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Romeo And Juliet Act 1 Scene 5 Essay

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Romeo And Juliet Act 1 Scene 5 Essay
Romeo and Juliet is the most famous love story in the English literary tradition. Love is naturally the play’s dominant and most important theme and is shown frequently throughout Act I scene V. The second most dominant theme is that of hatred, the contrasting theme to love; the theme of hatred permeates Romeo and Juliet and can be seen in an array of different forms throughout Act I scene V. In this essay I will discuss key themes in plot, characters and language. This scene alternates between the themes love and hatred, creating dramatic tension and suspense.
Capulet is holding a ball in order to introduce his thirteen year old daughter Juliet to his kinsman Paris. Earlier in Act One Paris asked Capulet's permission to woe and marry Juliet.
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These fourteen lines make up a shared sonnet. In the structure of a,b,a,b,c,d,c,d,e. The sonnet contains four quatrains, the first four lines are spoken by Romeo (rhyming pattern a,b,a,b). The second four lines are spoken by Juliet (e,d,c,d) . The third sets of four lines are split, Romeo speaks one line, then Juliet speaks one line, then Romeo speaks two lines in the structure (e,f,e,f). The last two lines of the sonnet are spoken by both Romeo and Juliet. Firstly spoken by Juliet, and the last line spoken by Romeo (g,g). A sonnet is a perfect idealised poetic form often used to write about love. Encapsulating the moment of origin of Romeo and Juliet’s love with a sonnet therefore creates a perfect match between literary content and formal style. The shared sonnet between Romeo and Juliet therefore creates a formal link between their love and their destiny. With this sonnet Shakespeare finds a means of expressing perfect love and linking it to tragic fate. That fate begins to assert itself in the instant when Romeo and Juliet first meet: Tybalt recognises Romeo’s voice when Romeo first exclaims at Juliet’s beauty. Capulet acting cautiously, stops Tybalt from taking immediate action, but Tybalt’s rage is set. In the meeting between Romeo and Juliet lie the seeds of their shared

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