Indirect Characterization In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

Romeo & Juliet Essay
Indirect characterization is a literary skill that most authors, or playwrights, use to give information about a character to the audience without directly saying it. Juxtaposition contributes greatly to the indirect characterization of a character by showing off their complexity and how they react to a situation. By using juxtaposition to give show a character’s style, an author could show the audience the character’s thinking pattern, reactions, and all other aspects of that character. William Shakespeare, the playwright of many famous plays, is known for using both juxtaposition and indirect characterization in his work, especially in one of his most famous titles, Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare indirectly characterizes Romeo, Juliet, and Friar Laurence by using juxtaposition to reveal their

When Tybalt is slain by Romeo, and Romeo has been banished, she says she forgives Romeo when she says: “But wherefore, villain, didst thou kill my cousin? / That villain cousin would have killed my husband “ (3.2.100-101). By using the oxymoron “villain cousin”, Juliet is taking sides with, and forgiving, Romeo after he has slain her cousin, Tybalt. A cousin, in the renaissance era, is one who is either related to a family by blood, or is loved by one, but as a family member or a friend. But by saying ‘villain cousin’, Juliet is saying that even though she loved Tybalt, he could’ve killed Romeo. When Juliet consents to drinking the elixir that would make her seem dead, she says: “And I will do it without fear or doubt, / To live an unstained wife to my sweet love “ (4.1.87-88). Juliet shows her bravery and commitment to marrying Romeo by saying that she would do anything without fear or doubt, so that she may be a good wife to him. Juliet’s bravery and forgiveness are emphasized when Shakespeare uses juxtaposition and complexity to show these