R&J+Oppositions

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1. Love and Hate
__-Seung-Min Yang-__


 * They love their family**

-examples

Doth much excuse the appertaining rage’ 3.1.55-56 She’s the hopeful lady of my earth.’ 1.2.13-14
 * Romeo and Juliet loves each other (they got married so they are a family now)
 * balcony sence
 * __In Act 3__
 * Romeo to Tybalt
 * ‘Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee
 * This was after Romeo’s wedding. Romeo is trying to avoid the fight between him and Tybalt Romeo loves Juliet so he is trying to love her family as well
 * __In Act 1__
 * Capulet talking to Paris
 * ‘Earth hath swallowed all my hopes but she;
 * this shows how much Capulet cares about his only daughter which indicates the love in the family

//BUT//


 * They hate another family**

-examples

As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee.’ 1.1.61-62 - - - - - - -
 * __In Act 1__
 * Tybalt talking to Benvolio
 * ‘What, drawn and talk of peace? I hate the word,
 * this shows how much Tybalt hates the other family which indicates the hate between the two households
 * __In Act 1__
 * Juliet talking to the Nurse
 * ‘My only love sprung from my only hate!’ 1.5.137
 * This is a great example of showing the opposition of hate and love (at least I think that..) Juliet falls in love with a guy that is from a family she is suppose to hate.


 * Family can die for each other (because they love each other)**

-examples

Grief of my son’s exile hath stopped her breath’ 5.3.210-211 //BUT//
 * __In Act 5__
 * The married couple Juliet and Romeo die for each other
 * __In Act 5__
 * Montague talking to the characters in the play
 * ‘Alas, my liege, my wife is dead tonight;
 * He explains how his wife died because she couldn’t stand Romeo being dead which indicates how she loves his son


 * Two different households can kill each other (because they hate each other)**

-example


 * __In Act 3__
 * Tybalt kills Mercutio Romeo kills Tybalt
 * The boys from two different households kill each other because they hate each other that much

- - - - - - -


 * They fight to protect their family (fighting is love)**

-example

//BUT//
 * __In Act 3__
 * Mercutio to Tybalt
 * ‘Make haste, lest mine be about your ears ere it be out.’ 3.1.73-74
 * Even though Mercutio and Romeo is not related Mercutio fights for Romeo (when Romeo refuses to fight with Tybalt) which indicates Mercutio loves Romeo (like a family) and wants to fight for him and protect him


 * They fight because they hate each other**

-example

make it a word and a blow’ 3.1.35
 * __In Act 3__
 * Mercutio to Tybalt
 * ‘And but one word with one of us? couple it with something,
 * Mercutio is picking a fight because he hates Tybalt

- - - - - - -

The love of Romeo and Juliet is threatened by a society full of hate

Finally ‘love’ wins ‘hate’

The love between Romeo and Juliet was so strong that it beat the hatred between the two households.

Their family stop hating each other and learns to accept one another

**Love (Samantha Li 1B)** **Types of love**

Love of friends
 * Romeo, Mercutio and Benvolio are close friends
 * Mercutio fight for his friend Romeo but this causes him to die (Act 3 Scene 1)

Love of family -Both parents form the Montague and the Capulet family love their children. In Act 4 Scene 3 they all morn for their children Physics love In Act 2 Scene 1 Mercutio’s idea of love is more physical than what Romeo thinks
 * Lady Montague died after hearing that Romeo was banished from Verona we know this because Montague said “Alas, my liege, my wife is dead tonight; grief of my son’s exile hath stopped her breath.(5.3.210-211)

Romantic Love At first Romeo is in love with Rosaline - Cuts beauty off from all posterity. She is too fair, too wise, wisely too fair, (1.1.211-222) Romeo falls in love with Juliet - In Act 2 scene 2 line 1-25 Romeo describes his love for Juliet

**Main themes or ideas of love** -Love is blind -fate -cupid -Love overpowers other values

Cupid
 * this idea that cupid is blind and it is fate that bring two lovers together because he can’t see and when he hits two people fate draws them together
 * Mercutio talked about the idea of Cupid shooting his arrows at random in Act 1 Scene 5

