Romeo And Juliet

Romeo and Juliet Act 3 Scene 5

In this scene, Romeo and Juliet have spent the night together and in the morning, Romeo has to leave Verona, as he has been banished by the Prince for killing Tybalt, a Capulet. Unfortunately, as Romeo leaves Juliet, Juliet receives bad news that she is to marry Paris. For her, this is an impossible task, as she is already married to Romeo, yet none of her family members are aware of this. She asks her mother and the nurse for some advice but they do not seem to understand, which then leads Juliet to get some help from Friar Lawrence, or commit suicide. “If all else fail, myself have power to die.” The fact that she is contemplating suicide at such a young age and the fact she has to separate from her love, despite being newly married, makes the audience sympathise with her character.

After Romeo has spent the night with Juliet, Juliet does not want him to leave and begs him to stay with her. “Wilt thou be gone? It is not yet near day.” Shakespeare uses imagery of birds and animals to show the sadness she feels: “It was the nightingale and not the lark”. Furthermore, Shakespeare creates a gloomy mood when he describes the dawn by using personification: “Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops. I must be gone and live, or stay and die.” The use of language devices emphasises Juliet’s feelings of unhappiness as she wants Romeo to spend some more time with her. The fact she is linked to birds shows she is innocent and pure and does not deserve this unhappy situation. It is ironic that she talks about birds, because birds can fly and be free, yet she is trapped in a helpless situation; this makes the audience feel sorry for her.

As Romeo insists on leaving Verona, Juliet tries to stop him because she does not know when she will see him again. “It is some meteor that the sun exhales/ To be to thee this night a torchbearer/ And light thee on the way to Mantua./ Therefore stay yet. /Thou need`st not to be gone.” However, when Romeo playfully agrees to stay with her and get caught Juliet is suddenly frightened. “It is, it is. /Hie hence, be gone, away.” This makes the audience sympathise with her because we first see her desire for Romeo to stay and then see her desperation that he does not get into any more trouble. This internal conflict that she seems to be in, makes the audience feel sorry for her; we understand her struggle and witness her love for Romeo by thinking of his happiness before her own feelings.

Also, Shakespeare shows how much trouble Romeo and Juliet are in by using a rhyming couplet. “More light and light it grows. вЂ" more dark and dark our woes. This use of poetic language, reminds the audience that the lovers have to separate; the light can be seen as the happiness in their life and this is disappearing from their life forever. Darkness seems to be taking over and the worst part is that there does not seem to be any way out from this darkness. The hopelessness of the situation is emphasises through this couplet and makes the audience sympathise with both characters.

Suddenly, Shakespeare builds up the tension by making the pace faster. “Madam !” “Your lady mother is coming to your chamber. The day is broke, be wary, look about.” This reminds the auidnece of the danger Romeo is in. He must escape before he is caught by Capulet. In their last moments together, Shakespeare shows sympathy for Juliet when she asks: “O, thinkest thou we shall ever meet again?” This is effective because the audience can feel her doubts and confusion. The exclamation вЂ?O’ emphasises how passionate she feels and how much she wants Romeo to tell her that everything will get better. As the audience knows, from the prologue, that their situation will not get better, they cannot help but sympathise with Juliet.

As Romeo jumps off from balcony, Juliet imagines that he is in a tomb. Then she says “O fortune, Fortune! All men call thee fickle. If thou art fickle, what dost thou with him.” This shows that they are an unlucky couple. Fate and destiny are against their love, which makes the audience sympathise with her as well.