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Romeo and Juliet: language and character

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Shakespeare's characters reveal themselves through their language. Light and dark imagery, opposites and violent words run all through Romeo and Juliet.

Light and love

When Romeo sees Juliet at her window, he uses a metaphor.

Opposites

An oxymoron puts two opposite words together, like 'O brawling love, O loving hate' (Romeo, Act 1 Scene 1). Love and hate are tangled together in this play.
Juliet discovers that Romeo is a Montague:

Key characters

Worked example

Analyse 'It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.'

  1. It is a metaphor: Juliet IS the sun.
  2. The sun brings light and warmth, and rises in the east.
  3. So Juliet is the centre of Romeo's world, bringing light into darkness.

Answer: The metaphor makes Juliet the source of light and life for Romeo: she is the centre of his world, shining out of the darkness of night.

Key idea

Look for light and dark imagery, oxymorons that tangle love and hate, and how each character's speech reveals them: impulsive Romeo, brave Juliet, aggressive Tybalt, witty Mercutio.

The interactive lesson includes the diagrams for this topic.

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