Evaluate Shakespeare’s techniques

Evaluate Shakespeare’s techniques – both linguistic and dramatic – as he presents Romeo across Acts I and II. Make relevant use of context issues as you do so

The Globe where many of William Shakespeare’s plays were originally performed, was constructed in 1599 and its stage measured 40 feet wide and housed nearly 3000 spectators. With such a small stage it was important for Shakespeare’s plays to include many linguistic and dramatic techniques so people situated all around would still be able to hear the detailed and poetic wordplay even if they could not see the performance.

Romeo is introduced from early on as in love and infatuated. Shakespeare portrays the character of Romeo as sad and obsessed about love. This idea of being so deeply tied up with love is important to the play as it is the cause of his own death in Act 5. Shakespeare expresses Romeo’s feelings of love through poetic word play and imagery. Through dramatic irony Shakespeare’s uses Romeo as a way of portending the death of the lovers throughout the play.

For much of the first act metaphors ‘Nor ope her lap to saint-seducing gold’ and antithesis ‘Do I live dead, that live to tell it now’ make up the dialogue of Romeo. These specific language techniques describe the love of Romeo for Rosaline.

The metaphors describe her physical beauty and Shakespeare includes words such as ‘jewel’ and ‘treasure’ which clearly depict the idea of external attractiveness which shows why Romeo is loving her but throughout all the poetic wordplay Rosaline’s personality is not once described.

Antithesis is also frequently used as a key technique by Shakespeare to provide good imagery but often giving contradicting ideas. “Do I live dead, that live to tell it now.” This is appropriate to the type of feelings Romeo is showing as his ‘love’ for Rosaline is really just boyhood lust and through the vivid descriptions Shakespeare uses it to indicate the thoughtless and heartless emotions of Romeo.

When both Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time at the Capulet’s party he instantly forgets about Rosaline. “For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.” The type of love created by Shakespeare is very much different then that felt originally. Throughout Romeos conversation with Juliet there are few oxymorons and antithesis. This gives the impression that because Romeo sees this ‘true beauty’ in Juliet he does no longer need to use fancy wordplay and can express his love without contradicting himself through simple meanings. Shakespeare also uses a well placed sonnet which they share in their first conversation with each other to describe their unified love for each other. This sonnet gives a whole variety of meanings to the play, themes of religion, fate, imagery but also it ties in with the opening sonnet Shakespeare wrote predicting their deaths.

Throughout the majority of Act 2, the play is set at night. Shakespeare uses this to imply that the conflict will not end until the disorder of the day eventually overcomes the passionate nights and destroys the lives of both lovers, which is another prefiguration into their deaths. Shakespeare includes themes of light and darkness in Act 2 and many classical illusions which were popular and strongly believed in Elizabethan times. It reflects the idea of the supernatural belief in Romeo’s character. This links in with the comparisons of Rosaline and Juliet in which Romeo compares Juliet to the sun and Rosaline to Diana the goddess of the moon. These analogies provide imagery and help the understanding as it helps relate things more personally to you. It indicates the divine beauty Romeo sees in Juliet and refers to Juliet as the sun which is associated with pure and heavenly. Shakespeare also has his characters swear to themselves. For example, when Romeo tries to swear by the moon, Juliet says, “Or if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self” Shakespeare includes this in most of his characters as a sign of dignity and truce and that only then can they be true to others. This is true for Romeo who swears to love no other woman and pledge a vow to Juliet.