& # 8217 ; s Romeo And Juliet Essay, Research Paper
The Death Motif in Shakespeare & # 8217 ; s Romeo and Juliet
Often times, writers use the subject of decease throughout their plants. This seems to be true of William Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet. Throughout his drama, Shakespeare uses decease to travel his narrative along. He does this with existent deceases, which cause jobs for the lovers, and through forebodings and dreams of decease. Both Juliet and her Romeo exhibit these premonitions/dreams.
The usage of decease is instantly seen in the prologue of the drama: & # 8220 ; The fearful transition of their death-marked love & # 8230 ; & # 8221 ; ( Shakespeare Pro. 9 ) . The Prologue offers us the inevitable destiny of the two lovers short and disconnected. During the first act of the drama, we learn of the Capulet & # 8217 ; s ball, and of how the lover & # 8217 ; s met. After the ball is over, Juliet says, & # 8220 ; & # 8230 ; If he be, married, my grave is like to be my nuptials bed, & # 8221 ; ( I, v, ll.143-44 ) which is a premonition of the concluding scene of the drama. This partly leads to Romeo and Tybalt & # 8217 ; s affaire d’honneur in III, I, as Romeo & # 8217 ; s presence at the ball antagonizes Tybalt. In II, four, Benvolio and Mercutio reveal that Tybalt has sent Romeo a challenge to a affaire d’honneur.
Merely before the reaching of Juliet, the Friar warns Romeo against consummating their new matrimony excessively rapidly. Romeo agrees, but challenges decease to destroy the minute, & # 8220 ; & # 8230 ; so love-devouring decease make what he dare & # 8230 ; & # 8221 ; ( I, six, ll.7. ) . Now if merely the matrimony was made public, these premonitions may non hold come to go through particularly the affaire d’honneur with Tybalt.
In III, I, Tybalt accosts Benvolio and Mercutio in hunt of Romeo. Now, Romeo does non desire to duel with Tybalt as he is now in secret his kinsman, but this does non halt Mercutio for acquiring in the mix with Tybalt. Romeo gets between the two work forces, and as Tybalt attempts to run Romeo through, the blade goes under Romeo & # 8217 ; s arm and mortally lesions Mercutio. Before he is taken off, Mercutio says to Romeo, & # 8220 ; Why the Satan came you between us & # 8230 ; A pestilence O & # 8217 ; both your houses! They have made worms & # 8217 ; meat of me. I have it, and soundly excessively. A pestilence! & # 8221 ; ( ll.102-103, 10106-108 ) . Here, we see Mercutio cussing the two houses, and, in kernel, predicting things to come. Mercutio is taken to a close house to be treated, and minutes subsequently, Romeo is informed of Mercutio & # 8217 ; s decease. Romeo, now enraged, affaire d’honneurs with Tybalt and slays him. The Prince arrives upon the scene, and after an history of the occurrences, banishes Romeo to Mantua upon punishment of decease. This ostracism of Romeo & # 8217 ; s necessarily leads to even greater jobs later in the drama.
In III, two, Juliet prophesizes bad things to come when she says, & # 8220 ; Give me my Romeo ; and, when he shall decease, take him and cut him out in small stars, and he will do the face of Edens so all right & # 8230 ; & # 8221 ; ( ll.21-23 ) . The Nurse enters and informs Juliet that Tybalt has been slain by Romeo. Juliet looks at the state of affairs as the decease of both the work forces, as Romeo & # 8217 ; s ostracism is like a decease. III, three is moved to the Friar & # 8217 ; s cell, where Romeo is exhibiting his self-pity to the Friar. At the decision of the scene, in a reaction of brass opinion, Romeo demands the Friar tell him what portion of the organic structure his name is, so he may cut it out with a knife he has drawn. This seems to connote Romeo & # 8217 ; s want to be dead, instead than be without Juliet.
Initially, at the beginning of this scene, Capulet will hold no talk of matrimony, due to the recent decease in the household. However, in order to assist Juliet through her & # 8220 ; heartache & # 8221 ; over Tybalt & # 8217 ; s decease, Capulet decides to get married her off to Paris ( III, four ) . Of class this is a job as she is in secret married to Romeo at this clip. In III, V, Lady Capulet provinces, & # 8220 ; I & # 8217 ; ll send one in Mantua, where that same banished runagate doth unrecorded, that he shall shortly maintain Tybalt company & # 8230 ; & # 8221 ; ( ll94-96 ) . This statement prophesizes Romeo & # 8217 ; s decease later in the concluding scene of the drama. Then, Lady Capulet wishes her girl to be married to her grave ( ll. 145 ) , which is dry, as Juliet will take a potion doing her to look dead in IV, two. That same eventide, the lovers consummate their matrimony, and in the forenoon, Juliet makes yet another prophesy, & # 8220 ; O God, I have an ill-divining psyche! Methinks I see thee, now thou art below, as one dead in the underside of a grave. Either my seeing fails me, or thou lookest picket & # 8221 ; ( ll.55-58 ) .
