Essay On Figurative Language In Romeo And Juliet

William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright, and actor, recognized as one of literature's greatest influences. People still talk about Shakespeare and study his plays because he wrote intricate and complex plays, and his characters are endlessly interesting and impossible to reduce to a simple formula. His language is subtle and eloquent, and the plots of his plays still speak to the experiences of a modern world. His plays survive translation, are performed around the globe. Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by Shakespeare early in his career about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers.

Primarily, in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the paradox of love versus hate is

In Act 1, scene 1 Shakespeare illustrates this paradox through imagery and personification. In the first scene of the play, after Prince Escalus has broken up the street brawl, Montague and Lady Montague stay behind to speak with Benvolio. Lady Montague says she is glad Romeo did not take part in the brawl and asks Benvolio if he has seen him. Benvolio begins his answer by saying, "Madam, an hour before the worshipp'd sun / Peer'd forth the golden window of the east" (I.i.120-121). Benvolio then goes on to describe how he spotted Romeo in a grove of sycamore, and how Romeo, when he caught sight of Benvolio, retreated further into the woods. Montague, worried about his son, says Romeo has gotten in the habit of avoiding the