Rau 1

Akash Rau
Mr. Hakim
English 9
27 March 2015
Romeo and Juliet Paragraphs
In Romeo and Juliet 1.1, Shakespeare uses an allusion and a metaphor to illustrate the conflict of
Romeo and his irrational love. When Montague talks about Romeo, he says, Should in the farthest East
begin to draw/The shady curtains from Auroras bed(1.1.143-44). The allusion of Aurora, who is the
goddess of dawn, is used to show that Romeo is cut off from the light and in the dark. He is depressed that
the girl he loves does not love him back. The allusion shows the reader that Romeo is in the shade and
away from dawn. Dawn represents a new beginning. Also, Shakespeare uses a metaphor to illustrate
Romeos internal conflict. Montague says, Many a morning hath he there been seen,/ With tears
augmenting the fresh mornings dew/Adding to clouds more clouds with his deep sighs (1.1.140-42).
The comparison of Romeos tears to the mornings dew and his sighs to the clouds show that he is
depressed. The visual details that Shakespeare uses helps readers grasp the extent of Romeos depression.
In Romeo and Juliet 2.2-2.6, the language helps represent the complexity of the conflict between
Romeo and Juliets love. The irrational love conflict is not only particular to Romeo. In this act, Juliet
becomes victim to irrational love, complicating the conflicts present in the play. When Romeo and Juliet
meet at the balcony of the Capulet house, Romeo swears by the moon that he loves Juliet. Juliet replies,
O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon, that changes in her circled orb, Lest that thy love prove
likewise variable (2.2.118-20). Juliets response foreshadows that their love with be inconstant and
change like the moon. It demonstrates that their love will lead to conflict. The imagery of the moon
illustrates the instability of their love to the reader. In 2.6, Romeo and Juliet get married. Friar Lawrence
says, Therefore love moderately: long love doth so;(2.6.15). Friar Lawrence foreshadows that Romeo
and Juliets love will have a tragic ending. Romeo and Juliet are loving each other passionately. The Friar

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is trying tell them that they should think logically when falling in love. The use of imagery and
foreshadowing helps the conflict have more complexity.