Discussion Topic
Shakespeare's message in Romeo and Juliet
Summary:
Shakespeare's message in Romeo and Juliet centers on the destructive consequences of feuding and the power of love. He illustrates how the intense, forbidden love between Romeo and Juliet ultimately leads to tragedy, emphasizing the futility of hatred and the need for reconciliation and understanding between conflicting parties.
How does the language in Act 5, Scene 3 of Romeo and Juliet convey Shakespeare's message?
One thing we can notice in Act 5, Scene 3 is that the prince
uses some very forceful language to express
Shakespeare's overall theme concerning the consequences of
violent, uncontrolled emotions, such as hatred. Shakespeare especially
uses language in Prince Escalus's dialogue in this scene to
pin blame on Lords Capulet and Montague.
One language device Shakespeare uses to portray Lords Capulet
and Montague as blameworthy is a rhetorical device called a
rhetorical question, more specifically, Shakespeare uses
epiplexis. A rhetorical question is any question asked in
which an answer really isn't expected. An epiplexis is especially asked for the
purpose of chiding, meaning scolding, or show grief. After Prince Escalus reads
Friar Laurence's letter, he asks, "Where be these enemies?" (302). We know this
is rhetorical because we know that the prince has already seen they are near at hand. His purpose of asking about...
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the enemies is really to emphasize the fact that they are wrongful enemies. He isasking the question for the sole
purpose of chastising Lords Capulet and Montague.
Prince Escalus also uses a very powerful climax in the lines,
"See what a scourge is laid upon your hate, / That heaven finds means to kill
your joys with love!" (303-04). A climax is a
rhetorical scheme in which an argument ascends from least
important to most important. The most important point Prince Escalus is trying
to make is that Lords Capulet's and Montague's hatred for each other has killed
the only two things they love--their children. These lines are also a
very important antithesis that is portraying irony.
An antithesis is another rhetorical scheme that presents contrasting ideas.
Love is the exact opposite of hatred; therefore, the lines present an
antithetical argument. Furthermore, what the prince is saying is that heaven
has punished them for their hatred by killing those that they love with their
love. Since Romeo and Juliet died as a result of falling in love, we can say
that ultimately love led to their deaths. Therefore, heaven has punished Lords
Capulet and Montague for their hatred with love by killing those they love with
their love for each other, which is very, very ironic.
All of the language techniques Shakespeare used in Prince Escalus's speech
serve to show that Lords Capulet's and Montague's behavior had been wrong and
caused the deaths of both Romeo and Juliet, in addition, that any violent,
passionate emotion is wrong and should be controlled.
References
What is Shakespeare's message in Romeo and Juliet's balcony scene?
It is interesting to consider what Shakespeare wanted to be most clear about conveying in this Act II, scene ii. And, it is worthwhile to consider what he intended to convey, both theatrically and in terms of the story.
First, he wants the audience to understand that, for most of the scene, Romeo can see Juliet, but she cannot see him. He notices the "light" from her "window" at the beginning of the scene, and when she appears, he describes her actions to the audience, thus making it crystal clear that he sees her.
Juliet, however, when she is interrupted by Romeo's voice, doesn't know who he is ("What man art thou that thus bescreen'd in night/So stumblest on my counsel?") and must discover his identity through listening to his voice:
My ears have not yet drunk a hundred words
Of thy tongue's uttering, yet I know the sound.
Art thou not Romeo. . .?
And so, one of the things Shakespeare is telling us is that Juliet must declare her love to a man she cannot even see. Romeo is in grave danger here in the Capulet balcony, and his remaining in the shadows reminds the audience of the nighttime setting of the scene and the danger of his beeing seen under Juliet's window.
In terms of the story, the scene is telling us how hasty Romeo and Juliet are willing to be. Despite having just met they delcare their love for each other and, upon Juliet's insistence, decide to marry the very next day. Shakespeare provides a nice emphasis on the haste in this scene, as Juliet is under pressure from the Nurse to return inside, even as she challenges Romeo to "send word" the next day "where and what time thou wilt perform the rite."
So, Shakespeare is up to a few significant things in this scene. Theatrically, he wants to make sure the audience realizes that the scene is taking place mostly in the dark and that the stakes of being in this place are, for Romeo, very high. He also wants to demonstrate the absolute haste with which Romeo and Juliet are willing to act -- a haste that will lead to their ultimate downfalls and their deaths.
It is also worth noting that this scene is meant to be played with Romeo and Juliet unable to actually touch each other. Written to be performed in a theater with an "above" or balcony, Juliet and Romeo would have been separated to such a degree that they could not touch. This fact suggests that Shakespeare wanted to convey the desperate desire that the young lovers have to break through the obstacles that separate them to be together -- the obstacle that is their families' hatred being represented by the obstacle of distance in the scene.
For more information on the balcony scene, please follow the links below.