THEMES Flashcards
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Juliet: “My only love sprung from my only hate!”
Theme: Love
Technique: Oxymoron
Analysis: Love and hate are intertwined in Juliet’s world; this highlights the tragic irony of her situation.
Romeo: “With love’s light wings did I o’erperch these walls”
Theme: Love
Technique: Metaphor
Analysis: Romeo uses light and flight imagery to express how love gives him power and freedom.
Romeo: “Did my heart love till now?”
Theme: Love
Technique: Rhetorical question
Analysis: Romeo questions if he ever truly loved before Juliet – shows impulsive, passionate nature.
Friar Lawrence: “These violent delights have violent ends”
Theme: Love
Technique: Foreshadowing/oxymoron
Analysis: Friar warns about intensity; foreshadows the tragic ending – love leads to destruction.
Mercutio: “A plague o’ both your houses!”
Theme: Conflict & Honour
Technique: Repetition / Curse
Analysis: Mercutio curses both families as he dies – shows how innocent lives are caught in the feud.
Tybalt: “Peace? I hate the word”
Theme: Conflict & Honour
Technique: Juxtaposition
Analysis: Tybalt rejects peace, showing his loyalty to violence and the family honour code.
Tybalt: “Boy, this shall not excuse the injuries”
Theme: Conflict & Honour
Technique: Confrontational language
Analysis: Tybalt demands revenge from Romeo, highlighting toxic masculinity and pride.
Mercutio: “Draw, if you be men”
Theme: Conflict & Honour
Technique: Imperative
Analysis: Mercutio challenges others’ masculinity – shows honour culture and impulsiveness.
Chorus: “Star-cross’d lovers”
Theme: Fate
Technique: Prologue / Fate motif/ Foreshadowing
Analysis: From the Prologue – their destiny is doomed; fate controls the plot from the start, showing death and seperation.
- Brought together for sake of sacrifice.
Romeo: “Some consequence yet hanging in the stars”
Theme: Fate
Technique: Metaphor
Analysis: Romeo senses something bad will happen – tension and inevitability build.
Romeo: “Then I defy you, stars!”
Theme: Fate
Technique: Defiance
Analysis: Romeo challenges fate after Juliet’s ‘death’, but ends up fulfilling it – irony.
Romeo: “Fortune’s fool”
Theme: Fate
Technique: Exclamatory sentence
Analysis: Romeo blames fate for his own actions, avoiding responsibility.
Romeo: “Thus with a kiss I die”
Theme: Death & Tragedy
Technique: Stage direction
Analysis: Romeo kisses Juliet before dying – tragic, romantic, and symbolic.
Juliet: “O happy dagger!”
Theme: Death & Tragedy
Technique: Metaphor
Analysis: Juliet embraces death as a way to reunite – love and death are fused.
Mercutio: “Worms’ meat of me”
Theme: Death & Tragedy
Technique: Grotesque imagery
Analysis: Mercutio’s death shows violence consumes even humorous characters – dark turn.
Romeo: “I will lie with thee tonight”
Theme: Death & Tragedy
Technique: Foreshadowing
Analysis: Romeo predicts his death, showing how fate and choice collide.
Capulet: “Hang thee, young baggage! Disobedient wretch!”
Theme: Family & Obedience
Technique: Insult
Analysis: Capulet’s rage shows parental control and how Juliet is treated as property.
Juliet: “I’ll no longer be a Capulet”
Theme: Family & Obedience
Technique: Metaphor / Rebellion
Analysis: Juliet is ready to give up her name and identity – rebellion against family.
Juliet: “Deny thy father and refuse thy name”
Theme: Family & Obedience
Technique: Imperative
Analysis: Juliet pushes Romeo to abandon his name, challenging tradition.
Juliet: “Proud can I never be of what I hate”
Theme: Family & Obedience
Technique: Declarative
Analysis: Juliet rejects arranged marriage – shows her independence and inner conflict.
Friar Lawrence: “Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast.”
Theme: Youth & Impulsiveness
Technique: Proverb
Analysis: Friar gives wise advice – ignored, which reflects youthful impulsiveness.
Friar Lawrence: “Thy tears are womanish”
Theme: Youth & Impulsiveness
Technique: Gendered insult
Analysis: Friar criticises Romeo for being emotional – gender roles and maturity clash.
Romeo: “O, I am fortune’s fool!”
Theme: Youth & Impulsiveness
Technique: Metaphor
Analysis: Romeo sees himself as a victim of fate, not his own choices.
