Juliet Flashcards
‘my only love sprung from my only hate!’
A1
-juxtaposition - the juxtaposing ‘love’ and ‘hate’ encapsulates the core conflict of these two concepts which underpins the play. As it is said in act 1, this foreshadows the intertwined nature of passion and violence - these two forces will become indistinguishable, catalysing the tragedy further
-repeated personal pronoun ‘my’ - highlights Juliets prioritisation of her own love over societal and familial expectations that once restricted her. The young eponymous character of Juliet is blinded by passion and is ignorant to the dangers of this prohibited love. As ‘hate’ ends this sentence, it could foreshadow how the feud will symbolically and physically end her and romeos love.
‘if he be married,/my grave is like to be my wedding bed’
A1
-dramatic irony - the prologue ‘star-crossed’ sets the stage for the audience, foretelling the tragic destiny awaiting both Romeo and Juliet. This creates dramatic irony since Juliet remains unaware of her impending fate. Her impulsive nature becomes her hamartia, as she fails to grasp the true consequences of pursuing forbidden love. Shakespeare follows Aristotles conventions of tragedy, aiming to produce pathos from the audience. here, pathos arises from Juliets youthful recklessness in love, ultimately leading to her demise.
-the syntax of ‘grave’ before ‘wedding bed’ hints at Juliets looming death before she can consummate her marriage with Romeo. This foreshadowing, coupled with Juliets obliviousness to her grim fate, reinforces deterministic themes - Juliets tragic ending was predetermined by cosmic forces.
‘deny thy father and refuse thy name’
A2S2
-semantic field - ‘deny’ and ‘refuse’ create a semantic field of defiance, this illustrating her rebellion and defiance against the constraints of her family feud and commitment to true love. This declaration exemplifies her to be rather impulsive and fervid in the way that she loves which is again characteristic of the sign that she is born under, Leo. The elizabethans believed celestial bodies to have an enormous influence over a persons disposition which explains why Juliet is so akin to those traits of her sign
-patriarchal society - Juliets statement to ‘deny thy father’ goes against the norms of patriarchal society where daughters were considered their fathers property, used to enhance his political and social standing through arranged marriages. By rejecting her father, Juliet challenges a fundamental societal structure. This reinforces her blind passion, disregarding societal norms and considering no institution, whether legal, familial or religious as a barrier.
‘o serpent heart, hid with a flowering face’
A3
-biblical allusions - the term ‘serpent’ carries biblical allusion to the story of Adam and eves fall in genesis. Juliets use of this term suggests her disillusionment with their love. Just as the serpent brought sin and suffering into the world in genesis, Juliet realises that romeos involvement in her life will lead to similar consequences. The religious undertones may also reflect Juliets recognition of her deviation from religious teachings. By defying societal norms for the sake of love, she now questions the strength of their love.
-natural imagery - the natural image with ‘serpent’ and ‘flowering’ makes hatred and love seem natural and innate. Critic D. A Traversi says that ‘love and death’ are ‘separate and identical’ in the play, this is clear as Juliets passionate hatred for Romeo here has similarities for her passionate love for him throughout.
‘then ill be brief. O happy dagger’
A5
-oxymoron - the term ‘happy dagger’ is oxymoronic as the joyous connotation of ‘happy’ starkly contrasts with the deadly imagery of ‘dagger’. this juxtaposition illustrated Juliets profound sorrow as she seeks comfort in death, seeing it as an eternal reunion with Romeo. This act of self-sacrifice characterises her as a tragic heroine. Her strength and self discovery is clear at the start yet her passionate nature ultimately leads to her tragic end.
-diction on ‘brief’ - the diction on ‘brief’ shows Juliets urgent desire to escape from a world where their forbidden love challenges societal norms enforced by law, family and religion. In death they can finally be together free from these obstacles. Her urgency to speed up the process highlights her impulsiveness and recklessness is her hamartia - the very qualities that have led directly to her imminent demise.
