Theme 7: Youth (Impulsiveness) Flashcards
- Romeo sees Juliet for the first time (A1S5)
“Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight!”
• What: Instantly forgets Rosaline for Juliet
• How:
• Rhetorical question = dramatic self-contradiction
• **Caesura after “Forswear it” = emotional shock/fracture
• **Hyperbole “true beauty” = love based on appearance
• **Tone = feverish awe → no reflection
• Why: Embodies youthful volatility → feelings shift instantly
• Character: Romeo
• Themes: youth, impulsiveness, love/relationships
- Juliet speaks of love too fast (A2S2)
“It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden.”
• What: Juliet recognises her impulsiveness
• How:
• **Tricolon + anaphora “too” = tumbling thought process
• **Asyndeton quickens pace → mimics racing heart
• **Juxtaposes awareness vs emotional surrender
• **Tone = conflicted caution
• Why: Youth aware of consequences but overwhelmed by passion
• Character: Juliet
• Themes: youth, impulsiveness, love/relationships
- Friar warns about rushing (A2S6)
“These violent delights have violent ends.”
• What: Warns love that starts fast will collapse
• How:
• **Epigrammatic syntax = moral proverb
• **Repetition “violent” = warning echoed
• **Antithesis “delights” / “ends” = emotional duality
• **Foreshadowing → dramatic irony unfolds
• Why: Adults see danger in youthful intensity → ignored by lovers
• Character: Friar Laurence
• Themes: youth, impulsiveness, fate
- Mercutio provokes Tybalt (A3S1)
“O calm, dishonourable, vile submission!”
• What: Condemns Romeo’s refusal to fight
• How:
• **Tricolon + crescendo of insult = building rage
• **Alliterative harshness = verbal attack
• **Dismisses diplomacy = impulsive masculinity
• **Foil to Romeo’s new restraint
• Why: Youthful pride overrides logic → fuels deadly outcome
• Character: Mercutio
• Themes: youth, impulsiveness, conflict, honour
- Romeo kills Tybalt in revenge (A3S1)
“Fire-eyed fury be my conduct now.”
• What: Lets rage guide his actions
• How:
• **Metaphor “fire-eyed fury” = blinding anger
• **Personification of emotion = loss of control
• **Alliteration = accelerates rhythm of emotion
• **Declarative = no space for reflection
• Why: Impulsiveness replaces reason → youth becomes tragic force
• Character: Romeo
• Themes: youth, impulsiveness, conflict, fate
- Juliet threatens suicide (A4S1)
“If in thy wisdom thou canst give no help… with this knife I’ll help it presently.”
• What: Will kill herself if no escape from marriage
• How:
• **Conditional threat = desperate ultimatum
• **Euphemism “help” = sugarcoating death
• **Irony → knife later causes real death
• **Tone = controlled but fatalistic
• Why: Youth equates loss of autonomy with loss of life
• Character: Juliet
• Themes: youth, impulsiveness, gender
- Romeo defies fate (A5S1)
“Then I defy you, stars!”
• What: Reacts impulsively to Juliet’s ‘death’
• How:
• **Apostrophe → addresses fate itself
• **Verb “defy” = reckless rebellion
• **Tone = rage masked as bravery
• **Irony → leads straight to real tragedy
• Why: Emotion eclipses planning → youth unable to pause
• Character: Romeo
• Themes: youth, impulsiveness, fate
- Romeo rushes into the tomb (A5S3)
“Tempt not a desperate man.”
• What: Warns Paris not to provoke him
• How:
• **Oxymoron “desperate man” = internal contradiction
• **Tone = calm but undercut with threat
• **Foreshadowing = violence inevitable
• Why: Romeo’s youth pushes peace aside → all passion, no patience
• Character: Romeo
• Themes: youth, impulsiveness, death
- Juliet’s real suicide (A5S3)
“O happy dagger! / This is thy sheath: there rust, and let me die.”
• What: Kills herself over Romeo’s body
• How:
• **Oxymoron “happy dagger” = love and death united
• **Personification “rust” = romanticising death
• **Imagery = body as vessel for destruction
• **Tragic echo of Romeo’s passion
• Why: Final act of youthful passion → no room for logic or survival
• Character: Juliet
• Themes: youth, impulsiveness, love/relationships, death
