Soliloquy in Romeo and Juliet, Essay Example

A soliloquy is a section of pay or an action scene that gives the audience an insight into what is going on in the play. Shakespeare uses soliloquies to express the inner thoughts of the actors in different scenes. For instance, Romeo and Juliet is a love story that ends in tragedy. Therefore, Shakespeare uses soliloquy to show the inner thoughts of Romeo about Juliet in a manner that portrays the feelings of the actor. The uniqueness of Shakespeare’s soliloquy is that he writes them in poetry form. This essay will analyze a soliloquy from the Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.

Soliloquy

Act 1 Scene 5 (Shakespeare, 53)

“O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!

It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night.

Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope’s ear;

Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear!

So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows,

As yonder lady o’er her fellows shows.

The measure done, I’ll watch her place of stand,

And, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand.

Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight!

For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night”.

This soliloquy is used by Shakespeare to describe Romeo’s feelings for Juliet the first time he saw her. This piece of poetry describes the perfect beauty of Juliet that Romeo lacks words for. Through this soliloquy, the audience encounters the first glimpse of Romeo’s love at first sight for Juliet. Shakespeare uses a combination of stylistic devices in this soliloquy to attract the attention of the readers and the audience of the play. The structure of this soliloquy takes the form of a poem that describes an if/then style. Romeo is smitten by Juliet and awestruck by her beauty. He says, “Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear!” (Shakespeare, 53). He continues to wish that he could hold her hands. The if part of this soliloquy is when Romeo thinks of touching Juliet’s hand. Thus, if he could get this opportunity, then it means that he will feel a blessed man be in love with Juliet. He says, “And, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand.” (Shakespeare, 53).

Broader Context of the Play

This soliloquy is woven in a manner that connects the different sections of the play. Initially, the dancing maidens entertain Capulet and his household, and Romeo is also in attendance. Juliet is supposed to marry another night to whom she is engaged. Romeo enquires from another serving-man about the lady who happens to be Juliet. He then expresses his feelings in the soliloquy. The positioning of this excerpt in this scene creates tension. This is because Juliet is supposed to get married on a noble night. However, Romeo, who is a Montague and a low-class youth, falls in love with her. Thus, this plot shows the rivalry between Montague and Juliet’s family. Tybalt expresses his disgust when he hears Romeo speak and refers to him as a disguised slave in the wrong place. He says, “What dares the slave Come hither covered with an antic face” (Shakespeare 55). Besides, Tybalt is even willing to kill Romeo. However, Capulet stops Tybalt saying that Romeo has remarkable character. He proceeds, “I would not for the wealth of all this town Here in my house do him disparagement” (Shakespeare 55). This shows that despite the Montagues being acknowledged as villains by Juliet’s family, Capulet spares Romeo and prefers to watch him. Shakespeare uses this plot to show Romeo and Juliet’s challenge in the future since their backgrounds have conflicting interests. Moreover, this soliloquy introduces the tensions that the readers will experience throughout the romantic relationship of Romeo and Juliet. The event that led to this soliloquy is the attraction that Romeo had for Juliet during the dance.

Dramatic Devices Used in The Soliloquy

Contrast

Contrast is used rhetorically to identify the differences between two different items. In the soliloquy, Romeo says, “Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight” (Shakespeare 54). This shows the difference Between what he feels and the doubt he has. He doubts if he is in love with Juliet for sure but later expresses his assertion that he loves her. The contrast in this soliloquy shows the readers the confusion in Romeo’s mind and what he desires.

Irony

Irony expresses the meaning of something using an opposite language. For example, Romeo is fascinated by Juliet’s beauty. However, he says, “Beauty too rich for use” (Shakespeare 54). This is an ironic statement since Romeo likes the beauty he sees but still feels it is excessive.

Suspense

Suspense leaves the readers and the audience to expect more from a scene. Romeo says he has never met such beauty before. This soliloquy ends when he says, “For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.” (Shakespeare 54). The effect caused by this suspense is that Romeo, a Montague who is considered a rival, falls in love with Juliet. Also, Juliet is supposed to be married to someone else. This creates suspense since the readers want to know if Romeo will interfere with Juliet’s planned marriage.