Love overpowers other values
 * In Act 2 scene 2 Juliet mentions that she would give up her name and her family to be with Romeo
 * Romeo returns to Verona to be with Juliet knowing the risks is death if he was caught

The idea of love begin totally random - Romeo believes that since Cupid can’t see him and Juliet were chosen by random and thy were meant to be together

**Hate**

The hatred of the Montagues and Capulets can be seen throughout the play some examples are

Act 1 Scene 1- Montague and Capulets are fighting in the square Act 1 Scene 5 line 55-90- Tybalt talks to Capulet about how he hates Romeo and wants him out of the party Act 2 Scene 2 line 40-50- Juliet is talking about how they can’t be together because they are from different families Act 3 Scene 2- This scene is all about the hatred between the Montague and the Caplets

**Love and Hate**

Romeo marries Juliet out of love but it brings more hatred to their families if they ever found out that they were married without their blessing.

Hate often comes from love -The love for the Montague family makes you hate the Capulets -Mercutio fights tybalt because he hates the Capulets but also for his friend Romeo -Romeo and Juliet both died because of their love for each other.

2. Oxymorons
Oxymorons in Romeo and Juliet Georgia Dodd

//Act 1 Scene 1// One example of oxymorons in the play is in Act 1 Scene 1 where Romeo is very melancholy because he feels that his love for Rosalyn is not returned. In this example he compares many different things together to express how confused he is:

"O brawling love, O loving hate, O any thing of first create! O heavy lightness, serious vanity, misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms, feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health, still-waking sleep, that is not what it is! This love feel I, that feel no love in this." (1.1.167-173)

//Good vs Evil// Act 2 Scene 3 In this scene Friar Lawrence is comparing that the sweet flower has both medicine and poison in it, both good and evil. He also compares these poisonous flowers to humans in that they have both good and evil.

"WIthin the infant rind of this weak flower poison hath residence, and medicine power; for this, being smelt, with that part cheers apart, being tasted, stays all sense with the heart. Two such opposséd kings encamp them still in man as well as herbs, grace and rude will; and where the worser is predominant, full soon the canker death eats up that plant." (2.3.23-30)

//Love vs Death// In the play there are many oxymorons between love and death, there are many comparisons between Juliet's love and that she is marrying death. This is also dramatic irony because Juliet's love for Romeo ends up killing her.

"My grave is like to be my wedding bed." (1.5.134)

//Bravery vs Cowardice// In Act 3 Scene 1, when Tybalt demands a fight from Romeo and he refuses, Mercutio begins to fight Tybalt in order to retain his dominance. This is not such a popular theme but it is shown frequently during the course of the play.

"Tybalt you rat-catcher, will you walk?" (3.1.68)

//Light vs Dark// •In the beginning of the play, when Romeo first sees Juliet he describes her as being light while the rest of the world is dark and unworthy of her presence.

“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.” (1.5.44-49)

Later on, he describes her in the metaphor, “It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.” (2.2.2) This helps describe Juliet as being a light and joyous person. Romeo then continues to describe Juliet in another metaphor, “Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, that thou, her maid, art far more fair than she.”

In the beginning of the play, Romeo is described as liking the darkness. We found out later that this is because his love for Rosalyn is not returned.

“Away from light steals home my heavy son, and private in his chamber pens himself, shuts up his windows, locks fair daylight out, and makes himself an artificial night...” (1.1.128-131) I believe that this helps describe Romeo as being like the night or as being very moody and emotional.

Later in the play, Juliet talks of how beautiful her Romeo is and how even if she dies he will still be with her. She also is saying that Romeo is so beautiful that he outshines the bright sun. “Give me my Romeo; and, when I shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars, and he will make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night and pay no worship to the garish sun.” (3.2.21-25)

This is not so different from what Romeo said of Juliet, but as Romeo is comparing Juliet to the Sun, Juliet is comparing Romeo to the night. In my opinion, throughout the course of the play, Romeo and Juliet are being displayed in opposing forces, the sun and night, light and dark.

