24 hours. However, there were other aspects of this tragedy. Shakespeare tells us that the dreams
Juliet means that she has a premonition of Romeo's death. This is a example of fate and foreshadowing, because he leaves Juliet and goes on and later he dies in the tomb. This supports the thesis, because this dream foreshadows Romeo’s death, and Romeo even knowing that Juliet had a dream of him dying, he ignores
“Brutality of Love” through Figurative Language Figurative language is often used in many pieces of writing. The use of figurative language adds color, along with other numerous elements to the writing. Even themes can be advanced through the use of figurative language. Of course, this is not something unheard of, as Shakespeare himself used figurative language to advance certain themes in his writing, “Romeo and Juliet” -- a writing which dates back to the late 1500’s. Within the play/writing, “Romeo and Juliet”, the theme: “brutality of love” is quite evident through the use of figurative language types: personification, simile, and metaphor, as they are used to advance the theme.
Conclusion: William Shakespeare might have intended for Romeo and Juliet to represent how two people holding a strong bond of love can feel like they can disparage the hatred of the world, but such an immense passion eventually cannot exist in a world fueled by hatred and revenge. Works
Love can cause illusions and false realities that enhance the idea of perfection that does not really exist. Juliet’s idea of Romeo being a man of wax is questioned when Juliet learns that Romeo killed her cousin, Tybalt. She is conflicted as to whether she should hate Romeo or not for killing someone in her family. She exclaims, “Oh, that deceit should dwell/ In such a gorgeous palace!”
This first insistence comes when Mercutio addresses the merry group, calling that, “gentle Romeo, we must have you dance,” (Shakespeare I.iv.13). Mercutio is trying to cheer Romeo up, by having him dance, to get him out of his loving rut. Soon after, Romeo stakes the claim that he had a dream, presaging death, made due from the ensuing party. Mercutio taunts him, saying “that dreamers often lie,” and rants about the fictional Queen Mab (Shakespeare I.iv.50-115). Romeo adamancy ultimately succumbs after calming Mercutio, and after a final hesitation, goes to the masque.
In the infamous tragedy of the play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by William Shakespeare, the theme and influence of death are poignantly prevalent through the course of the play. The use of death in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is portrayed through 3 instances of the deaths of 4 major characters, Romeo, Juliet, Mercutio and Tybalt, in which the context of each death, are relative to the cause and development of their demise. Shakespeare capitalizes on the sophistication and complexity of death along with its varying impacts in relation to the context in which guides their tragedies. The death of Romeo is the result of his intense love and passion for Juliet as he refuses to exist in a world without his true love, “ The lean abhorrèd monster keeps thee here in dark to be his paramour? For fear of that, I still will stay with thee, And never from this palace of dim night depart again.”
Thesis Shakespeare illustrates the fine line between illusion and reality using love, which is a passion-driven combination of the two. The young lovers’ behavior, both in moments of potion induced dreams and wide awake reflection, highlight how close illusion and reality get when love is in the air, and how reason is all but thrown out when lovers reach a dream-like