Romeo Quotes Flashcards
“O brawling love, loving hate”
Oxymoron- shows Romeo’s conflicted feelings about love and his inexperienced and juvenile nature
Notions of this are how Romeo blends the joy and satisfaction of the unrealistic edenic stigmatisation of love with the desolation of unrequited love- subversion of love
Symbolic of immaturity and melodramatic nature which juxtaposes his pure love with Juliet
“O brawling love, loving hate” 2
Language- “love” abstract noun juxtaposes the dynamic verb “brawling” introduces the notion of the subversion of love in the play- love is manipulative and malicious- it compels Romeo- love symbolises femininity and guardianship and blending it with a violent dynamic verb initiates the corruption that love does to the couple.
Context- Romeo takes on the role of a Petrarchan lover- Petrarch is an Italian medieval poet who introduced the concept of Petrarchan love
Romeo is infatuated with Rosalind and possesses elaborate, artificial dialogue with melodramatic sonnets
Petrarch often objectified women which Romeo imitates with Rosalind and Juliet- patriarchal society led romeo to internal turmoil and self imposed solitude
“O brawling love loving hate” 3
Structure- 13 lines- imperfect sonnet- reflects Romeo’s imperfect and flawed experience with love
Imitates Petrarchs exaggerated sonnets at first then as play progresses he begins to speak in blank verse allowing his language to sound less artificial and more authentic
“O brawling love loving hate” 4
Rosaline never comes up physically during the play which allows Shakespeare to present her as more of an abstract concept then a person. This juxtaposes the tangible, real love Romeo has with Juliet
“I am fortunes fool’
Fatalism- date is predestined- the unlimited authority that date possesses
Romeo sees himself as subject to the whims of fate
Fate is personified as a real human to convey destiny as relatable
Romeo believes he is being used for fates entertainment and is being treated as no more than a puppet
Very dominant and powerful- fate plays a significant role
“I am fortunes fool” 2
Boethius’ wheel of fortune- Boethius Roman philosopher
Fortuna- Roman goddes- symbolises good and bad fortune- randomly disseminated luck amongst mankind- fates arbitrary nature
“Fool”- address term- medieval times a fool was a member of a household of a nobleman or monarch which in this case is fortune itself.
Fortune is manipulative and dominant and duplicitous
“I am fortunes fool” 3
Parataxis- lack of intervening words emphasises the inevitably of the situation as well as the tragic nature of events unfolding
Can reference fates in Greek mythology- 3 very old women who spun the threads of human destiny- considered to be above gods
Romeo is in denial- he is to blame not fate
“Fortunes fool”- both begin with “f”- fruchtige agression- symbolises agresssion and devestatiob
Romeo’s masculine agression at fault
“It is the east and Juliet is the sun”
“Arise fair sun and kill the envious moon”
Example of light/dark motif- sun and moon direct opposites binary opposition
“Kill envious moon”- dual meaning-Diana-Roman goddess who is the protector and who virgins worship- symbolises Juliet’s chastity and innocence
Diana being a virgin goddess reminds audience of Juliet’s natural image of purity and youth. And Romeo’s carnal desires to be with her
Night serves as a protective shield yet also reminds them of the horrors which are close by
“It is the east and Juliet is the sun”
“Arise fair sun and kill the envious moon”2
Celestial imagery- exhibits egotistical universe at which Romeo is the god the centre, the creator- divine control
Commanding imperatives- Romeo also treats himself like god- desire to possess power over Juliet- objectification- patriarchal society reminder- r has jurisdiction over j
“It is the east and Juliet is the sun”
“Arise fair sun and kill the envious moon”3
“Sun”- proper noun- R puts J at heavenly status- his besotted by her
- nessacary for all life on earth and essential for Romeo’s life
An annihilating force- harshley reveals hidden things
Bestower of light and life
Normally sun is garish and lurid but Romeo describes it as “east” so it is softer and nicer
Context- Chinese culture- sun represents male energy and masculine influence- signifies Juliet’s transition into rebelliousness and patriarchy
“Fire-eyed fury be my conduct now”
Metaphor- Romeo’s impulsiveness and hamartia
Character development is noticeable yet he has violent outbursts- plays a part in the downfall and tragedy in r and j
Act 3 scene 3- Romeo descends into a childlike emotional state
Romeos spontaneous nature is frequent: he falls in love with Juliet within seconds of noticing her, marries her a day after, takes revenge for m’s des rn and dying in suicide leading to downfall in r and j
“Fire eyed fury be my conduct now” 2
Semantic field of hell- “fire eyed” and “fury” and “conduct”- hellish imagery - “conduct”- behavioural noun- love is compelling Romeo to think irrationally which introduces the subversion of love
Love is the mastermind and manipulator- controls Romeo to think impulsively links to complexity and corruption of love which intoxicated him
“Fire eyed fury be my conduct now”. 3
Abstract noun- “fury” links to the furies in Greek mythology- goddesses of vengeance and retribution- punished men for crimes against natural order- reminded of sudden switch to tragedy- tragic flaws
Frictions agression- “f”
Elizabethans believed love made men effeminate. R is seen as aggressive putting the love that made him weak aside
Provides sharp juxtaposition- shift to tradgedy
Romeo described as both “heaven” and “hell”- binary opposition and religious rhetoric
Puts him at a state of purgatory cleansing of sin
J described as “angel” the one who will take Romeo ti heaven