• The aspect of dark or night in the play is also shown as being a safe haven for Romeo and Juliet because they can only meet at night after the banishment of Romeo.

“As Phaëton would whip you to the west, and bring in the cloudy night immediately...Lovers can see to do their amorous rites by their own beauties, or if love be blind it best agrees with night. Come, civil Night, thou sober-suited matron all in black, and learn me how to lose a winning match...Come, Night, come, Romeo, come, thou day in night, for thou wilt lie upon a raven’s back. Come, gentle Night, come, loving, black-browed Night.” (3.2.3-20)

While in the light or morning, they must leave one another. In this exerpt, after Romeo spends the night with Juliet, Juliet tries to convince Romeo that it is not yet morning by saying that it is not the lark that sings at the window but the nightingale:

“It was the nightingale, and not the lark, that pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear...It was the lark, the herald of the morn, no nightingale. Look, love, what envious streaks do lace the severing clouds in yonder east: night’s candles are burnt out, and jocund day stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops. I must be gone and live, or stay and die...It is the lark that sings so out of tune, straining harsh discords and unpleasing sharps. Some say the lark makes sweet division: this doth not so, for she divideth us...O now be gone, more light and light it grows. More light and light, more dark and dark our woes.” (3.5.2-35)

3. Death and Life
Theme: Life and Death

The theme of life and death started in the very beginning of the play.

Act 1 Scene 1 Act 2 Scene 3
 * After the fight in the square, the prince arrived and said ‘If you ever disturb our streets again, your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace’ (1.1.87-88)
 * As you can see the laws of disturbing the peace is very harsh and strict, this also foreshadows the future punishments will not just be a warning, it would be their lives.
 * In Friar Lawrence's speech about Earth and herbs, you can see that it also explores the theme of life and death by the prospective of Earth.
 * ‘The earth that’s nature mother is her tomb; What is her burying grave, that is her womb’ (2.3.10-11)
 * In addition to this ‘Within the infant rind of this weak flower poison hath residence, and medicine power, for this, being smelt, with that part cheers each part; Being tasted, slays all sense with heart’ (2.3.25-28)
 * translation: Earth both gives birth to us, nurtures us and makes us live. We come from her, and she is like a womb. But when you die, you are buried inside Earth which also makes it your tomb.
 * Theme: Friar Lawrence is sending a message that life and death are often two of the same thing.
 * In addition to this ‘Within the infant rind of this weak flower poison hath residence, and medicine power, for this, being smelt, with that part cheers each part; Being tasted, slays all sense with heart’ (2.3.25-28). This is another example of how Earth can kill you (death) with its poison but it can also heal you (life) with medical herbs.

Act 3 Scene 2
 * Juliet’s suffering
 * ‘Vile earth, to earth resign, end motions here, and thou and Romeo press one heavy bier’ (3.2.57-60)
 * Translation: My body must go to the earth, my life must end now, so I can share a funeral bed with Romeo
 * Theme: the theme of life and death are connected strongly with the other main theme love and hate. Because Juliet has misunderstood that Romeo had died, she wanted to end her life. The theme also relates so sacrifice and how Juliet would give up her life to be with Romeo in the ‘after life’ or ‘death life’ together.
 * ‘I’ll to my wedding bed, and death, not Romeo, take my maidenhead!’ (3.2.136-137)
 * death is described as a brides groom, it is personifies and described as a live person. Death is once again used to describe Juliet’s sorrow and how death would be better than living.
 * From later text, you can also find many examples of death being the brides groom.

Act 3 Scene 3
 * Romeo
 * ‘Tis torture and not mercy. Heaven is here where Juliet lives, and every cat and dog and little mouse, every unworthy thing, live here in heaven and may look on her, But Romeo may not.’ (3.3.30-34)
 * This quote from Romeo compares life with banishment and death. Romeo compares both life choices. Life without Juliet, is beyond torture and even worse than death.
 * The value of life and death is not absolute, it can change, life is not always better than death. Without the people you love, life would not be better than death, and sometimes (in Romeo’s case) without love, life is worse.

