Romeo and Juliet quotes. Flashcards
(51 cards)
1
Q
‘Shake the yoke of inauspicious stars.’ Romeo
A
- Links to ‘I defy you stars.’
- Shows that Romeo is attempting to resist the domination of bad luck. This is paradoxical, as fate is shown to be fixed throughout the play, yet Romeo claims to fight against such bad fate, and wants to take his fate into his own hands.
- Romeo’s real fate is to die.
2
Q
‘Shake the yoke of inauspicious stars.’
ROMEO
A
- Links to ‘I defy you stars.’
- Shows that Romeo is attempting to resist the domination of bad luck. This is paradoxical, as fate is shown to be fixed throughout the play, yet Romeo claims to fight against such bad fate, and wants to take his fate into his own hands.
- Romeo’s real fate is to die.
3
Q
‘O happy dagger.’
JULIET
A
- This phallic symbol shows that the last thing she thinks about is how sexual she is.
- The phallic symbol of a dagger also represents masculinity, showing how Juliet begins to mirror Romeo’s behaviour.
- Oxymoron between happy and dagger could resemble the oxymoron of ‘O loving hate.’ - Shows the duality of love, and that love comes hand in hand with pain.
- Romeo died by drinking poison, yet Juliet died to a dagger - this is a classic example of Shakespeare subverting gender roles, as poison is less pain and seen as feminine, whereas a dagger is a violent, courageous and masculine way to die.
4
Q
‘For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo.’
CHORUS
A
- Possessive pronoun of ‘her’ is another classic example of Shakespeare subverting gender roles. CONTEXT: at the time, women were owned by their husbands, fathers, brothers, etc, but here, Juliet is possessive of Romeo.
- Woe links in with the theme of tragedy, showing that they’re a couple until the end.
- This rhyming couplet could potentially resemble them and their love, intertwined with eachother.
5
Q
‘Romeo’s a dishclout to him. An eagle, madam, Hath not so green, so quick, so fair an eye As Paris hath.’
NURSE
A
- Vivid metaphor of a dishclout to show how stained and dirty Romeo is in comparison to Paris.
- Image of an eagle represents observant, powerful and majestic qualities.
- ‘Madam’ the Nurse constantly addresses Juliet with lots of respect.
- ‘So green, so quick, so fair’ this tricolon emulates the fact that Paris is better than Romeo in numerous ways.
6
Q
‘Romeo, Romeo, Romeo! Here’s drink - I drink to thee.’
JULIET
A
- Tricolon of exclamatives emphasises her desperation and longing for him, as well has her passionate nature.
- LINK - ‘O Romeo! Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?’ reinforces and reminds of the intimate and instant connection between them in the balcony scene, and the love and passion they share.
- ‘I drink to thee’ Romeo gives her the courage to do things she wouldn’t normally do - he completes her in a way.
7
Q
‘Death lies on her like an untimely frost.
CAPULET
A
- Personification of death here shows that death and fate come in to play constantly - she was destined to die.
- Simile of ‘untimely frost’ represents corpse and cold imagery, which could foreshadow her coming back to life.
8
Q
‘Death is my son-in-law, Death is my heir.’
CAPULET
A
- Capital letter for ‘death’ shows that Capulet views death as a real, animate thing, as if it was the person who married Juliet.
- Dramatic irony here, as Capulet doesn’t know he has a son-in-law and heir who is well and alive (Romeo).
- Foreshadows Romeo’s death.
9
Q
‘I defy you stars!’
ROMEO
A
- Demonstrates his hamarta, being his impulsivity.
- Exclamative conveys a strong sense of passion.
- Attempting to challenge fate by committing suicide to be with Juliet. This is ironic - LINK: ‘Death mark’d love’, therefore his suicide fulfills their fate anyways. No way to escape fate.
- Dramatic irony as Juliet isn’t really dead.
10
Q
‘Methinks I see thee now, thou art so low as the dead in the bottom of a tomb.’
JULIET
A
- Structural imagery - image of levels links to the balcony scene.
- Foreshadowing the next time she sees Romeo, where he really is dead.
11
Q
‘Hang thee, young baggage, disobedient wretch!’
CAPULET
A
- Demonstrates his hatred for Juliet by telling her to kill herself.
- Exclamative conveys a strong sense of anger, as well as through his verbal abuse.
- Tricolon to emphasise how much of a burden she is to him.
12
Q
‘Speak not, reply not, do not answer me! My fingers itch.’
