Romeo and Juliet Act 1 scene 5

For my IOC commentary I have been given the extract from Act 1 scene 5 from the play Romeo and Juliet. This is one of the most famous and important scenes in this play as this is the first time Romeo and Juliet, the two main characters meet. Prior to this scene the audience are made aware that Romeo has no interest in going to the Capulet’s party but he only agrees to show to mercutio that there is no one as beautiful as Rosaline, the girl whom Romeo was in love with before he met Juliet. The main characters in the play are developed in this scene. Romeo who appears as a depressed love struck boy turns into a real lover. Juliet who appears to be innocent child who obeys her parents turn into this brave and strong personality.

In the beginning of the extract itself we can see that Tybalt is shaking with anger towards Romeo and takes a vow to kill him and so even though there is excitement in the audience that it’s the first meeting of Juliet and Romeo, there is also a sense of underlying doom. Shakespeare uses this to maybe foreshadow the troubles that will occur due to Tybalt in the future. Romeo and Juliet is captivated by Juliet’s beauty and immediately falls in love and Rosaline quickly vanishes from his and he declares that he has never been in love before he saw Juliet. Shakespeare does this because he wants to present a powerful and passionate love between his two main characters. At this point however, the audience may wonder if Romeo’s love for Juliet is as insincere as his love for Rosaline.

They may think that the ‘love’ which the fickle Romeo feels, is just the lust of a teenage boy who is entranced by another beautiful woman. Shakespeare uses contrast to show how Juliet is astand out beauty by using the simile – “like a rich jewel in ethiope’s ears”. Ethiopian people’s skin is dark and the rich jewel shines brightly. Shakespeare uses this to show Romeos mood and his infatuation with Juliet’s beauty, to show that Romeo s captivated by her. With this the audience might feel that unlike his insincere love for Rosaline his love for Juliet might be genuine as it lights up his life.

Romeo and Juliet’s first meeting is in the form of a shared sonnet. The sonnet contains 14 lines of rhyming couplets and iambic pentameter. Sonnets are a form of poetry which is often used to write about love. Combining their first words in this form, where they rhyme each other’s sentences, implies that Romeo and Juliet are the perfect match for each other. Through doing this Shakespeare also reminds the audience of the Prologue, which was also written in the form of a sonnet. He does this because he wants the audience to realize that Romeo and Juliet are the star-crossed lovers we heard about in the Prologue which is also a sonnet.

There are three main themes in this extract and they are: The use of religious imagery, multi valency, light imagery and equality of wit.
The first theme is the use of religious imagery. ‘Romeo’ means in Italian to go to Rome. His name establishes the Petrarchan ideals of love and the start of religious imagery. This holy shrine’ metaphor – presents himself as a pilgrim approaching a shrine. This is typical of love poetry from this time. ‘My lips two blushing pilgrims’ metaphor – following Petrarch (Italian poet), the woman was frequently depicted as a saint or goddess whom the male suitor approaches with an expression of unworthiness. The rhetoric of the poetry is that it is the woman’s part to confer a blessing, mercy or grace upon the man’s pray or plea. ‘Thine sin is purg’d’ – this line starts the second combined sonnet. This is later interrupted by the nurse. ‘Sin’ is used as a metaphor for kiss, continuing the idea that love is like a religious experience.

Shakespeare combines religious imagery and equality of wit. ‘to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss’ – assonance and alliteration – these repetition of vowels and consonants emphasizes that Romeo feels that he should atone for his rough hands by kissing Juliet like she is a statue. ‘Good pilgrim you do wrong your hand too much’ – Juliet cleverly teases Romeo. Acknowledging that she sees him as a pilgrim but also playfully flirting with Romeo and prolonging the period of wooing. ‘And palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss’ – pun – this is a fascinating image as Juliet not only invokes religious imagery of Palm Sunday but also as a play on words that touching the statue should be sufficient (instead of using your lips). She furthers supports this by suggesting that ‘lips should be used in prayer’, as if Romeo should not be asking for a kiss. ‘Saints do not move, though grant for prayers’ sake’ She finally relents suggesting that like that statue she is unable to take this course of action. Shakespeare uses the stage directions to tell us that Romeo and Juliet kiss twice during their first meeting. This lets the audience physically see the passion of their love on the stage. Another theme in this scene is ambiguity or multi valency. Multi valency is when something represents more than one thing at once.

You kiss by the’ book’ is an example of multivalency from this scene. Multi valency is common in Shakespeare as it gives the language depth and offers multiple interpretations of the word choice. The direct meaning of ‘book’ is unclear here. Juliet is either praising Romeo for being an expert kisser or she is commenting that his kissing is book learnt e.g. something which is contrived. This interpretation would fit nicely with the idea that Romeo is inexperienced and an immature lover. ‘Away be gone; the sport is at the best’ – is a repetition of the idea introduced in Act 1 Scene 4 ‘The game was ne’er so fair, and I am done.’ The multiple meaning of the word ‘game’ and ‘sport’ is relevant here. It contrasts the duality of the presentation of love. For Benvolio, Mercutio and the Nurse, love is like a game not to be taken seriously, but for Romeo love is fatalistic and toys with his emotions. It is game that he attempts to play and has had varying success.

The last theme is the use of light and dark imagery in this scene. When Romeo spoke about Rosaline, the language he used was quite dark, suggesting that the ‘love’ he felt for her was making miserable. However, when Romeo meets Juliet, his language becomes much more romantic. He uses light imagery to describe Juliet when he first sees her. “O she doth teach the torches to burn bright.” Here he is literally saying that Juliet can light up the world with her beauty. This is an example of hyperbole, which is extravagant and exaggerated language. Shakespeare is using this because he wants to show a change in Romeo’s mood. He wants the audience to realise that the love for Juliet is positive and lights up his life, unlike his love for Rosaline that was making him miserable.