Act 4 Scene 5
 * The Capulets
 * ‘Life and these lips has long been separated, death lies on her like an untimely frost upon the sweetest flower of all the field’ (4.5.28-29)
 * Death is described as a frost that lies on top of Juliet’s life. Death is often hated it swallows people’s lives, however from the previous scenes, Juliet and Romeo has been asking for death to take them away.
 * Death is something that would not change, it would always be there. It is an option to you at both your darkest times and brightest times. Though, life could be changeable, it can be good and easy sometimes and sometimes it could be worse than death.

Act 5 Scene 3
 * The ironic deaths
 * ‘Death that hath sucked the honey of thy breath, hath had no power yet upon thy beauty’ (5.3.93-94)
 * ‘ Why art you so fair? shall I believe that unsubstantial death is amarous’ (5.3.103--104)
 * Romeo and Juliet’s love was eventually separated by death. However, they could also be joined together by death. Before, their feuding families kept them apart, but by death, they can be united together in heaven, where nothing is keeping them apart.
 * This shows that without each other’s love, they would rather give up their lives. Their passionate love has killed them both

4. Youth and Age
Steven Cheng

**Old People’s Mistakes:** Capulet and Montague should have ended the feud since it disturbed the city. However, they also joined the feud and continued to hate each other.

Friar Lawrence leaves Juliet by herself in Act 5 Scene 3, in fear that he would be caught by the police, so it shows that Friar Lawrence is very cowardly.

Friar Lawrence marries Romeo to Juliet, which shows that Friar Lawrence doesn’t care about the consequences. In addition, Friar Lawrence thinks up a dangerous plan which had many problems that could happen.

Capulet forces Juliet to marry Paris when she clearly didn’t want to, so this proves that Capulet only cares about his own reputation, without thinking about Juliet and what she would do. Also, Capulet threatens to kick Juliet out of his house if she didn’t marry Paris, which shows that Capulet is irrational and has bad parenting.

The Nurse helps Juliet get together with Romeo, which shows that she is irrational and not thinking about the consequences of her actions.

The apothecary is also greedy and irrational. He sells poison to Romeo, fully knowing that it is illegal and punishable by death.

**Young People’s Wisdom:** Juliet talks a lot in double meaning, such as when she laments on Tybalt’s death, but actually she is lamenting on Romeo’s banishment.

Romeo tries to be rational by trying to break up the fight between Mercutio and Tybalt, but it results in Mercutio being stabbed and killed.

Benvolio is a very rational and clever person. He always try to break up fights and stop fights from occurring. For example, in the first scene, he tries to break up the fight between the Montagues and Capulets. In addition, Benvolio gives Romeo advice about his breakup with Rosaline.

5. Public and Private
Ella (Tybalt kills Mercutio, Romeo kills Tybalt, Fighting between the Montagues and Capulets in the beginning) || Everyone is happy (Capulet & Paris, R&J, J& Nurse, ect.) || (R&J’s love [Tybalt is killed], plan is ruined [word doesn’t get to R], ect.) || Dramatic (positive) parts of the play occur (R&J meet, R&J get married, J takes the vile, ect.) ||
 * **Public** || **Private** ||
 * Fighting happens
 * Things are ruined
 * Shakespeare portrays Public as a violent place where the bad things happen, such as fighting, and things are ruined, such as when Romeo kills Tybalt. Then he portrays Private as a happy and calm place. All of the scenes of love and happiness occur in private. I think that this is done to show to the audience how secretive Romeo and Juliet’s love has to be. The Public and Private contrast is also displayed between Day and Night. Most of the Private encounters occur in the Night and the Public encounters occur during the Day. Both of these oppositions are presented through personification, juxtaposition, and sometimes imagery. ||

