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.