Interpretation of “Romeo & Juliet” (II./2)
Indeed “Romeo and Juliet” is the most popular drama of William Shakespeare. This tragic lovestory touches many humans nad is been the original for lots of movies. I want to take a closer look on the second scene of the second act – the so-called balcony scene which concludes the second meeting of Romeo and Juliet. Both are very excited emotionally.
The scene begins with the advance of Romeo at Juliet´s balcony and his secret observation of Juliet.
Romeo is completely overwhelmed and hence his words seems to be a bit confused – he uses the wrong personal pronoun (l. 3) for example. He compares Juliet with the sun (l. 3) in his monologue and also the addition that she “is the east” (l. 3) reveals that Juliet has a shining appearance to Romeo. According to Romeo Juliet is also more beautiful than the moon.
The moon is actual a symbol for love or lovers and the fact that Juliet is even more worth than it shows that Romeo has to be really crazy in love.
Romeo only mentions her beauty in these lines and also in the following ones which shows that his love is maybe as superficial as the love to Rosalinde because in the chat with Benvolio in I./1 he also only mentions the appearance of Rosalinde and her beauty. Romeo does not only use the metaphor “moon” but also the metaphor “star” (l. 15) to admire her eyes. Eyes are called to be the mirror to the soul of humans and due to Romeo´s referrence to Juliet´s eyes he confesses that he also loves her character and soul and not only her beauty in contrary to Rosalinde.
This shows that the first assumptions of me are wrong and Romeo is seriously interested in
Juliet.
Romeo regards Juliet as his “winged messenger of heaven” (l. 28) which is a clear referrence to the Greek antiquity. Also other referrences excist in this scene, for example “Jove laughs” (l. 93). Furthermore Ovid´s main protagonist Echo in “Echo and Narcissus” is mentioned (l.
161). These mentions are very typical of this periode of time.
Unlike Romeo Juliet reacts in a completely different way by noticing Romeo. He admires and longs for her but Juliet is aware of the very difficult situation and the fact that their love has basically no future. She expresses in the rhetorical question “O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” (l. 33) her desperation.
Also the appealing of both is completely different. Romeo does not call her by her name but says only “she”, for example “She speaks, yet she says nothing” (l. 12) or he uses pet names like “my lady” (l. 10) or “my love” (l. 10). Whereas Juliet calls him by his name “Romeo” (l.
33) or uses the personal pronoun “thou” (l. 33/l.34) which are really more personal. She even calls him by the hated word “Montague” (l. 40) which shows that she is really aware of the situation.
But she is not only objective or even cold but she also confesses Romeo that she is in love with him: “And for thy name, which is no part of thee/Take all myself”
(l.
48/49).
Now the real conversation between Romeo and Juliet starts. Juliet has the leading role during the conversation and urges it on. She is the one who tells the question and leads the talk from on topic to another. During the discussion they confess their love to each other and make each other a lot of compliments. But finally Juliet does not want to know anything about Romeo´s love vows but makes him clear that they are really in danger.
This consciousness shows on the one hand that Juliet cannot devote herself completely and on the other hand that she is more pratical and mature. But Romeo does not react in the same anxious way but responds in the way lovers do: he explains that the love makes this possible (ll. 66 – 69). It is obvious that Romeo repeats the word `love´ four times which illustrates that he has to be really crazy in love.
Romeo uses also puns to respond Juliet. She utters the danger and he only sees the danger in Juliet herself: J.
: “If they do see thee, they will murder thee”, R.: “Alack, there lies more peril in thine eyes” (l. 70/71). And even the word “alack” (l. 71) illustrates that Romeo makes nearly a joke out of Juliet´s concern.
Romeo vows again even by love that he truly loves her and his vow let Juliet forgets her doubts and she utters a great love monologue.
But this monologue also shows that she is still a virtuous young woman who wishes her love had not been so promptly revealed. I think this is the turning point in their conversation. The sentence “Fain would I dwell on form, fain, fain deny/What I have spoke, but farewell compliment” (l. 88/89) underlines this turning point and Juliet´s way of thinking. I think besides the fact that Juliet is quite mutual and objective the previous matter-of-fact answers have also another function. Maybe these answers should test whether Romeo has serious intentions.
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