Consequently, she seeks the advocate of the Friar. Juliet threatens to kill herself if he will non assist her, as she, like Romeo, believes that decease is the lone solution. The Friar suggests she & # 8220 ; travel through & # 8221 ; with the nuptials, and phonograph record
United Statess a program with her of imitating her decease with a potion that will set her into a really deep slumber. With the Friar’s program at manus, Juliet “fantasizes about being surrounded by cadavers, and she herself being a “fresh” cadaver ( IV, I ) .
In IV, three, Juliet says to the Nurse, & # 8220 ; Farewell! God knows when we shall run into once more, & # 8221 ; ( ll.15 ) giving a preliminary to her ain evident decease. Juliet so ponders what she will make if the potion does non work, and decides to take a sticker with her to bed. She hopes that she will be able to utilize the sticker if she wakes in the forenoon to truly dispense
herself from the universe ( ll.22-24 ) . She continues her raillery, afraid that she will wake up following to Tybalt & # 8217 ; s dead organic structure before Romeo can disinter her. She besides becomes fearful of asphyxiation from the unhealthy exhausts in the catacomb ( ll.31-36 ) . Finally, in this blue address, she closes with the fact that if she is non exhumed rapidly after waking, that she will travel huffy at the sight of Tybalt & # 8217 ; s newly dead organic structure, and take a bone and nail her encephalons in ( ll.50-55 ) .
Meanwhile, the Friar is seeking to acquire word to Romeo of his program to fall in the two lovers. So, he sends a courier to Mantua to present a missive with the inside informations to Romeo ( IV, I ) . On the forenoon of the nuptials, Juliet is found & # 8220 ; dead & # 8221 ; by her Nurse, and the nuptials turns into a funeral ( IV, V ) . Unfortunately for Romeo, word of the Friar & # 8217 ; s program was delayed by a pestilence ( decease ) . Ironically, Balthasar does non hold a job presenting the intelligence of Juliet & # 8217 ; s decease to Romeo. The scene opens with Romeo & # 8217 ; s prophetic dream, & # 8220 ; I dreamt that my lady came and found me dead & # 8230 ; . & # 8221 ; ( ll.6 ) . Moments subsequently, Balthasar delivers his somewhat inaccurate intelligence to Romeo, & # 8220 ; Her organic structure slumbers in Capel & # 8217 ; s memorial, and her immortal portion with angels lives & # 8221 ; ( ll.18-19 ) . After Balthasar departs, Romeo decides that he is traveling to an apothecary, so that he can poison himself and lie with Juliet ( ll.36-54 ) . The apothecarist is hesitating to sell the toxicant to Romeo, but eventually gives him a powerful toxicant ( ll.60-89 ) .
In the concluding scene, Paris is mourning over Juliet & # 8217 ; s decease, and as he spies a torch, he hides. Romeo arrives on the scene with Balthasar, and Romeo asks Balthasar to make two things, present a missive to his household in the forenoon, and non to come to the grave no affair what he hears ( ll.23-27 ) . Romeo goes on to endanger Balthasar with decease if he comes to look into what Romeo is making ( ll.33-36 ) . Before he opens the grave, Romeo addresses the grave, & # 8220 ; Thou abhorrent trap, thou uterus of decease, gorged with the dearest morsel of the Earth, therefore I enforce thy icky jaws to open, and in despite I & # 8217 ; ll jam thee with more nutrient & # 8221 ; ( ll45-48 ) . Here we see Romeo body the grave, and shows choler towards it for eating Juliet. He eventually offers himself to the grave every bit good ( V, three ) . Paris emerges, as he thinks that Romeo is profaning the grave, and the two work forces duel. Romeo can non see the other adult male, and slays him. Paris asks that Romeo lay his organic structure beside that of Juliet, and Romeo says he will. Upon descrying the face of the slain adult male, Romeo discovers that it is Mercutio & # 8217 ; s kinsman, the County Paris. He obliges the dead adult male and
ballads him in the grave.
When in the grave, Romeo looks at Juliet and says, & # 8220 ; Death, that hath sucked the honey of thy breath, hath had no power yet upon thy beauty & # 8230 ; That insubstantial Death is amative, and that the thin abhorred monster supports thee here in dark to be his fancy man? & # 8221 ; ( ll.92-105 ) . Here Romeo remarks that Death, personified, has non yet taken away Juliet & # 8217 ; s beauty. He so goes on to province that Death is maintaining Juliet as its married woman. At the terminal of his soliloquy, Romeo drinks the toxicant and dies.
The Friar arrives upon the scene a spot to late, but is at that place to recognize Juliet when she awakens. The sight is excessively atrocious for him, and he leaves Juliet entirely in the grave. Distraught that there is no more toxicant left, Juliet stabs herself. At the terminal of the drama, we besides learn of the sudden decease of Lady Montague, after Romeo & # 8217 ; s ostracism.
Throughout his drama, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare exemplified the decease motive in many ways. He used existent deceases, personification of Death, and employed the usage of foresight to touch to decease and catastrophe. In making so in this facile mode, his drama runs swimmingly, and links to other parts really good, into an dry and distorted calamity.
Bibliography
Shakespeare, William. The Calamity of Romeo and Juliet. New York: Washington
Square Press, 1959
369
