Romeo And Juliet Techniques Essay

Shakespeare uses a variety of techniques in Romeo and Juliet in order to enhance the reader’s experience and to communicate messages through his work. For instance, the use of celestial imagery contributes to the tragic tone of the play, because it suggests the inevitable end to the main characters. Notably in the opening of the play, the reader hears: “A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life” (I.Prologue.6). Likewise, before Romeo enters the Capulet party he tells his friends: “I fear, too early; for my mind misgives/ Some consequence, yet hanging in the stars,/ Shall bitterly begin with this sweet date/ Of a despised life, closed in my breast,/ By some vile forfeit of untimely death. (I.iv.116-121). Celestial imagery is a form of author’s craft that uses the
In a Shakespearean tragedy, death is the fate of the protagonist and fate is a tragic theme. Thus, taking note of this tragic convention is ideal. As a rule, in the Elizabethan time period, astrology influenced the belief system of the common people. In this case, Romeo is using his dream, “hanging in the stars,” to predict something bad is going to happen. When he is looking into the future at his unfortunate fate, the tragic theme in Romeo and Juliet, he sees starting with the party, he will be thrown into an awful situation. When Romeo says: “Of a despised life, closed in my breast,/ By some vile forfeit of untimely death.” (II.iv.120-121), he is referring to his heart in these lines because he says it is “closed in his breast.” His heart is leading him to love Juliet. Without it he would never love her, therefore making it vital to the story. “Vile forfeit,” alludes to him being taken over in an unfortunate matter, in this case, death, caused by uncontrollable fate. When Romeo yearns for Juliet, it is his heart, not Romeo, who feels this way, so essentially Romeo’s heart dominates