Romeo and Juliet - Soliloquies Analysis

Romeo and Juliet - Soliloquies Analysis

  • Submitted By: swk0113
  • Date Submitted: 03/07/2009 10:39 PM
  • Category: English
  • Words: 1442
  • Page: 6
  • Views: 1

Romeo and Juliet is a play based on an interesting but tragic story of two lovers whose families have been ancient rivals in the city of Verona. The play is based on the themes of love, fate, nature, good and evil. The soliloquy is one dramatic device used by Shakespeare for various purposes: to compensate for the lack of scenery in the Elizabethan theatre and to reveal personal thoughts or emotions of characters. Soliloquies of Friar Lawrence, Romeo and Juliet are some outstanding examples that reveal emotions of characters effectively.

Friar Lawrence is introduced to us and established as a character that is thoughtful, wise and knowledgeable about plants. The friar’s thoughts are developed when Friar Lawrence talks about the useful plants that mother earth gives us and explains nature. He says, “We sucking on her natural bosom find: Many for many virtues excellent. None but for some and yet all different. O, Mickle is the powerful grace that lies in herbs, plants, stones, and their true qualities”, this demonstrates his modest personality and the positive way he perceives Earth, especially belief that nature is powerful, fertile and is a source of boundless energies. Positive words that he uses to describe nature, such as “excellent” and “grace”, underline the idea. Shakespeare makes frequent use of linguistic devices such as imagery or personification and reference to Greek mythology in Friar Lawrence’s speech. For example, when he describes, “From forth day’s path and Titan’s fiery wheels. Now, ere the sun advance his burning eye”, it adds to the concept of a knowledgeable character because it clearly demonstrates his interest and knowledge in Greek Mythology. Also, the fact that this scene starts with a lengthy speech proves that he will rise as one of the most important characters in the play.

On the other hand, the friar also talks about the negative effects of the fruits of nature which is both womb and tomb to creation. The friar’s wisdom makes...

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