Romeo and Juliet Flashcards
‘Star cross’d lovers take their life’
‘Star cross’d lovers take their life’
‘Star’- Celestial imagery = Lack of human responsibility. Shakespeare doesn’t like the idea that the Elizabethans rely on fate. Says that it is ‘not in stars to hold our destiny’. Society lacks a sense of responsibility and should acknowledge the consequences of their actions.
‘Cross’d’ - Adjective = They where always destined to cross paths and couldn’t avoid each other.
‘take their life’- Foreshadows their death, prologue attracts attention form audience. Their demise is antidote to feudi
‘My naked weapon is out: quarrel i will back thee’
‘My naked weapon is out: quarrel i will back thee’
‘naked’-Adjective= highlights masculinity effective at portraying self confidence hence making a man more intimidating
‘will’-model verb= They will fight for each other till death, shows the love within friends.
Metaphor for masculinity,inability to back down from a challenge. The Monetgues have done nothing wrong yet their just there. The double entendre and phalic imagery suggest they’re sexually aggressive. Litural sword is out but his phalic imagery is out. The servents arent part of the household but still wnat to fight. Highligjts how the fued has poisened the city
‘Part fools! Put up your swords’
‘Part fools! Put up your swords’
‘part’-imperative verb= indicates that Benvolio urgently wants to stop fighting as his names suggests he is the benevolent peacemaker.
‘fools’-noun=Here ‘fools’ is used as a noun to convey how he views the servants because of their unnecessary desire to fight. He finds their behavior thoughtless and unwise. Evidently, Benvolio is aware that the fighting would only serve to worsen the feud/spread disharmony.
‘heartless hinds’
‘heartless hinds’
metaphor-The opening prefix ‘heart’ is a play on the word ‘hart’, which is a male deer. Here, Tybalt attempts to emasculates the men present – the servants and Benvolio – by implying that their lack of fighting, and therefore violence, strips them of their masculinity. Cowardly
‘hinds’-noun=it continues the pun as it is a reference to a female deer. Tybalt continues to imply that the servants present are weak and womanly for not fighting at this moment. Contextually, men associated violence with masculinity, therefore, by not fighting, the men seem effeminate because of their submission. Whilst he is insulting the servants,
‘Give me my long sword, ho!…a crutch’
‘Give me my long sword, ho!….a crutch’
‘Give’-imperative verb=He is eager to fight and defend the honour and reputation of his household rather than use his position to pacify the fighting like Benvolio attempts to do.
‘ho!’-The exclamation mark, alongside this lexical choice, emphasises his urgent need to fight. It’s a reminder that masculinity is connected to displays of violence and aggression. It is evident he desires to express this
‘a crutch’=Lady Capulet to mock her husband. It is clear that he is too old to fight and her comments here serve to momentarily emasculate him as it is a reminder to those present, and to the audience, that he is not as young and healthy as the other men present.
‘if you ever disturb our streets again, your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace.’
‘if you ever disturb our streets again, your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace.’
Structural feature= The audience knows if they fight again after this they will die. Revealing the their fued ,which is so ‘ancient’ that they cant remember when it started, is greater than their lives
‘my child is yet a stranger…ripe to be a bride’
‘my child is yet a stranger…ripe to be a bride’
‘my’-Possessive pronoun= to emphasise Juliet’s position as his legal property. He will decree when, and to whom, Juliet will be married irrespective of how much Paris would like to marry her.
‘child’-noun=Noun. Heightens the notion that Juliet is too young for marriage and his approach to Paris’ request is one of caution.
‘stranger’=Capulet metaphorically describes her this way to imply that she is young, innocent and naïve when it comes to the ways of the world and, perhaps, the expectations that will be placed upon her. Capulet here is shown to be a loving and caring father
first time that Juliet is mentioned and she is not introduced as a character but rather spoken about by men. This highlights the patriarchal society she is trapped within: she is at the mercy of the decisions of others – her father’s here – and is expected to be silent and submissive towards the decisions made for her rather than be a part of them.
