William Shakespeare’s name will live on forever as one the few playwrights that have had a lasting impact on literary culture. Romeo-Juliet, Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy, is among his most famous and well-known plays. The story has inspired many romantic tales in modern times. Shakespeare’s Romeo And Juliet shows how passionate and intense young love can be.
Romeo & Juliet’s tragic love story is based in the bitter rivalry between the Montagues and Capulets. Romeo, a member of the Montague family, falls in lust with Juliet of the Capulet house. But, knowing that their parents would never approve of this union, both struggle to keep it a secret. Shakespeare presented Elizabethan views on love in the play. It was regarded as unimportant, secondary to other factors such as politics, economics and family in arranged relationships. Shakespeare’s use of subtle imagery to convey the success of Romeo’s and Juliet’s relationship is evident throughout the play. Romeo refers to Juliet as “the sun” in act 2, scene 2. He is using metaphor to convey his desire for Juliet. Romeo considers Juliet to be almost as powerful and radiant as the sun. Romeo is sneaking in Juliet’s yard (quite literally, in the darkness) when Juliet breaks the light from the window. Romeo then asks the Sun to “rise…and kill the envious lun”. Romeo refers Rosaline to the moon. This is a clever way to show that his love for Juliet eclipses Rosaline or the moon.
Romeo also mentions Juliet’s celestial beauty and influence in this same scene. Shakespeare based Romeo and Juliet on a time in which religion was an important moral guide. Shakespeare uses religious words to show how Romeo’s and Juliet’s relationship is what drives their lives. Shakespeare’s subtle use of religious imagery is evident when Romeo & Juliet meet at the Lord Capulet Ball and kiss. Shakespeare uses the setting of a garden in Act 2, scene 2 to symbolise purity and virginity. Romeo’s first monologue gives Juliet a divine and grandiose prominence by aligning her to the “sun” or “stars”. He refers to Diana as the Goddess the Moon or the Patron Saint of Virgins. It is implied that Juliet was “far more fair” that her.
Romeo uses hyperbole to praise Juliet’s “two fairest stars from all of heaven”: “What if she had her eyes in her own head?” The brightness on her cheeks would make those stars look like a dim lamp. Shakespeare also uses a romantic expression to describe how Juliet’s beautiful face takes Romeo by surprise.
Shakespeare used Romeo, Juliet, and other martyrs as a way to demonstrate that all love, no matter how hurried, young, or ill-fated it may be, is worth experiencing. Shakespeare’s plays were able to engage audiences with powerful ideas which could be used by the average man. The characters have a lasting impact on both the reader and the viewer. Romeo’s infatuation for Juliet shows how a ‘young’ love can be powerful, but also beautiful and heavenly.