CAPULET
A
- Tricolon of imperatives show that within this father-daughter relationship, Capulet has all the power. CONTEXT: at the time fathers owned their daughters, very common.
- Exclamative conveys a strong sense of rage.
13
Q
‘O, I have brought the mansion of love, But not possess’d it, and though I am sold, not yet enjoyed.’
JULIET
A
- Juliet’s sexual maturity is conveyed here, as she wants to consummate their marriage. This is another classic example of Shakespeare subverting gender roles, as women usually did not enjoy or want to partake in sexual activity.
- She is his property - she’s aware of her position in society.
14
Q
‘O serpent heart, hid with a flow’ring face!’
ROMEO
A
- ‘Serpent’ is a biblical allusion to the snake in the Garden of Eden, a common image of temptation and the devil. Poison of a snake foreshadows Romeo’s death.
- Duality of appearance vs. reality.
- Fricative alliteration conveys his anger.
- ‘Flow’ring face’ resembles Romeo’s purity and innocence.
- Exclamative - shock, passion, anger.
15
Q
‘Beautiful tyrant, fiend angelical! Dove-feathered raven! Wolvish-ravening lamb!’
A
- String of oxymorons demonstrate Romeo’s language convergence and conflicting feelings.
- Exclamatives emphasise how confused he is.
- Zoomorphism and animal imagery mimic Romeo’s wild and impulsive nature.
16
Q
‘In what vile part of this anatomy doth my name lodge? Tell me, that I may sack the hateful mansion.’
ROMEO
A
- Wants to get rid of his name and identity as a Montague, and finally be free from the family feud.
- Link to Juliet’s metaphor of ‘mansion of love’, showing the contrast of love vs. hate.
- In this metaphor, Romeo’s body is his mansion—hated because within it lies his name.
17
Q
‘I think she will be rul’d in all aspects by me.’
CAPULET
A
- CONTRASTS ‘My will to her consent is but a part.’ Demonstrates the bipolarity of Capulet.
- Demonstrates a typical Elizabethan family hierarchy, in which the father is the head of the household, and the daughter is the father’s property.
- Seeking personal gains from this marriage - it will raise his status, financial level, and there’ll be another male in the house.
18
Q
‘O sweet Juliet, thy beauty hath made me effeminate.’
ROMEO
A
- Putting misplaced blame on Juliet, as he was subverting gender roles before he met Juliet, so she had no effect on him. Conveys a lack of self awareness from Romeo.
- Juliet made him not want to fight, and fighting is stereotypically masculine - shows how Juliet weakened his courage.
19
Q
‘This day’s black fate.’
ROMEO
A
- Ominous tone.
- Elizabethans believe that fate is already predestined and is inescapable.
20
Q
‘O, I am fortune’s fool.’
ROMEO
A
- Links to the Wheel of Fortuna.
- Blaming fate for his own actions and victimising himself. This conveys a degree of immaturity from Romeo, as he doesn’t take responsibility for his actions.
21
Q
‘Come night; come Romeo; come, thou day in night.’
JULIET
A
- Tricolon and repetition convey a degree of desperation and vulnerability from Juliet.
- Romeo brightens the darkness for her, showing how deeply connected to him she is and how much love she has for him.
- Suggests Romeo is a light and angelic figure - dramatic irony as he has just killed Tybalt.
- Motif of dark and light.
22
Q
‘Take him and cut him out in little stars.’
JULIET
A
- Celestial imagery reminds us of the theme of fate.
- Gruesome and violent imagery, subverting gender roles yet again.
- Duality of love and death.
23
Q
‘Love’s heralds.’
JULIET
A
- Juliet relies on the nurse for important tasks, indicating a high level of trust in their relationship. Shows how she sees the nurse as a motherly figure.
24
Q
‘But old folks, many feign as they were dead; unwieldy, slow, heavy and pale as lead.’
JULIET
A
- Tricolon emphasises her impatience, and how Romeo constantly dominates her thoughts.
- ‘Pale’ reminds the audience of death, and ‘lead’ is poisonous - foreshadows Romeo and Juliet’s death. Talking about Romeo in relation to this death imagery hints that Juliet knows they’ll be the end of each other.
25
'These violent delights have violent ends.'
| FRIAR
- Images of danger and destruction.
- Links to 'death mark'd love', foreshadowing their death. Dramatic irony here.
- Almost a warning from the Friar, that Romeo's ease of being overpowered by his emotions will lead to his downfall.