‘Compare her face……make thee think thy swan a crow’
‘Compare her face……make thee think thy swan a crow’
‘compare’-Imperative verb’=encourages Romeo to move on from this heart break (Petrachan lover) and tells him to judge other women at the Capulet ball. Benvolio objectifys women even though he’s peaceful. Typical male behavior
‘swan’-Metaphor using bird imagery=Swans are attractive, elegant and uncommon, which demonstrates how Romeo views Juliet. Benvolio recognises that Romeo believes there is no other who can surpass Rosaline’s beauty and charm. However, swans can also be arrogant, which suggests that Benvolio believes Rosaline to be so due to her rejection of male companionship
‘crow’- bird related metaphor=Crows are viewed as hideous, large and noisy yet intelligent. Not only is Benvolio implying that Romeo will find others who surpass Rosaline’s aesthetics but there is also the implication that men did not appreciate intelligence and independent thought in a women (like Rosaline displays by making her own life decisions) and, instead, favoured physical beauty
‘i’ll look to like if looking liking move’
‘i’ll look to like if looking liking move’
Here, she responds to her mother’s wish for her to agree to marry Paris; this response is both clever and evasive. She knows she cant marry without her father is consent, believes she can control love but in a matter of hours she falls in love with romeo. Hint of her rebellious nature
‘go girl, seek happy nights to happy days’
‘go girl, seek happy nights to happy days’
‘go’‘seek’=Imperatives ‘go’ and ‘seek’ show that the Nurse desires Juliet to find happiness, demonstrating the maternal bond she has with Juliet and the affection she feels for her. This completely juxtaposes the cold and distant approach of Lady Capulet who monopolises the conversation with Juliet/uses imperatives and is cold and distant towards her.
‘happy nights happy days’=The repetition of ‘happy’ alongside the connection between night and day convey that, for the Nurse, they are interconnected. ‘Happy nights’ is a euphemism regarding sexual fulfilment and the result of that satisfaction would be ‘happy days’ within marriage.Arguably, this reference to the physical demands of marriage is a reminder of Juliet’s supposed readiness for it, according to societal expectations.
‘I have a soul of lead’
‘I have a soul of lead’
Metaphor. ‘lead’ is heavy implying that his depression, due to Rosaline’s rejection, is weighing him down; he does not want to partake in the festivities in the same way as the others. Interestingly, ‘lead’ is also poisonous which may imply that he feels poisoned by love. Perhaps he feels burdened by his emotion which ‘stakes’ him to the ground as he feels oppressed by his unrequited love.
‘prick love for pricking and you beat love down’
‘prick love for pricking and you beat love down’
‘prick’‘beat’-imperative verb= Tells romeo to get over it. tells him to beat love down and be the ‘winner’
‘prick’-Double entandre= slang for male genitalia. plagued by violence conveying his reactionary and violent nature whilst illustrating his view of ‘love’ and perhaps highlighting how, for Mercutio, sex and violence are intertwined. Markedly, this conveys how Mercutio is a man who seeks out sexual gratification rather than romantic relationships with female companions, unlike Romeo, hence his advice here.
‘beat’-violent verb choice continues to illustrate Mercutio’s aggressive response. His message is to hurt love until it collapses or gives in, which perhaps is an indication of sexual violence towards women, something which has already been hinted at in the opening: ‘cut off the heads of the maids’.
‘Direct my sail!’
‘Direct my sail!’
Ship metaphor =Imperative verb. He is handing the direction of his life over to fate and surrendering himself over to its decisions. He refers to the captain of his metaphorical ship using the pronoun ‘he’, which could be a symbol of many things: fate. The implication here is that Romeo’s action aren’t his own or, at the very least, he doesn’t want them to be – he wants direction. Perhaps, due to the unrequited love. Shakespaere takes a problem with this
‘o she doth teach the torches to burn bright!’
‘o she doth teach the torches to burn bright!’
Metaphor=, Romeo explores how Juliet’s beauty is as radiant as light itself, if not more so, hence the idea that the light around her could learn from her – her presence makes the light appear dim. His reaction to her, and complete disregard for Rosaline, is meant to be the first indication that this is true love and not the infatuation he felt for Rosaline. Perhaps Juliet lights the way for women in literature
‘o’-vowel sound=to convey his passion and interest in her. It is clear that he has an intense physical attraction to her. Perhaps it’s also a signifier of his sexual desire for her.
‘BB’-Plosive alliteration=emphasises how her beauty has made it difficult for him to quantify it in words. He’s struggling to speak because of her exquisiteness. It captures his passion and enthusiasm for her.
‘Holy shrine…. Good pilgrim’
‘Holy shrine…. Good pilgrim’
Religious imagery= He worships Juliet and views his love for Juliet as a spiritual experience. Romeo puts Juliet in the powerful position in this relationship which is something never seen in the 14th century before. The blasphmous language is shocking for 14th and 16th centuery, love supersedes religion for R+J
‘deny thy father and refuse thy name’
‘deny thy father and refuse thy name’
‘deny’‘refuse’=imperative verbs= The once obedient Juliet decides to rebel against her father. Love is so powerful it has drived her to reject her family for Romeo
‘Juliet is the sun’
‘Juliet is the sun’
Celestial imagery= Fated to be together as suggested in prologue
Metaphor= Juliet is the centre of his universe and hell be guided by her like the planets are guided by the sun.
