How does Shakespeare encourage the audience to feel sympathy for Juliet throughout Romeo and Juliet Essay Example For Students

How does Shakespeare encourage the audience to feel sympathy for Juliet throughout Romeo and Juliet Essay Romeo and Juliet is certainly among the worlds greatest plays, and the story of Shakespeares star-crossed young lovers whose fate is sealed by their quarrelling families, the Montagues and the Capulets, is the touchstone fable of romantic love. Coincidence, chance, unawareness: fate weaves its inexorable pattern against the background of a bitter and deadly feud, working through persons who would never knowingly harm the lovers, but who do so nonetheless. This story contains aspects of both a love story and tragedy. The tale of two teenagers who fall in love at first sight and then marry, become true lovers and then risk it all for their love is fundamentally a tragedy. It is evident that this romantic play will have an extremely tragic ending from the beginning. The chorus states that the love between Romeo and Juliet is Death markd and that the lovers take their life this is essentially dramatic irony. The audience therefore knows more than the characters. Some examples of tragedy in this romantic play include: quite obviously, the misfortune of Romeo and Juliets forbidden love. The blight of the messenger not getting to Romeo in time which leads to Romeo just missing Juliets awakening is surely a tragedy. To me this is one of the most frustrating things in the play, because if he just waited two minutes he would have been reunited with Juliet. And lastly, the death of Juliet. It is sad that she felt she had to take her own life to be with the one she truly loved. I think the unusual storyline, the language that Shakespeare uses and the fact that this play is timeless is what has made it so popular over the centuries. This timeless play points out several things like: how older generations can affect the younger ones. How we can try to control people and how they can rebel to this control, what can happen if younger people are not listened to and how people can rush into things but overall the main message is where there is civil strife, nothing is resolved. Juliet is one of the main characters, who is intelligent- we can see this from the amount of wordplay she uses. She is also articulate, reserved, and sensible and yet she is ultimately socially independent. Which is expected in the time the play was set, whereas as a character, Juliet is fully independent. In terms of age, she is fourteen although is mature for her age, but even so, we are reminded that she is a fourteen year old teenager who is very young at heart. She is part of the Capulet family who are at the centre of a deadly feud with Romeos family the Montagues. Her relationship with Lady Capulet (her mother) by modern standards isnt a proper relationship due to Lady Capulet not being very motherly towards Juliet which isnt surprising considering that in an upper class family in medieval Verona, a mother wouldnt have much say in her daughters life. Whereas her adoptive mother is the servant nurse as she is the one who has looked after Juliet all he life. Her father is Lord Capulet who is the head of the Capulet household and who can get an irritable temper if he doesnt get his own way, for example Hang thee, young baggage! Disobedient wretch! I tell thee what: get thee to church o Thursday, or never after look me in the face (Act iii Scene V) This proves that lord Capulet can get a temper and that if he doesnt get his own way he can be very mean and inconsiderate. Shakespeare makes the audience feel sorry for Juliet in this extreme scene by making her a young lady and the fact that she is an innocent victim makes the situation much worse. We feel sorry for Juliet when she falls in love with Romeo because hes a Montague, his name is Romeo, hes a Montague- (Act I Scene V line 135) and shes a Capulet is she a Capulet- (Act I Scene V line 117). Dramatic irony also creates sympathy towards Juliet as right from the word go we know that this play is a tragedy and is going to end in tears A pair of star crossd lovers, take their life taken from the prologue. This one sentence concludes the play in great detail, that the audience cant help but feel the sense of dramatic irony. In my opinion Act III Scene V is important to the play because its the breaking point and its also the scene, which creates the most sympathy towards Juliet. When the scene opens up Juliet is refusing to believe that Romeo has to leave Wilt thou be gone? It is not yet near day It was the nightingale, and not the lark That piercd the fearful hollow of thine ear This is Juliet trying to convince herself that it is not morning and her beloved Romeo does not have to leave to Mantua. Shes so desperate for Romeo to stay that she even makes up stories about some meteor that the sun exhaled to try to convince Romeo to stay and be with her. Shakespeare uses beautiful, romantic and timeless imagery, which