Language
Shakespeare is renowned for the language he used and often invented new words. Explore the way he uses rhythm and rhyme, imagery and metaphor and oxymorons and opposites in Romeo and Juliet.
Imagery and metaphor
Imagery in Romeo and Juliet is vivid and often poetic. It adds to the feelings that the characters express and often makes the language of the play beautiful and romantic. For example, when Romeo spots Juliet on her balcony, instead of saying "Oh, she looks nice!" he says 'It is the east, and Juliet is the sun'. This image of Juliet as the sun shows us how bright she appears to him. The sun is necessary for life, so perhaps Romeo is suggesting that Juliet is essential for his life.
Analysis of imagery and metaphor in the play
Question
What does Mercutio suggest in his monologue in Act 1 Scene 4 about the fairy, Queen Mab?
Mercutio’s monologue about the fairy, Queen Mab, is rich with fantastic and dreamlike imagery. He suggests it is foolish to believe in dreams because, like the characters in his speech, they are not real. He says:
MERCUTIO
I see Queen Mab hath been with you
Act 2 Scene 4
Question
Soon after Romeo and Juliet meet, Juliet invites him to kiss her. What kind of language do they use to express themselves?
Juliet and Romeo use language connected with religion when they first meet. Juliet says:
JULIET
My lips. two blushing pilgrims, ready stand
Act 1 Scene 5
Her lips are 'pilgrims' and the two teenagers seem to worship love. The 'blush' suggests that she is nervous about kissing Romeo.
Listening task
In Act 1 Scene 4, Mercutio describes the fairy, Queen Mab in his speech.
Romeo and Juliet language - imagery and metaphor
MERCUTIO
O then I see Queen Mab hath been with you:
She is the fairies' midwife, and she comes
In shape no bigger than an agate-stone
On the forefinger of an alderman,
Drawn with a team of little atomi
Over men's noses as they lie asleep.
Her chariot is an empty hazel-nut,
Made by the joiner squirrel or old grub,
Time out a’mind the fairies’ coachmakers:
Her wagon-spokes made of long spiders’ legs,
The cover of the wings of grasshoppers,
The traces of the smallest spider's web,
Her collars of the moonshine's wat’ry beams,
Her whip of cricket's bone, the lash of film,
Her waggoner a small grey-coated gnat,
Not half so big as a round little worm
Pricked from the lazy finger of a maid.
And in this state she gallops night by night
Through lovers' brains, and then they dream of love
Question
Which parts of creatures make up Queen Mab’s carriage?
Spider’s web and legs, grasshopper’s wings, and cricket’s bone.
What effect does Queen Mab have on the people she visits?
She makes them dream of love.
Opposites and oxymorons
In this play, two families are at war, the Capulets and Montagues. These two sides can be seen as opposites. Throughout the play, Shakespeare highlights other opposites that we find in life:
- life and death
- love and hate
- light and dark
This emphasises the hate and the love that exists between the two families.
When words with contradictory meanings are placed side by side, it is called an oxymoron. Again, they highlight the contradiction between Romeo and Juliet’s love against the backdrop of their warring families.
Analysis of opposites and oxymorons in the play
How does Shakespeare show the confusion Romeo is feeling about Rosaline?
Shakespeare uses oxymorons to convey Romeo’s emotions. Romeo says:
ROMEO
Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health
Act 1 Scene 1
The oxymorons in this passage highlight Romeo’s conflicting feelings. He feels that love is soft and gentle and simultaneously heavy.
Listening task
In Act 1 Scene 1, Romeo talks to Benvolio about his love for Rosaline and the effect that love is having on him. This speech by Romeo has lots of examples of oxymorons.
Romeo and Juliet language - opposites and oxymoron
ROMEO
Alas, that Love, whose view is muffled still,
Should, without eyes, see pathways to his will!
Where shall we dine? O me! What fray was here?
Yet tell me not, for I have heard it all:
Here's much to do with hate, but more with love:
Why, then, O brawling love, O loving hate,
O any thing, of nothing first create!
O heavy lightness, serious vanity,
Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms,
Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health,
Still-waking sleep, that is not what it is!
This love feel I, that feel no love in this.
Dost thou not laugh?
Question
Pick out three examples of oxymorons from the speech.
- 'Brawling love'
- 'loving hate'
- 'heavy lightness'
- 'feather of lead'
- 'bright smoke'
- 'cold fire'
- 'sick health'
- 'waking sleep'
Question
What do you think this section shows about Romeo’s state of mind?
It shows Romeo is confused.
Rhythm and rhyme
In this play Shakespeare uses a combination of rhyme and prose to tell us more about certain characters. The servants don’t speak in rhyme at all, and this shows us their lower social status. Romeo and Juliet, on the other hand, sometimes share rhymes which shows how emotionally in tune they are.
Analysis of rhythm and rhyme in the play
Question
What do the young lovers show us by speaking in ??
Romeo and Juliet show that their love is equal and shared. They say:
JULIET
Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake.
ROMEO
Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take.
Act 1 Scene 5
The couple not only speak in iambic pentameter, they also share rhyming couplets. This emphasises the fact that they are in tune and well-balanced in their love.
Listening task
Romeo and Juliet opens with two servants from the house of Capulet, Sampson and Gregory. They speak in prose which shows their lower social status. In addition, their language is full of puns that would be amusing to a contemporary audience.
Romeo and Juliet language - rhythm and rhyme
SAMPSON
Gregory, on my word, we'll not carry coals.
GREGORY
No, for then we should be colliers.
SAMPSON
I mean, and we be in choler, we'll draw.
GREGORY
Ay, while you live, draw your neck out of collar.
SAMPSON
I strike quickly, being moved.
GREGORY
But thou art not quickly moved to strike.
SAMPSON
A dog of the house of Montague moves me.
How does Sampson refer to members of the Montague household?
As 'dogs'.
Question
List any similar sounding words that the servants use.
They use 'coals', 'colliers', 'choler', and 'collar'.
Test yourself
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