‘Sun’= Viewed as masculine, moon is feminine. Romeo casts her as the powerful figure in this relationship. He wants her to make the choice to be with him rather than be restricted by the demands of patriarchal society. Subversion of gender roles.
Sun is also viewed as fiery and explosive forshadowing that their love will be surrounded by danger and will burn out.
‘Too like the lightning’
‘Too like the lightning’
Simile. Juliet shows a level of perception and maturity here as she recognises that they are acting in haste .The specific reference to ‘lightning’ itself implies that their behaviour could end in destruction and violence mirroring the consequences of this natural event.
‘wisely and slow, they stumble that run fast’
‘wisely and slow, they stumble that run fast’
For shadowing= Romeos relationship has been progressing too quickly and it may cause a problem. The Friar acknowledged romeos hamarsha of impulsivity. Romeo rushes into things without thinking. Shakespeare uses the Friar to comment on wider society however there is a paradox in the Friar. He will stumble infront of the Prince and will have to admit everything. He says to not move on too quick but gets them married. Writer puts him in bad images as England was prodestant and Friar cathlic.
‘violent delights have violent ends’
‘violent delights have violent ends’
‘Violent’=Repetition conveying the ferocity of their love for one another. Etymologically, it stems from a root word that just means impetuous suggesting that Friar Lawrence is using it in this way to not only hint at their ‘violent’ end but at the impulsive and reckless way they act in their desire for one another, connecting to Romeo’s hamartia.
‘delights’=He warns Romeo that unless he and Juliet learn to love one another more moderately, their love shall result in disaster, foreshadow the ending of the play where Romeo and Juliet will meet ‘violent ends’. While they delight in each other, their love is based in the violent hatred between their families. Their relationship is wrapped in duality, borne in intense passions of both love and hatred.
‘peace be with you, sir: here comes my man’
‘peace be with you, sir: here comes my man’
‘peace’=Juxtaposes his initial statement that he hated ‘peace’, showing a different side to his typically aggressive behaviour.
‘my man’=Possessive pronoun ‘my’ conveys how his anger is so purely focused on Romeo that, at this point, Mercutio cannot provoke him into fighting. This is because he wants to defend the honour and reputation of both himself and his family after Romeo’s trespass at the feast. This phrasing is also very disrespectful to Romeo as he is the son of a Lord, meaning both men are of equal standing. This phrasing, however, would normally be used to talk about someone who is a follower or a servant thereby insulting Romeo’s position within society as someone inferior to Tybalt
‘o calm, dishonourable, vile submission’
‘o calm, dishonourable, vile submission’
‘o’=vowel sound to convey his shock at Romeo’s refusal to fight. Honour and reputation at this time were crucial and there was a strong belief that the slightest wrong or insult had to be avenged as a matter of personal pride or to protect reputation hence Mercutio’s surprise. Mercutio demonstrates his loyalty and courage when he takes up Tybalt’s challenge to defend his friend’s name.
. He is directly insulting Romeo as he believes his refusal to fight demonstrates cowardice and implies that he is afraid of Tybalt. Hi. The adjectives ‘calm’ and ‘dishonourable’ especially convey how Romeo appears effeminate in this moment as violence was connected to your masculinity and Romeo’s ‘calm’ response means he debases himself to this level.Via dramatic irony, only the audience are aware of Romeo’s true reasons for not fighting: his marriage to Juliet, which makes them family. DRAMATIC IRONY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
‘a plague o’ both your houses’
‘a plague o’ both your houses’
Repetition= Although Tybalt stabbed him he recognizes that both families have contributed to his death (stabbed under Romeos arm) Dreadful foreshadowing later in the play. When the Friar sent someone to deliver the letter to Romeo a ‘plague’ had spread in one of the villages so he couldn’t go.
‘a scratch a scratch’
‘if you ask for me tomorrow you shall find me a grave man’
‘thy beauty hath made me effeminate’
‘thy beauty hath made me effeminate’
Romeo blames love/Juliet’s beauty for making him weak and emasculated: he did not fight Tybalt and this action, he believes, resulted in Mercutio’s death. As a man, he is unconventionally not prone to behaving in a violent manner . It is clear he regrets not fighting Tybalt and he seems to blame Juliet for this. This is the precursor to his impulsive behaviour – his hamartia – where he briefly exhibits the toxic male qualities of the other male characters when he attacks Tybalt.