7. Dreams and Reality
Emma Schilp __**Dreams:**__ - Romeo is dreaming of love with Rosaline but is cut short when she swears that she will never fall in love or give up the ways of a chaste life. - when Romeo and Juliet meet, Juliet wishes that he was not a Montague. Saying “Deny thy father and refuse thy name/” (2.2.34 ). She is dreaming that he would ignore his parents and reject who he is to be with her. - “Romeo, doff thy name.” (2.2.47). She wants Romeo to throw away his name so that they can be together. You cannot just shed one’s name; it is a part of you. - The friar dreams that marrying Romeo and Juliet in secret and then later revealing the strong love to the families it will stop the fighting and resolve any and all possible issues - “In one respect I’ll thy assistant be:/ For this alliance may so happy prove/ To turn you households rancour to pure love.” (2.3.90-93) The

__**Reality:**__ -The Friar was blind to reality and was not able to see that the marriage would not resolve the issues or the tension between the families. -Romeo and Juliet may support the marriage but there is no say as to how their families may have reacted. They could have rejected and casted off Romeo and Juliet, then angrier, caused more violence and killed more people. - The younger people in the play only hate the opposing family because they were raised to. They do not have any specific ties or reasons as to why they should hate them until after Tybalt kills Mercutio. - The adults in the play allow the younger people fight as it is a force of habit. they do not punish their own, as they accuse and wish death upon the other house’s ‘villain.’ E.g. when Lady capulet was telling the price to kill Romeo as he had Killed Tybalt, “ For blood of ours, shed blood of Montague./” (3.1.140) she is being very hypocritical as she thinks that Romeo should be killed for avenging the death of mercutio after Tybalt killed him. - The Prince and Benevolio are the only unbiased people as they tell the whole truth and do everything in the name of justice. Not taking any sides.

Throughout this entire play, the interests of dreams and reality collide and clash. The dream of ending the feud between the family and being able to live happily together provide Romeo and Juliet enough motivation to move forward. the reality, however cuts them short of their hopes and kills them.

Tom Lee

**Dreams vs Reality **

- Romeo dreams of going out with Rosaline vs Rosaline wants chaste life

-Romeo and Juliet fall in love and dreams of their happy life vs Montague and Capulet can never be together since Montague and Capulet hates each other (Act 1 Scene 5)

- Friar believes that his plan will solve the family problems and arranges the marriage vs His plan ended up killing both Juliet and Romeo (Act 2 Scene 6)

- Romeo wants to throw his name away so that he can be with Juliet vs He cannot actually throw his name away since it means that he is betraying his family (Act 2 Scene 2)

- Most of the people believe that adults make the best decision vs In the play, Friar and Lord Montague & Capulet are the ones who started the feud

- Teens have to follow adult’s order vs Teens does not care about adults and do whatever they want in this play

Inside the play, there are many collisions between dreams and reality but the reality is stronger inside the play since people’s dream breaks down as the story goes on. Romeo’s dream, which was to live together with Juliet and spend his rest of the life, fails. In addition, Friar’s plan, which was to solve problems between two families, is accomplished but it was due to the death of two teenagers. Like this, the play “Romeo and Juliet” is a play that shows the oppositions between dreams and reality

8. Fast and Slow
Romeo and Juliet Study Guide Assignment: Fast and Slow

The speed of this play is one of the key elements that bring up several themes of the play such as the use of time.

Prologue:

‘The fearful passage of their death-marked love, ….. Is now the __two hours’__ traffic of our stage”

The prologue shows Romeo and Juliet will love and eventually die in two hours of the stage.

Act 1:

“What say you, can you love the gentleman?.... By having him, making yourself no less”

1.4: Lady Capulet is very eager toward the marriage of Juliet and Paris. She makes a life-lasting decision in few minutes just by Paris’ richness and outlook.

“What’s he that now is going out of door?”

1.5: Romeo and Juliet have a short conversation and they kiss within few minutes after they met. Juliet doesn’t even know what the man she was kissed by and asks her Nurse his name.

Act 2:

2.2: “I have no joy of this contract tonight, It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden…”

From this line, it is easily recognized that Romeo and Juliet fell in love within few minutes and Juliet knows it is very unexpected and sudden, maybe too quick. The word ‘tonight’ already shows how their love began in a very short period of time.

