Research Paper on the Play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by William Shakespeare

Research Paper on the Play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by William Shakespeare

‘Romeo and Juliet’ by William Shakespeare is a tragic romantic story that traces its roots back to tranquility. The play is based on an Italian tale ‘The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet’ that was narrated in English by Arthur Brooke in the mid-17th century. It is a story of two characters, Romeo and Juliet, where a vendetta emerges between the families of the character resulting in bloodshed. The conflict is motivated by the fact that Romeo belongs to the Montague group while Juliet is from the family of Capulet, which is against the relationship. The tragic story develops when the two main characters, Romeo and Juliet, expected to be great enemies who fall in love with each other. Their relationship leads to the growth of conflict, which in turn presents them with a situation that they couldn’t live together. Romeo and Juliet killed themselves since they believed that they could live apart. They could not cope with living separately from each other (Bauman 51). Shakespeare presents the tragic romance of the Renaissance period, where he alludes to the ideas from the traditional story of two Italians, Romeus and Juliet. This analysis will discuss how literary prowess for William Shakespeare help in developing one of the celebrated play in, ‘Romeo and Juliet.’

William Shakespeare is recognized as the greatest English playwright, actor, and poet during the Renaissance. He is nicknamed England’s national poet and also considered as the dramatist of all times due to literary work, which has influenced several generations. He joined the famous group for artists, the King’s Men Company of theatrical players, in 1594 when he was 30 years old and participated in the Jacobean England premier acting company. His writing culture was derived from human emotions and conflict, and his work has been studied for more than 400 years. Scholars in the field of literature, including Homer, Dante, Leo Tolstoy, and Charles Dickens, have given him a unique position in the area since there has not emerged another person with the great prowess of both writing and acting drama.

The text ‘Romeo and Juliet’ presents learners with the situations in the world, which they will come across while entering their adulthood. The central theme by Shakespeare is a tragic romance that could easily lead to death when it is not appropriately handled. The play is more about the youths who are ushered to adulthood after leaving the institutions of higher learning. While entering adulthood, teenagers face challenges which they have to design a way of solving these problems, seek advice from their seniors and also be careful while taking any steps in life since any emerging problem could be deadly (Isea and Lonngren). For instance, they should consider dedicating their love to the people who will present them with the outcomes they can handle both physically and psychologically. Romeo and Juliet were youths who wanted to get in another level of life but faced challenges due to differences that resulted in their deaths. The first problem is loving uncontrollably that made it impossible for the two to live a separate life. The situation could have been different if the individuals had considered what would happen if fate presented them with a different position.

Another problem is the differences that occurred between the families of Juliet and Romeo, which meant that the two couldn’t live together. The two youths did not make proper observations on how their families would react after learning they are in love with people of different status. The play is, therefore, addressing the youths always to ensure their romantic engagements to ensure they do not turn tragic by providing that various conditions do not turn against them. Shakespeare uses greater creativity to present the theme of a tragic romance by showing how it develops and possible effects, which he illustrates that could they could be very deadly.

William Shakespeare’s play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is developed using various literary styles, which makes it more appealing and exciting to the audience. Some of the literary devices which make the play more interactive and exciting include foreshadowing, soliloquy, puns, personification, and even dramatic irony. Mercutio, who the close of friend of Romeo employs, puns frequently, especially when he was about to die when rants that ‘Ask for me to-morrow, / and you shall find me a grave man.’ He uses the analogy of the grave to make the statement appear funny and attractive. He wanted to imply that he was soon going to die in a rather polite way (Shakespeare, 24.III.102). Shakespeare also uses a pun when presenting the conversation between Romeo and Mercutio when they are going for the Capulet’s ball. Romeo states that ‘the game was ne’er so fair, and I am done’ to imply that he was done with the game. At the same time, Mercutio replies with ‘Tut, dun’s the mouse, the constable’s word!’ to tell him to be as a quest as a mouse since he was little to contribute nothing in a funny way to ensure he is not annoyed.

Another device employed in the play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is a dramatic irony that is used to make the story more engaging. Through irony, the audience can grasp more information concerning the characters in the play. In the play, Lord Capulet is not aware that Juliet is already married to Romeo, and they are planning for the wedding in Paris (Bin 16). Another irony occurs on the scene that takes place on the balcony when Juliet fearlessly proclaims his for Romeo while he was standing on her balcony. She had no idea that Romeo was hiding in the garden nearby and heard the confession. She becomes embraced and surprised when Romeo popped out of the bushes, but she happy when they acknowledge that he loves so much.

Another device that is abundantly evident in the play is foreshadowing. The foreshadow help to predict what is about to happen in the future in the play. One of the foreshadowing in the play occurs when Romeo and Juliet are having dinner in Montague. Benvolio is trying to cajole with the Romeo, who is sad when around Rosaline since his affection had not returned. Romeo seems to whine from the rejection which he faced. Benvolio tells Romeo, ‘Take thou some new infection to thy eye, And the rank poison of the old will die (Shakespeare 9.I. 52, 63).’ The message foreshadows that Romeo will find a new girl who he gets obsessed too and will make the other one varnish. Not long in the future that Romeo met Juliet and feels in love with her to the point that he cannot hold the breakup.

The last most notable literary device is a soliloquy, which is dramatic speech, which is used delivered by one character to express some feelings or observations. Shakespeare uses soliloquy to help the audience understand the characters better, including their specific traits, which they do not exhibit while associating with their fellow characters. They also help to develop other engaging devices in the play, which include the dramatic irony as depicted by the two principal characters, Romeo and Juliet. For instance, when Juliet is professing her life for Romeo in the balcony, he creates dramatic irony when she makes the audience understand that she loves loved him despite him not being aware. The monologue also reveals that he was romantic when Romeo emerged from the bushes, and she able to confess what she felt on face to face basis. She narrates that “But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief That thou, her maid, art far fairer than she.” (Shakespeare II. ii. 7-11) which reveals her traits and also engages the audience in the play.

The play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by William Shakespeare has remained iconic in more than four centuries due to the ideals which he formulated in the renaissance period. The ideas contain significant lessons that are applicable in life, especially to the younger generation that is being ushered to higher stages of life. The play also covers conflict for the people who are indifferent social status and how it can kill the dreams of the youths if they do not take care of their engagements. Shakespeare employs major literary devices such as soliloquy, foreshadowing, and even dramatic irony to develop themes, reveal more about the characters and to make the story more engaging to the audience. The allusion of the story makes the structure of the play easy to understand and make an analysis of various features used by Shakespeare.

References

Bauman, Thomas. “Opera versus Drama: Romeo and Juliet in eighteenth-century Germany.” Essays on Opera, 1750-1800. Routledge, 2017. 43-60.

Bin, Li. “Metaphor, the Secret of Shakespeare’s Success in Romeo and Juliet Writing.” Frontiers in Educational Research 1.2 (2018).

Isea, Raul, and Karl E. Lonngren. “Analyzing the love affair of Romeo and Juliet with modern mathematical tools.” arXiv preprint arXiv:1805.06891 (2018).

Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. Cambridge University Press, 2003.