Foreshadowing

This device shows what will happen in the future. The entire soliloquy is about Romeo expressing his feelings for Juliet. This shows the possibility of Juliet and Romeo having a romantic relationship in the future. Also, when Romeo says, “And, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand” (Shakespeare 54). This shows how Romeo is longing to have Juliet as his lover.

Epiphany

Epiphany is a great realization or revelation of something. The soliloquy shows Romeo’s expressions about his feelings. He also realizes that his attraction to Juliet is because of the love he has for her. He says, “Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight” (Shakespeare 54). This informs the spectator that Romeo is head over heels in love with Juliet.

Anthropomorphic

This is a stylistic device that uses animals or inanimate objects to compare two different things. For example, in the soliloquy, Shakespeare compared Juliet’s beauty to different things. This has the effect of figuratively describing her. For example, “As a rich Jewel in Ethiop’s ear” (Shakespeare 54). This represents Juliet’s beauty to an expensive jewel.

Rhetorical Device

The rhetorical device used in this soliloquy is a rhetorical question. The purpose of rhetoric is to engage the reader while opening their minds to think. For instance, it is obvious that Romeo is longing to have Juliet as his lover. However, he still asks, “Did my heart love till now?” (Shakespeare 54).

Use of Soliloquy

Soliloquy provides the audience with insights about what they are to expect. They reveal plans, decisions, conflicts, and emotions. For example, this soliloquy comes after Romeo spots Juliet held by another night. This reveals his plan to court her. Also, the decision expressed comes from his assertion that he is in love with her. The conflict, however, comes immediately after the soliloquy since Tybalt shows the rivalry between the Capulets and the Montague. Ty alt says, “To strike him dead I hold it not a sin.” (Shakespeare 55). This soliloquy does not comment on past events before the play begins.

The soliloquy changes the perception of the audience about the preceding events. Juliet is a young girl whose family wants to marry off to a nobleman. However, Romeo’s affection for Juliet changes things. Romeo expresses his love for Juliet despite being a Montague, who she already sees held by another knight. Therefore, the soliloquy changes the flow of the play since Romeo introduces conflict and suspense. It causes a different assessment of Romeo as the character in the play. Despite being Montague, Capulet spares him from the wrath of Tybalt. Capulet says, “Verona brags of him to be a virtuous and well-governed youth” (Shakespeare 55). This shows that Romeo is of good character, although he is a rival. There are hints for Romeo from this soliloquy on how to get to Juliet. He says, “I’ll watch her place of stand” (Shakespeare 54). This shows that by watching Juliet, he will find a way to hold her hand. This soliloquy lacks dialogue. It is simply Romeo expressing his affection for Juliet.

Other Stylistic Devices

Shakespeare uses several stylistic devices to write this soliloquy. The type of writing that the monologue takes is to write this soliloquy. The type of writing that the monologue takes is prose poetry with rhyming words at the end of every line. For example, the rhyming words in lines one and two are bright and night, respectively, while in lines three and four are ear and dear, respectively.

Diction

The choice of words used in this soliloquy is descriptive. These include a rich jewel, burn bright, cheek of night, and true beauty (Shakespeare 54). These are the words Romeo uses to describe Juliet’s beauty.

Simile

The simile gives an indirect comparison. For example, Romeo says, “As a Rich Jewel in Ethiop’s ear” (Shakespeare 55).

Language Play

The Language play in use is hyperbaton. This is the use of an inverted sequence of words. For example, Romeo says, “I’ll watch her place of stand” (Shakespeare 53) instead of “I’ll watch her standing place.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the soliloquy from Act 1, scene 5, uses figurative language to describe Romeo’s affection for Juliet. Shakespeare uses this monologue to show the audience what to expect in the play. The soliloquy uses different literary devices to show the richness of language by the author.

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet”. Accessed 14 November 2021.