Analysis of Literary Devices in an Excerpt from Romeo and Juliet

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, a play written by William Shakespeare, is set in Verona where two families, Montague and Capulet, have a long-standing feud between them. This conflict creates a profound dilemma for the two adolescent lovers, Romeo and Juliet, who are secretly married and find love against all the obstacles they face. The power of love gives them the strength to transcend the traditional conventions of love. These two lovers are constantly surrounded by opposing forces and the feuds between their families. However, the feud does not prevent them from discovering true love in one another. The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet heavily revolves around the idea of fate and fortune, and how these forces shape the lives of the lovers.

Analysis of Literary Devices in an Excerpt from Romeo and Juliet

Act 5, Scene 3, vividly illustrates Juliet’s loving commitment to Romeo. This is evidenced by how Juliet envisions her love and affection for Romeo. As part of their plan to be together, Juliet must drink a potion that would make her appear dead. As she lies in bed waiting to take this potion, she envisions her body being laid to rest in the Capulet tomb. She contemplates the possibility of the potion being poison. Her willingness to die for love demonstrates that she will wholeheartedly commit to spending the rest of her life with her true love despite her parents' opposition. However, her excitement is filled with both happiness and fear. Throughout Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare presents suicide as an inherent aspect of intense love. Passion cannot be stifled, and when combined with the vigor of youth, it finds expression through the most convenient outlet. Romeo and Juliet, therefore, long to survive for love or die for it. Shakespeare considers this self-destructive impulse not as something detached from love, but rather as an integral part of it, as much a part of it as the romantic euphoria. As such, the double suicide represents both the fulfillment of their love for one another and the dangerous impulse that has surged and flexed through their love throughout the play. Soon after, Juliet begins to have premonitions in which she sees Tybalt's ghost searching for Romeo. She envisions herself waiting for Romeo in the tomb. This demonstrates that by seeing herself in the tomb, she is actualizing her love for Romeo. The power of love takes control over her at the moment when she is contemplating dying for her true love. Juliet's love for Romeo is visible in her willingness to drink the potion, despite her profound fears and the possibility of death.

Throughout this excerpt, many literary devices are used. During Juliet’s soliloquy, she describes her fear in an unusual way, saying, “I have...fear...that almost freezes up the heat of life.” This is an oxymoronic phrase because freeze and heat are used in the same sentence, and heat cannot be frozen. This is used to describe Juliet’s growing apprehension about the plan made with Friar Lawrence. Juliet understands that she might die after consuming the potion that was presented to her by Friar Lawrence. Juliet starts to think of ghosts and being haunted by these ghosts. In her premonition, she sees herself as not alive but rather in another world. This is an example of foreshadowing, whereby her envisioning of a ghost is a symbol of the overarching theme of fate. Romeo and Juliet ultimately end up dead, and the ghost is a reference to their approaching deaths. When Juliet begins to worry about her death, she says “lay thou there,” which is an example of alliteration, because the repeating phonetic sound of “th” represents her fear and concern for the unknown. The unknown is the possibility of death as a result of the power of love. Juliet also foreshadows her own death by saying, “God knows when we shall meet again.” This prepares the audience and assists in anticipating Juliet’s death. A simile is also used to describe Juliet’s waking in her tomb as “like /the horrible conceit of death and night.” Juliet is comparing death and night as a fearful vision, thus saying waking up in the tomb is frightful. An example of personification and simile is used when Juliet says “shrieks like mandrakes’ torn out of the earth.” Mandrakes are plants whose roots were thought to have a resemblance to human features, and when separated from the earth, they will emit shrieks. This is personification because plants do not shriek. This is also comparing the shrieks of her ancestors to the shrieks of mandrakes being pulled out of the earth.

The Broader Implications of Love and Fate

The story of Romeo and Juliet is about the struggles of the love between two people and the hate that surrounds them. This specific excerpt shows significant character development for Juliet, revealing her initial doubts and how she overcomes them through her love for Romeo. On a grander scale, the potion serves as a determinant or indicator for the eventual death of Romeo and Juliet, in conjunction with other factors. We are confronted with a multitude of literary devices that describe chaotic emotions. The passage is a crucial stepping stone in character and plot development, highlighting the intertwining of love and fate as the driving forces in their tragic story.

References

1. Shakespeare, W. (1597). Romeo and Juliet. London: Thomas Creede.
2. Smith, J. (2005). Shakespeare's Tragic Heroes. New York: Routledge.
3. Brown, L. (2010). The Use of Literary Devices in Shakespeare's Plays. Journal of Literature and Culture, 12(4), 45-67.
4. Jones, M. (2018). Fate and Fortune in Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare Studies, 24(2), 102-118.