Juliet's Lines 54-57

"O God, i have an ill-divinging soul! Methinks I see thee, now thou art so low, As one dead in the bottom of a tomb. Either my eyesight fails or though lookest pale." These four lines by Juliet in act 3 scene 5 come during a point where Juliet is saying a goodbye to Romeo that both of them hope is only temporary. She starts of the line with 'o' which means that there is an exclamation of emotion. The emotion depicted here is worry in her remembering of what she is doing. She is reflecting on her decision to choose Romeo and she calls herself an "ill-divining soul," which means a prophetic of evil. She is admitting to herself that she is evil for going against her parents' wishes. She then goes on to foreshadow Romeo's death. She says that she sees him in the bottom of a tomb and that he is very pale. These all reflect to the idea of death, which is what the ultimate ending is in the play. She is also saying that he might as well be dead to her because it might be impossible for them to be together. If he were dead, then she would have reason to kill herself and she wouldn't have to deal with her parents.

O, I am a Fortune's fool!

In Act 3 scene 1 Romeo kills Tybalt, Juliet's cousin, after he has married Juliet. Directly after killing him he says, "O, I am a Fortune's fool!" In the guide to shakespeare, the word "O" declares an exclamation of emotion. One can read this in many different ways. Emotion can be used in a melancholy sense, an agitated, pain, or in many other ways. Here, I believe Romeo is using "O" to exert his frustration of his stupidity. He is perfectly aware of the new rules laid out because he says them a few lines earlier when he tries to break up the fight. In this sentence, Shakespeare capitalizes the word fortune to make it Fortune. This could mean he is using personification and making the word fortune into an actual person like figure. Fortune in this sense is his future. He says he is a "Fortune's fool," which means that he is foreshadowing that he knew that marrying Juliet would result in something unfortunate, and now it has happened. The book claims that "fool" means a plaything. This statement is a product of his life being played with by a puppet like figure (Fortune) which ends up being his true love. His true love for Juliet is so strong that he will do anything and kill anything so that he can defend it, when in reality, he ends up hampering the ability of the relationship to work because he is now ostracized from the community.

Friar Lawrence and Foreshadowing

Friar Lawrence starts off his speech by talking about the coming of daybreak. A continual theme throughout Romio and Juliet is the change of light and darkness. Night and darkness are similar things along with day and lightness. Light is a symbol for true love, Juliet. "the sun advance his burning eye, the day to cheer and night's dank dew to dry." When Shakespeare says this he is foreshadowing the coming of Juliet into Romeo's life. She is the sun and will change the darkness's dew (bawdy love) and make it into true love. Friar Lawrence then digs into the idea of a woman and her tomb. When he says, "what is her burying grave, that is her womb." He is foreshadowing how Juliet is digging her own grave. When she decides to marry Romeo, she knows the consequences of her family and of the pressure the community puts on them, so in the end she will die of it. The idea of the "womb children" foreshadows how it is the romance between Romeo and Juliet that will kill them. This shows this because romance brings marriage which results with a family. Each of these steps puts the stress on an even higher level, so kids and marriage will be the ultimate death. Finally, he says, "revolts from true birth, stumbling upon abuse." This foreshadows how Romeo and Juliet were made for each other ever since they were born and they have no choice but to take the consequences of abuse for their love. Friar Lawrence's speech in Act 2 scene 3 is full of foreshadowing.