2.3: “O let us hence, I stand on sudden haste.” “Wisely and slow, they stumble that run fast.”

Romeo strongly wants Friar to support his marriage with Juliet and wants him to hold the marriage with her the next day. He ignores Friar’s advice to slow down but Romeo won’t listen.

2.6: “Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow”

Friar advises Romeo of his sudden love with Juliet and Juliet comes in, running. Friar continues his lines “And yet not fall, so light is vanity”. The word vanity in this sentence means the sense that must pass away.

Act 3:

3.2: “Gallop apace, you fiery-footed steeds, Towards Phoebus’ lodging; such a waggoner…”

This scene begins with Juliet using metaphors to emphasize her feeling of how much she misses Romeo and is a bit overexcited.

3.5: “Wilt thou be gone? It is not yet near day: It was the nightingale, and not the lark…”

Juliet shows how she is depressed sad about Romeo leaving her. She is saying like they still have more time to be together but they actually don’t because dawn already has come.

Act 4:

4.1: On Thursday sir? The time is very short”, “My father Capulet will have it so.”

Paris wants to hold the marriage ceremony as quickly as he can. He already calls Capulet as ‘father’ and regards him as a father-in-law even though Paris and Juliet are not officially married.

9. Fate and Free Will
Oran

The opposition of fate and free will in the play is on going. There have been a lot different parts in the play where the idea of fate playing with the character’s lives is clear to the reader, but some parts where you have to look carefully to find fate’s actions. Sometimes in there play it seems as if the character’s have no freewill and fate is controlling their actions and treating them life puppets. Here are some examples in the play where fate meddles in the character’s lives:

__Act 1 Scene 5:__ **“I fear too early, for my mind misgives some consequence yet hanging in the starts shall bitterly begin his fearful date with this night’s revels, and expire the term of a despised life closed in my breast, by some vile forfeit of untimely death but He that hath the steerage of my course direct my sail! On, lusty gentlemen.”** This quote from Romeo is given right before they are about to go to the Capulet party, where he meets Juliet. He is letting everything go and letting the “winds of fate” to “steer his ship”. He is letting fate guide him to both his doom and miracle (Juliet). This ends up being the complete story of the play. Also when Romeo mentions the “vile forfeit of untimely death”, it basically foreshadows his death. This quote perfectly demonstrates fate’s cruel actions in the play and foreshadows any following incidents.

__Act 3 Scene 1:__ **“A plague a’both houses! They have made worms meat of me. I have it, and soundly too. Your houses!”** This quote is said by Mercutio just when he is about to die from the fight between Tybalt and him. He is wishing “a plague a’both houses” by houses he means Capulets and Montagues, by plague he is referring to the Black Plague. In this scene it doesn’t seem like a very intimidating curse but in act 5 scene 2, Friar John cannot deliver the letter to Romeo because of the plague. If that letter would have gotten to Romeo this story might have ended in a happily ever after but it didn’t because of the plague, the curse that Mercutio wished on both houses. This is another example of fate’s cruel work. The letter was stopped by the plague, and so, Romeo and Juliet died not only because of the poison or the dagger but also because of the plague.

__Act 3 Scene 1__ **“O, I am fortune’s fool.”** Romeo says this right after he kills Tybalt. In this quote, Romeo is sort of admitting that he is fate’s puppet or fate’s fool. This means that he can’t control his destiny and got tricked by fate. This results in Romeo’s banishment which eventually leads to his death showing that fate has been controlling these incidents all along.

__Act 5 Scene 3__ **“I hear some noise, lady. Come from that nest of death, contagion, and unnatural sleep. a greater power than we can contradict.”** This is said by Friar Lawrence right after Juliet wake’s up from her fake death and finds Romeo dead. This quote is showing how Friar thinks it’s all fate’s fault, so in a way he is also giving in to fate. He has decided that there is a much greater power that dealt with this matter and that he could have done nothing to stop it. This quote sums up fate’s last actions in the play.