26
'O calm, dishonourable, vile submission!'
| MERCUTIO
- Attempting to provoke Romeo so he starts fighting, which doesn't work - shows how effeminate Romeo has become.
- Tricolon - emphasises Mercutio's rage.
- Mercutio is a foil for Romeo, as he is aggressive whilst Romeo is calm.
- Mercutio submits to gender roles, while Romeo does not. 'Vile submission' Mercutio is insulting his masculinity, or lack thereof.
- Exclamative - angry that Romeo is submitting to Tybalt.' Reveals Mercutio's violent nature.
27
'A plague o' both your houses!'
| MERCUTIO
- 'Plague' spreads and affects everyone, even bystanders.
- Repetition of this many times through the scene, exaggerating his hatred for the family feud.
- Exclamative emphasises his rage.
28
'O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?'
| JULIET
- Repetition reveals her dependent nature - she needs a man to rely on, and she looks to Romeo for comfort.
- Themes of identity and the family feud - a name had lots of significance in the Elizabethan era.
- Rhetorical question emulates her hopelessness.
29
'What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet.'
ROMEO
- Rhetorical question emulates Romeo's frustration and anger - he's ready to renounce his title and name just to be with Juliet.
- Duality of love, links to 'pricks like a thorn', showing Romeo's common language convergence.
- Sibilance utilised, mimicing the sly nature of their relationship. Could also be alluding to the serpent in the Garden of Eden, showing how Romeo is giving in to the lust and temptation that comes with being with Juliet.
30
'With love's light wings did I o'erperch these walls.'
| ROMEO
- Juliet's love gives him power, which Romeo recognises.
- Liquid alliteration creates a soft and soothing effect, mimicing how Juliet's love for him makes him feel soothed.
- Links to 'feather of lead' - the wings used to be heavy with Rosaline, but now they're light because of Juliet. Could also be foreshadowing their deaths, as lead is poisonous.
- Literal image of 'walls', as they're separated by their family feud. Metaphor for the Capulet walls shows how segregated R+J are by all these obstacles in their way.
31
'It is too rash, too unadvis'd, too sudden, too like the lightning.'
JULIET
- Intensifier 'too' suggests how overwhelmed Juliet is.
- Juliet is mature, as she suspects their relationship will lead to something bad. Foreshadows their 'death mark'd love.'
'Simile in which Juliet is comparing their exchange of vows to lightening. She describes it as lightning which ceases to be before anyone can even say it is there. Lightning is also unexpected and dangerous, alike their love. Conveys the duality of love and conflict.
32
'Virtue itself turns vice, being misapplied.'
| FRIAR
- The friar is hesitant to marry them, as he can sense the tragic outcome.
- Juxtaposition between virtue (good) and vice (evil) shows that they go hand in hand.
33
'For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss.'
JULIET
- Typical petrarchan lover, as she is so superior.
- Blasphemous - audience at the time would've picked up on this, as it was frowned upon during the Elizabethan era.
- Physical imagery here conveys intimacy.
- Repetition of 'palm' signifies praying (kissing). Shows how she values kissing that much, and sees it as an important step in their relationship.
- Plosive alliteration suggests violence, possibly foreshadowing bad things to come.
34
'My sin is purg'd.'
| JULIET
- Classic example of Shakespeare subverting gender roles - women were expected to be lovesick, and men were expected to be violent.
- Kissing reinforces the removal of sin, links to 'my lips, two blushing pilgrims.' Already mimicking Romeo's behaviour.
35
'My grave is likely to be my wedding bed.'
| JULIET
- Links to the foreshadowing of their 'death mark'd love', and the theme of tragedy.
- Dramatic irony, as the audience knows Juliet dies because of her love for Romeo.
36
'My only love sprung from my only hate!'
| ROMEO
- Possessive pronoun of 'my' - Romeo already views Juliet as his. Suggests that Romeo fully believes Juliet is his first and last love, which foreshadows their death.
- Juxtaposition between 'love' and 'hate' shows the duality and that they come hand in hand.
- Exclamative conveys a sense of frustration - all he wants is to be with Juliet, but this family feud is restricting him.
37
'Juliet is the sun.'
| ROMEO
- Everything revolves around the sun, and its the centre of everything - shows how Juliet is all he thinks about, and without her, there's no meaning.
- Light imagery - she is pure and good, therefore she will bring him happiness.
- Metaphor that he needs her to bring him warmth and light - he needs her to survive - without the sun, there would be no life on earth.
