Romeo and Juliet Short Essay Passage Analysis

By: Grant Klassy

Many people claim to have experienced true love, but no other piece of
literature better demonstrates the real meaning of true love than
Shakespeares "Romeo and Juliet". In under a week Romeo and Juliet meet,
fall in love, and kill themselves for each other. They love each other so truly
that they will do anything, even kill themselves, to be with each other. This is
most evident is the passage of (V.iii.74-128) through the use of metaphors,
imagery, and symbols.
The first way that the author conveys the theme of dying for someone
you love is through the use of metaphors. This can be seen when Romeo first
sees that Juliet is dead. A grave? O, no, a lanthorn, slaughtred youth/For
here lies Juliet, and her beauty makes/This vault a feasting presence full of
light (V.iii.84-84). When Romeo is calling the grave a lantern, not only is it
an oxymoron, but it also an extended metaphor. He is comparing Juliet to the
source of the light which turns the grave into a lantern. When Romeo calls
Juliet a light, he is saying that Juliet is the light of his life. Juliet is everything
to him, and he will do anything for her. It is this drive of emotions that proves
that he would even kill himself for Juliet.
One more example of metaphors in Romeos dying speech is when he
is talking about Juliets lips. And, lips, O you/The doors of breath, seal with a
righteous kiss/A dateless bargain to engrossing death (V.iii.114-115). This
time Romeo compares Juliets lips with doors, first doors of breath, and then
doors of engrossing death. Romeo is willing to enter the doors of death, and
that emphasizes even more how he will do anything for the one he loves.
The doors of death are his willingness to kill himself to be with Juliet.
The second literary device that the author uses to transfer the theme
of dying for someone you love is through the use of imagery. This can be
seen in the portion of the passage near the end, when Romeo is describing
his feelings. Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on/The dashing rocks thy
seasick weary bark (V. iii. 117-118). Romeo is in fact the pilot that he talks
about in that passage. He calls himself desperate, and his path to death is
filled with Dashing rocks and seasickness. Shakespeare doesnt simply
make Romeo say I am sad and depressed but instead fills Romeos speech
with great imagery to help us better understand how Romeo is feeling.

Another example of imagery in the passage is when Romeo is

describing the dead body of Juliet. Death, that hath sucked the honey of
thy breath/Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty/Thou art not conquered.
Beautys ensign yet/Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks (V.iii.92-96).
Shakespeare uses a variety of different adjectives to help the reader better
visualize Juliet. First, he tells the reader about how death hath had to power
yet. This tells the reader that she looks as if she is alive, which she really is.
He uses a number of other adjectives too. These include sucked
conquered and crimson. He could have just as easily said Taken away
been done with and red. With the words that he chooses, one can really
imagine not only what Juliet looks like, but what Romeo is feeling on the
inside. He feels as if Juliet was just as beautiful as she was alive, and realizes
the only way he can be happy is to kill himself for the one he loves.
The third usage of figurative language that the author adds to his piece
to convey the theme of dying for someone you love is through the use of
symbols. One major symbol is when he calls Juliet the presence full of light
in the crypt. Throughout the entire book, Romeo has been comparing many
things to the lightness and darkness. In this comparison in particular, I
believe that the darkness of the Crypt not only represents his whole life and
experience with Juliet and the feud, but also his knowledge that he is going
to die. Juliet is the light at the end of the tunnel. With her he can forget all of
the darkness and embrace the feasting presence full of light (V.iii.86) that
is their love.
One more symbol is the poison that Romeo uses to commit suicide.
The poison symbolizes the ongoing feud between the Capulets and
Montagues. Poison is the cause of both Romeo and Juliets deaths. One is
sleeping poison and the other a killing poison. Just like the feud between the
two families, the different types of poison represent how each of Romeo and
Juliets families have their differences. Unfortunately, both the feud and the
poisons end in death. Although this may seem sad and morbid, the poison is
what ends the feud, and what brings Romeo and Juliet together in the end.
For these reasons, one can clearly see that the theme of dying for
someone you love is evident in Romeos death speech. Romeo uses
metaphors, imagery, and symbols to express not only his love for Juliet, but
his willingness to take the ultimate measure to be with her. It is for this
reason that to this day, Shakespeares literature has passed the test of time,
and is still regarded as one of the books that portrays love at its best.