‘Explore the ways in which Shakespeare and Austen introduce Romeo and Juliet, and Jane and Bingley.’
Shakespeare introduces Romeo at first when he is upset from his rejection of Rosaline whom he believed to be his one love. His insecurities are shown through the use of oxymoron, during his first speeches in Act 1, Scene 1. ‘O loving hate!’ And ’O heavy lightness!’ are two examples. By using words that contradict each other, Shakespeare expresses Romeo’s confused emotions, from his overly obsessed feelings. He has experienced the feelings of love and romance already. The character of Romeo shows a large comparison between the very first opening, with banter and violence from peasants or the lower class people in the market place of Verona.
On the other hand, Shakespeare’s Juliet has never experienced love, through imagination or reality so she wouldn’t know what love felt like. She is forced to follow her parents set of rules and plans for her, to marry Paris. At first, although she seems to be extremely against the idea of being married, she agreed to try to like him in order to make her mother happy however she couldn’t guarantee she would love him. Also, we discover that she is not yet 14. Lady Capulet, her mother says ‘Younger than you, Here in Verona, ladies of esteem, are made already mothers.’ From this, we can tell that Juliet is pressured by her mother to marry quickly, as other girls in Verona are too. ‘Are made already mothers,’ shows that Lady Capulet has already planned further ahead of Juliet’s life.