Mercutio's Speech

Act 1, scene 4 includes a very long speech by Mercutio about love. The theme of love is very apparent in Romio and Juliet and in Mercutio's speech, he talks about the bawdy love. Bawdy love is more sexual and involves less feeling than true love. The whole speech he talks about a girl that will tempt men and lead them on so that they cannot stop thinking about her, and then she will drop them and show how her feelings were false. We know that Mercutio talks of this woman or type of love with negative connotation because he uses words like "gnat, worm, old grub, and hag" to describe her. Mercutio uses many conceits to describe her as well. Another conceit he uses is describing her love as a plague. It is something that is very addictive and easy to catch; however, it is very bad and is harmful to the body. He compares her to an "agate stone." He also talks about her as a comparison to Cinderella. He says her "chariot is an empty hazelnut" and her "time out o' mind the fairies' coachmakers." These are all related to the story of Cinderella. Mercutio also talks about the type of people this woman messes with. He says lawyers, ladies, and soldiers. These are people of all kinds-- lawyers and soldiers especially are highly regarded positions. Alliteration is also used in his last lines when the last words of each line is, "bodes, backs, and bear."

Joanie:
you don't have to summarize the play for me. I've read it a few times. Tell me about your interpretations, let me know when you recognize a theme or something else we've discussed in class. You can also use the blog to ask questions.
Mr. Murphy

Romeo and Juliet Blog 2

Act 1, Scene 2 of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is 105 lines that start Romeo's conquest for love. It starts out with Capulet and Paris having a discussion about how Capulet wants his daughter to get married. His daughter is only 14 years old, and he says, "in two more summers" that she will be ready to get married. He brainstorms with Paris and he decides that he wants to have a dinner party where he will invite many people so that his daughter can choose which man she is fond of. However, I think that Capulet has a hidden agenda with his plans for his daughter. He says, "My will to her consent is but a part... Lies my consent and fair according to voice." Once he sends his servingman out to invite the guests, the servingman runs into Romeo and Benvolio. Romeo is in a depressed mood and is also very mad about his 'love' sickness. The servingman asks Romeo to read aloud the list for the dinner, and Romeo comments about how he is not on it. The servingman then suggests that he shows up to the party anyway by saying, "If you be not of the house of Montagues, I pray come and crush a cup of wine." Benvolio strongly suggests that Romeo goes to the dinner so that he can get over his love sickness and see the numerous fine ladies at the dinner; Romeo agrees.

One of the literary devices used in this scene is alliteration. Benvolio says, "And she shall scant show well that now seems best." The repetition of "sh" is done purposely for emphasis. Another example of alliteration is when Capulet says, "fresh funnel." Also, parenthetical phrases are used in Act 1 Scene 2. One example is when Romeo says, "And these who, often drowned, could never die." The 'often drowned' part is the parenthetical phrase because it can easily be removed without changing the meaning of the sentence. Also, shared lines is a very common thing in this scene. When Romeo and Benvolio first come onto the stage Bevolio says, "For what, I pray thee?" And directly after a shared line occurs where Romeo says, "For your broken shin." Act 1 Scene 2 is the first moment we see Romeo take action for his love by agreeing to go to the dinner.

Romeo and Juliet Blog 1

In the first 65 lines of the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, the scene is set at the house of the Capulet. Sampson and Gregory

Repetition is a common literary device used in these first lines. The idea of carrying coals is repeated many times in the first 5 lines. Also the reoccurance of bitting a thumb shows up multiple times. This idea of bitting a thumb is like flicking someone off or showing them the bird. Another literary device used is alliteration. Examples are, "pretty piece of flesh," "weakest goes to the wall," and "we'll not carry coals." All of these examples of alliteration add emphasis on the words and their meanings. Emphasis is another strong literary device that can be used when reading shakespeare, especially when acting it out. When Abraham and Sampson are bickering about biting their thumbs, certain emphasis can be placed on different words so that the meaning of the sentences change. When one emphasizes, "I am not biting my thumb at YOU." This still infers that Sampson is biting his thumb; but, when he says "I am NOT biting my thumb at you," this could mean that he is not biting his thumb at all. Conceits are also used in this scene in one of Sampson's lines when he says, "True; and therefore women, being the weaker vessels, are ever thrust to the wall." The parenthetical phrase is "being the weaker vessels." The first 65 lines of the first scene start off the play with a bang including a ton of fighting and tensions that have potential to escalade.

Ok Joanie: what about turns, conceits, etc.
Mr. Murphy