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How Does Shakespeare Use Syntax In Romeo And Juliet

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Was it love or was it lust? Some say they were foolish, some say it was true love. But, in the end, one thing was certain, even death could not tear their love apart. In one of the greatest romantic tragedies of all time, William Shakespeare presents his work of two “star-crossed lovers” who gave up everything for each other (4). Despite the bitter feud between their families, the Montagues, and the Capulets, both children showed undeniable desire towards one another, which led them towards their demise in this heart-capturing tale of “Romeo and Juliet.” With the use of Style Elements, Shakespeare demonstrates Romeo and Juliet's love story through old-fashioned diction, complex language, and syntax. Shakespeare makes use old-fashioned diction …show more content…

Shakespeare is known for having such heavy syntax in most of his masterpieces, and that is what makes his writing so unique and interesting. All throughout Romeo and Juliet, syntax plays a big role in emphasizing the importance of some events in the tale. In Act 1 Scene 1, there is a lot of Anastrophes that can be found. As Romeo quotes “Alas, that Love, whose view is muffled still” (11). Shakespeare uses anastrophe to create an impactful sentence, instead of being straightforward with his wording, he changes it to express the feeling Romeo was deeply feeling towards his subject. The poet also enhances his sentences through split order, which makes the reader think about the line in a different way and it stands out more compared to the other lines. For example, in Act 2 Scene 2 during the balcony scene, Juliet quotes, “How camest thou hither, tell me, and wherefore?”(38). The subject splits the sentence into two parts, and it puts itself in the middle. Here Juliet is trying to figure out who Romeo is and Shakespeare makes this moment memorable by using different syntax to have multiple scenes project over one another. Besides the actual storyline, syntax was one of the key elements that made Romeo and Juliet the beautiful story that is known today by almost all English students. While the English language has taken a different direction in the last five hundred years, Shakespeare's literary work has remained at its finest for all literature throughout the

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