Romeo and Juliet Coursework Essay Example For Students

Romeo and Juliet Coursework Essay In Shakespeares plays he very rarely used original ideas. Most of the plays he wrote, such as Romeo and Juliet, were adapted from other peoples stories. Shakespeare used these ideas as basic outlines for his plays. The story of Romeo and Juliet had been around for hundreds of years before Shakespeare created his own version. The most recent was a poem by Arthur Brooke. His version was called Romeo and Julietta; this play was over 3000 lines long and written in rhyming couplets. There are lots of parts of Brookes poem that Shakespeare has used in his play such as the characters Mercutio, Tybalt and Paris. Although Shakespeares play has a lot of similarities to Arthur Brookes poem, Shakespeares version also has a lot of differences. Tybalt, who is only mentioned once in Arthur Brookes poem, plays a very important part in Shakespeares where he helps keep the feud going between the two households. Also Brookes version takes place over months whereas Shakespeares only takes place over a few days, this adds greater interest to the play because so much happens so fast. Arthur Brookes poem is also less interesting compared to Shakespeares because Shakespeare exploits the use of unusual contrasts such as action and comedy, intimate romance and public spectacle. In addition, Shakespeare adds a large number of new features to the story of Romeo and Juliet. In Brookes poem he doesnt use must detail or emotion in his characters whereas Shakespeare makes his characters a good deal more entertaining, giving them interesting and intriguing personalities. Shakespeare also adds the fight scene in Romeo and Juliet, which is a very important scene in the play because Romeo loses his best friend, Mercutio, and also kills Tybalt, his wifes cousin. This scene is entertaining to the audience due to the large amount of action, and the fact that it draws upon the audiences empathy towards the characters, particularly Romeo. Shakespeares version uses a lot more complex ideas, such as Brookes poem places a lot of the blame on fate and bad luck, but Shakespeare makes it so all the characters are share the blame in some way. When Romeo and Juliet first see each other they fall in love at first sight. The love that Romeo and Juliet experience, which is a romantic and passionate love, is a different type of love to the others that Shakespeare uses in the play, like the way Paris loves Juliet which is more physical and he thinks of her more like property. Romeo and Juliets love is very intense, when Romeo describes it he uses words like sun, moon, stars, and heaven, which makes their love seem particularly spiritual. Romeo tends to use complex language, to represent Romeo and Juliets intense love. When Romeo describes Juliets hand as a holy shrine, he uses a metaphor; this makes Juliets hand seem especially important to Romeo, like something that is worthy of worship. Shortly after Romeo uses this he uses an oxymoron, gentle sin, which are words that dont go together normally. This is similar to Romeo and Juliet themselves since they are in love but, enemies at the same time, my only love sprang from my only hate. Another type of language often used by Romeo and Juliet is hyperbole, such as, I am no pilot, yet wert thou as far as the farthest sea, I would venture for such merchandise. The hyperbole language shows to the audience how deeply in love they are. There were a lot of things that prevented Romeo and Juliet being together. The biggest problem was that they were from opposing households. Juliet doesnt seem close to anyone in her family, her father is abusive towards her when she doesnt want to marry Paris and her mother wont defend her, this would have made it a lot ea sier for Juliet to marry Romeo behind her parents back, whereas Romeo though seems a lot closer to his family because they are very upset over his banishment and his mother dies of grief for him. How does Shakespeare create tension in the trial scene of the Merchant of Venice EssayThis slowly changes to a mood of disbelief and later anger. He uses repetition and asks questions as you do when you are in that state How, how, how, how? Chop logic?. The threat of violence is brought to the front now as Juliet still defies him. This is used to finally regain control and make her do as he wishes. My fingers itch The Nurse and Friar Lawrence show qualities that could be recognised as more modern parenting techniques, when speaking to Romeo and Juliet. The friar calls Romeo his good son. The Friar attempts to prove to Romeo the potential error in his actions through democratic persuasive words of advice. Young mens love then lies not truly in their hearts but in their eyes, How much salt water thrown away in waste The nurse in defence of Juliet is extremely brave and stands up to Capulet. You are to blame, my lord, to rate her so. She does also however display perverse intentions when she makes unsuitably suggestive remarks about Paris and Romeo earlier in the play. Romeo? No, not he, though his face be better than any mans and An eagle madam, hath not so green, so quick, so fair an eye as Paris hath. Beshrew my very heart. When she finds Juliet in her false state of death she finds place for the phrase God forgive me within her speech. She is evidently aware of her part in what she believes to be the suicide of Juliet. She feels she has allowed her personal intrigue to interfere with Juliets best interests at best, at worst, she has been a contributory factor in her death. The end of the play shows us lessons learnt the hard way. Two families, feeling the same senses of grief, understanding each others plight, make their peace. A statue is erected, perhaps an attempt to prevent any reoccurrence. The Prince sums up a glooming peace this morning with it brings; the sun for sorrow will not show his head. Go hence, to talk more of these sad things. Some shall be pardoned and some punished; for never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo. Age is not a factor in learning and the actions of children in this case, teach the older generation profoundly.