Romeo and Juliet 2nd PU Summary|Notes

Romeo and Juliet

- A summary

William Shakespeare is an English playwright and poet, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English Language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist. He is well-known to the world through his timeless characters that are universal in their appeal. The themes that he deals with also touch human lives across the globe. The extracts from William Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet “express the implicit feelings of Romeo and Juliet for each other. These verses are known for their rich imagery laced with powerful emotions.

Romeo's soliloquy
Romeo, though uninvited, makes his presence at the Grand Supper hosted by Old Lord Capulet, just to meet Rosline. He finds Juliet so attractive on the dance floor that he is overwhelmed with strong emotions. He exclaims that her beauty teaches the torches to burn bright. He makes two lovely comparisons: Juliet’s beauty is compared to that of a jewel that shines bright in an Ethiope’s ear which is divine and very rare to find on earth. She is also compared to a snowy dove in the company of crows. The contrasting imagery used in earlier contexts highlights the sparkling beauty of Juliet. Romeo wishes to meet her once the dance is over and wants to touch her hand in order to make his rude hand blessed. At this instance, he is struck by the feeling, if he ever loved, for her beauty and her presence had blinded him. So, he wants to renounce all that he has seen in the past before the brilliance of Juliet's beauty. He feels what he has experienced now is real love. Thus, Romeo expresses his admiration for Juliet’s beauty.

Juliet's soliloquy
In the second soliloquy by Juliet she invites night, for Romeo can only be seen then. She is attracted to his charming aspect, so she compares him to day in night. He looks whiter than new snow on a raven’s back. Juliet praises night with sweet words so that the night brings Juliet her charming hero, Romeo. She asks the night to cut him into little stars in the event of her death. With this appeal, she wishes to immortalise her love for him. She is sure that the starlit sky then glows even richer than the shining beauty of day. The world then starts admiring the beauty of night and stops glorifying the bright day. This is how Juliet is also full of praise and fascination for Romeo.

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