Romeo And Juliet - Language

We might want to say Tybalt is an aggressive and angry character. We can support this view by looking at his language. He asks Benvolio to look upon his death, he says he hates the word 'peace', and when he sees Romeo at the party he asks for his 'rapier' or sword and says he will 'strike him dead'.

Here we are using two ways to provide evidence. Words that are directly from the play are put in quotation marks, for example, 'I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee.' The second way is to describe what is said in your own words, for example, Tybalt tells Benvolio how much he hates him.

It is often good to combine these methods, perhaps quoting just one word from the play. For instance, Tybalt calls Benvolio a 'coward'. The one thing you should avoid is using a long quotation. Many students write out whole chunks of the play. This is just like retelling the story - there is no reason for it and you will get no marks for it.

We can also deal with language in Romeo and Juliet by looking at the techniques Shakespeare uses. Some of these techniques (and names) might seem difficult at first. If that is the case, just think about what the play would sound like if the technique was not used. For instance, when Romeo is leaving Juliet after their exchange of vows, imagine Juliet says:'Parting is very sad'Well, yes, it can be sad, but her words do not sound very special or interesting. This is the person she is desperate to marry and dedicate her life to. So instead Juliet says:

'Parting is such sweet sorrow.''

Sweet' and 'sorrow' seem to be opposites - they do not normally fit together like this. But we can appreciate what Juliet means. This is a very passionate moment for both of them, and something the audience can immediately relate to and remember. So if you are not too sure of a technique, remove it and compare the two versions - what effect does Shakespeare's technique have on you?

The first technique we will look at is using opposites, just like 'sweet sorrow'.

Opposites are used frequently in Romeo and Juliet. They highlight the conflicts in the story. So we can find lots of references to light and darkness, or love and hatred. The technical term for this is antithesis, when words are deliberately chosen to contrast with one another. For instance, as the day breaks after her marriage, Juliet realises Romeo must leave her and says 'More light and light, more dark and dark our woes!' Just compare that with: 'It's morning, Romeo, and I'm worried about things.' Hopefully you will see that Shakespeare's version has a far stronger effect, even 400 years after he wrote it.

An Oyxmoron is when words with opposing meanings are put together, like 'sweet sorrow', 'deafening silence', 'alone together' and 'bitter sweet'.

Sometimes it might not be clear what a character means, for instance, when Romeo talks of 'sick health'. However, using a technique like this shows us just how confused Romeo is at this point in the play.

Another technique Shakespeare uses is the pun. A lot of jokes are puns - a play on words using words that sound similar but have different meanings. So when Mercutio is dying he says that tomorrow he will be a 'grave man' - 'grave' as in 'serious', but also as in 'dead and buried'. Puns can be used like this to make fun of characters and situations, like the two servants at the start who link everything they do and think about with sex.

As well as words that have several meanings, Shakespeare uses imagery a lot. This is when we might talk about one thing in terms of another. So Paris is described by Lady Capulet as if he is a book - he is a 'volume', delight is 'writ' in his face, and he lacks just a 'cover' (Lady Capulet is probably thinking the 'cover' is a wife, and that her daughter is the ideal candidate).

Many students find this technique odd - why does Shakespeare not keep things straightforward? Well, a straightforward description of Paris is not interesting or special. Shakespeare's approach allows us to use our own reactions and thoughts. Is Paris really like a beautiful book? What does that tell us about Lady Capulet's view of marriage? Is love important, or is it about appearances? Imagery substitutes one thing for another in three main ways:

Similes - when a direct comparison is made using 'as' or 'like' - so love moves 'as schoolboys from their books'. This comparison allows us our own ideas about being in love. Do schoolboys enjoy studying? Are they grateful when they have finished? Are they quick to stop and put their books down? That should help us to understand just how powerful love can be.

Metaphors - when one thing is described in terms of something else. So Juliet becomes 'the sun', and then 'an angel', for Romeo. Think about the qualities of the Sun: it provides warmth, lightness and life to everything on Earth. Then think about just how important Juliet is to Romeo. Now think about the qualities of an angel - how does this help us to see Juliet through Romeo's eyes?

Personification - where something is described as if it is human. So 'April' can be well-dressed and 'tread' on other things, or Death can be ready to marry Juliet.

Another way of looking at the language of Romeo and Juliet is to examine the lines. Many of them are written in blank verse, so they have ten syllables which are organised in five pairs. The first syllable is weak, the second stronger.

If we look at a typical line, we traditionally show the weak or unstressed syllable with an 'x' above it, and the stressed syllable with a '/' above it. In this example, the word 'never' is split in two, because it has two syllables.

x / x / x / x / x /

He jests at scars that nev - er felt a wound

Reading it like this, we can hear an obvious beat. We can also see that the key words tend to be stronger. Just by hearing these, we can still make some sense of the line (jests - scars - nev - felt - wound). If we only have the unstressed syllables, there is very little we can understand (he - at - that - er - a).

Using this technique, you can sometimes see what Shakespeare might be trying to emphasise. It also provides a structure to the play - it holds things together. We can even anticipate where an actor will finish speaking. It also means that when the pattern changes there might be a reason for this. For instance, when Mercutio is dying, he does not use blank verse - does he seem more sincere now, as if he is speaking from the heart?

The play also contains a number of sonnets. These have a fixed structure of 14 lines and use rhyme in a fairly complicated way. For instance, the first four lines rhyme ABAB. The next four lines follow CDCD. Then the next four lines EFEF. But the last two are a rhyming couplet GG.

Do not try to force language into your answer. If you are writing about the theme of love, you really do not want to look at Mercutio's dying words and decide they are not in blank verse. However, most tasks allow you to cover language in a relevant way. Imagine your title is:

'How does Juliet change during the course of Romeo and Juliet?'

When we see Juliet in Act 2, Scene 2, it is clear she is totally in love with Romeo. She declares it not knowing he is there, and, despite all the obstacles in their path, only asks him to pronounce his love for her 'faithfully', calling him 'gentle Romeo'. Her trust is complete, just as it is later in the scene when she promises Romeo she will put all her 'fortunes' at his feet and follow him' throughout the world'. Juliet describes her love using conventional similes, so her bounty is 'as boundless as the sea' and her love 'as deep' (as the sea). However, Juliet is also capable of quite astonishing language. The oxymoron of 'sweet sorrow' illustrates perfectly her passion and devotion to Romeo. This is a very different Juliet to the one we meet with her mother and the Nurse...

This combines much of what we have covered so far. It answers the question without filling up the page with irrelevant facts, plot details and fancy technical terms. Remember, you do not have to tick off the language terms like a trainspotter. Instead, show you appreciate some of the techniques Shakespeare used and the effects they have on his audiences.