Romeo and Juliet essay 10BP  

“My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep; the more I give to thee the more I have, for both are infinite”-Romeo. This is expressing fate though Romeo’s feelings it is seen throughout the play and is referred to as the sea being his fate and he is sailing it. This is a metaphor, a device used by Shakespeare to portray fate in his play, Romeo and Juliet. Fate is an important idea used in Shakespeare play. It is shown through language and literary devices, such as foreshadowing, dialogue, plot line, metaphors and personification this helps add great depth and understanding to Shakespeare’s idea of Fate in his play Romeo and Juliet.

One literary device used to express the idea of fate in Romeo and Juliet is foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is when a character predicts a future event in the dialogue, one scene where Shakespeare uses foreshadowing is expressed through Frair Lawrence’s “words these violent delights have violent ends”. This is foreshadowing that Romeos and Juliet’s love for each other “violent delights” will end in death “violent ends”. Another scene In Romeo and Juliet which uses foreshadowing is after Mercutio’s death Romeo says “this day’s black fate on moe day doth depends the woe others must end”, Romeo is foreshadowing that only terrible things will come from Tybalt’s doing which may not be mendable. Another device Shakespeare also uses is Irony in Romeo and Juliet and is seen through the idea of destiny which Romeo quotes before the Capulet ball ” I fear too early: for my mind misgives some consequence still hanging in the stars”. This is Romeo referring to destiny and a way of saying something is about to happen to this character. Foreshadowing and Irony are two ways which Shakespeare uses in his dialogue to express his idea of fate in Romeo and Juliet.

Another way fate is portrayed through Shakespeare’s play is through the plot line. The plot line is a significant part of the play as it is what holds our events together, fate is shown through the plot line when Romeo does not receive the letter for Friar Lawrence on Juliet faked death. This is a reference to the black plague a disease carried by rats which caused millions of deaths around the world, it refers to the time period the play was written in as many letters in the time could not be delivered due to the risk of spreading the disease. Fate can also be seen in the plot line in the scene when Romeo and Benvolio Meet The servant who can not read, this is showing the idea of fate as if they had not met the servant Romeo may not have ever met his love, Juliet, holding massive significant to the plot line. The plot line holds great importance for the play as it holds our dialogue together but can also be used for expressing a continuous idea that is carried out for the most part of a play/book such as fate.

The other way Shakespeare possess his idea of fate in Romeo and Juliet is using Language devices, one language device Shakespeare carries throughout the play are metaphors. One way metaphors are used in Romeo and Juliet, is when Romeo refers to the sea “My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep; the more I give to thee the more I have, for both are infinite”. This connects to fate as it expresses Romeo’s feelings throughout the play and is referred to as the sea being his fate and he is sailing it. “The dashing rocks thy seasick weary bark” in this metaphor it is comparing  Romeos suicide to a crashing ship and the captain “Romeo”  Meeting the end of his Journey. Another device used to express the idea of fate in Romeo and Juliet is personification. It is shown through the words of Romeo “is love a tender thing it is too rough, too rude too boisterous and it pricks like a thorn” this contradicts that Romeo throughout the play will suffer from his love and feelings “too rough too boisterous” and we will see it follow out through the play. Language devises in Romeo and Juliet have been devised well that they work in an effective way to express to the audience/reader more than what meets the eye.

In conclusion, Fate is well-portrayed in Romeo and Juliet, it has been thought out and devised in a clever manner that gets the Audience/reader to contemplate about the play. It is a predominant idea used in Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet, the way it is shown through language and literary devices is imaginative and is a reason why his plays are so famous to this day. Thanks to foreshadowing, dialogue, plot line, metaphors and personification we can create an understanding of Shakespeare’s writing and how well thought out it really is centuries after it was written and performed.

 

-Jack Liddell

 

 

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