makes us feel that we want and they should be together, and thus doing so creates sympathy towards them both. The language Shakespeare uses is vivid and just proves that Shakespeare is a timeless writer. And then, eventually, Romeo does give in to Juliet by saying Drama EssayBut saying oer what I have said before. My child is yet a stranger in the world. She hath not seen the change of fourteen years. Let two more summers wither in their pride ere we may think her ripe to be a bride. (I ii, 7-11) This demonstrates Capulets intent of choosing Juliets husband, and now that he has his motives its the other way around. Juliet has been abandoned by a second person, her own father Shakespeare also shows paternal love to go along with the others in the text. I guess that you could say that their was a bit of love from Juliets parents towards her in that they only wanted what they thought was best for her as well as getting what they want at the same time. They imagine that Juliet would be happy living her life with Paris, although Lady Capulet was much more loving than her husband was. After Lord and Lady Capulet have left Fearing she doesnt have anyone left Juliet turns to the only person who understands her- her good maid, the nurse. She wants words of comfort but that is not what she receives- lines 214- 226. This is not what she wants to hear, she cant marry the county Paris, it is impossible and inappropriate, and she is already married to Romeo so a second marriage is out of the question. This betrayal results in Juliet telling nurse she wont confide in her again thou and my bosom henceforth shall be twain. Shakespeare shows us that Juliet is so desperate for help that she is willing to take her own life myself have power to die Romeo. Shakespeare uses vivid language to show us that Juliet feels isolated and confused such as Ancient Damniation! and if all else fails, myself have the power to die. This is sad; to think that Juliet thinks that killing herself is going to solve her problems. This makes the audience see how desperate she is and how much she is in love with Romeo. This also proves how isolated and confused Juliet really is because her mother, father and even the nurse want her to get married to Paris, so much that if the visit to Friar Lawrences Cell doesnt work she will take her life. This scene is tremendously effective in creating sympathy towards Juliet because of the way her family are turning against her, the way her father behaves and the fact that her true love- Romeo has left to Mantua. If I was the director of a stage production of Romeo and Juliet, in Act III Scene V I would have Juliet Kneeling on the floor of her bedroom wearing a white nightgown in order to make the audience to feel more sympathetic for her. This idea is similar to the costume that Juliet is wearing in Baz Luhrmanns dazzling and unconventional adaptation starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. Lord and Lady Capulet would wear suits to bring the message across that they are formal and important. The nurse would wear the traditional nurses outfit. Lord Capulets gestures would be harmful towards Juliet for example-: pushing, hitting, shoving, etc. in order to create more sympathy towards Juliet whilst Juliets will be screaming, crying and wriggling etc. the nurse and Lady Capulets would be similar such as clinging, pulling and dragging Capulet away from Juliet. This story is one of the greatest love stories of all time. There would not be too many people who have not heard of it. The story would not be as popular if Romeo and Juliet met, their families made up, they married and lived happily ever after. Even today, the tragedy resembles a blueprint of the problems that the adolescents of the twentieth century must face each day. In this play, Shakespeare explores the pitfalls of young love, and the consequences they receive from their actions In todays society, youth are constantly advocating the change from total dependence on family, to their own independence. Young people often think they know better than their parents, often believing that instead of helping them, they are only punishing them. Romeo and Juliet found that they new better then their parents, but after realizing the wrong they caused when both committing suicide. We love the tragic element of this story. It makes us cry, it makes us feel deep emotions, and it stirs up feelings like no other love story. The path of this true love is not smooth, but the path with its roughness and obstacles, seems to be the best way of showing the nobility and strength of true love. When Juliet sees Romeo dying at the end of the play we are filled with Sympathy towards Juliet and this is very important especially when Juliet takes her own life. In my opinion the moral of the story is when there is a civil strife nothing is resolved, and I think that if Romeo and Juliet had nt died the moral wouldnt have been as strong. An apt quote to sum this up is spoken by Escalus, the prince of Verona.