- The sun is dangerous if you get too close to it - foreshadows their death.
38
'Is love a tender thing? It is too rough, too rude, too boisterous, and it pricks like a thorn.'
ROMEO
- Anaphoric repetition, emphasising his negative feelings towards love.
- 'Pricks like a thorn' resembles a rose, and the duality of a rose - petals, beauty and romance, but thorns suggest danger and pain. Could be foreshadowing their death.
39
'Some consequences hanging in the stars.'
| ROMEO
- Death imagery creates a sense of foreboding and foreshadowing.
- Links to the central theme of fate, and how it dominates their lives.
40
'Did my heart love till now?'
| ROMEO
- Rhetorical question to convey his strong sense of disbelief.
- Extremely typical petrarchan lover - love at first sight suggests lust over love, and a sense of immaturity, as he is only judging her based off of her looks. Materialistic love?
- Reveals the fickle nature of Romeo - was previously pining over Rosaline for her not returning feelings for him, yet now he suggests that he never had feelings for her.
41
'Now seeming sweet convert to bitterest gall.'
| TYBALT
- Sibilance demonstrates their soft, heartfelt love.
- Superlative of bitterest.
- 'Gall' poison and conflict, foreshadowing Romeo and Juliet's death.
42
'If I profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine.'
| ROMEO
- Reveals Romeo's submissive nature, as he is quick to defy gender roles.
- 'My unworthiest hand' degrading himself, suggesting he views Juliet as superior - worshipping her.
- Juxtaposition between 'unworthiest' and 'holy'.
- 'Holy shrine' metaphor for her hand - physical imagery here suggests intimacy. Also blasphemous, as he is seemingly worshipping her.
43
'My lips, two blushing pilgrims.'
| ROMEO
- 'Two' couple imagery.
- Physical imagery representing lust and intimacy.
- 'Blushing' shy and eager, shows how fickle and foolish Romeo is - but also how lovesick and romantic he is.
- Religious imagery 'pilgrims' - kissing Juliet is like a religious journey - he worships her already, again showing his fickle and immature nature.
- Romeo's name means pilgrim, so in Juliet he sees himself. Feminine qualities?
- Part of a Shakespearean sonnet - love poetry.
44
'I hate the world as I hate hell, all montagues, and thee.'
| TYBALT
- Repetition of hate emphasises his rage and hatred, demonstrating his violent nature.
- Categorises everyone together, with no sense of individuality. Shows how materialistic the family feud is.
- Catholicism was the main religion during the Elizabethan era - comparing the world to hell would have been very frowned upon.
45
'O brawling love, o loving hate!'
| ROMEO
- Oxymorons showing the duality of love and hate - they co-exist. They also verbally represent his conflicting emotions and ambivalence.
- Repetition and assonance of 'O' show how helpless Romeo feels. Conveys his inner turmoil, and shows how easily he is overcome by his emotions.
- Exclamative suggests frustration.
46
'Feather of lead.'
| ROMEO
- Lead is heavy, a burden, and an inconvenience.
- Oxymoron is outlined as an attribute of love and implies that although the initial phase of love is like a breeze that feels as light as a feather, the aftermath of brutal rejection by one's beloved feels like a burden as heavy as lead.
- Lead symbolises love - both poisonous.
47
'My will to her consent is but a part.'
| CAPULET
- Goes against traditional Elizabethan family patriarchy - children are usually married off young and are given no say in the matter.
- Shows how Capulet respects her and cares for her happiness.
- This is very short-sighted, as Capulet only does this for selfish reasons such as societal status and wealth.
48
'Man of wax.' (paris)
| NURSE
- Metaphor, showing that the Nurse is only concerned with appearance, and this idea of idealistic love over romantic love.
- Nurse wholly believes that Paris is the ideal, perfect man for her, and is suggesting that Juliet should marry him. Unusual, as the Nurse knows Juliet well enough to know that coercing her into this marriage isn't what she wants.
49
'Star-crossed lovers.'
| CHORUS
- In the Elizabethan era, they believed stars controlled fate - their death is inevitable.
- Ill-fated.
50
'Death mark'd love.'
| CHORUS
- Doomed to die - tragic anticipation.
| - Foreshadows their deaths.
51
'Do you bite your thumb at us sir?'
| SAMPSON
- Theme of masculine honour and the need to protect it.
| - Seen as shameful if you didn't accept a challenge.
