Thursday, February 7, 2019

How does Shakespeare present anguish in Romeo and Juliet?

There are several moments in which Shakespeare reveals real anguish in Romeo and Juliet as opposed to the false "anguish" that Romeo experiences when Rosaline doesn't return his love.
An important point of anguish comes in act 3, scene 1 when Romeo tries to break up the fight between his new wife's beloved cousin, Tybalt, and Romeo's best friend, Mercutio. Instead, Romeo gets in the way and gives Tybalt his chance to kill Mercutio. The dying Mercutio says to Romeo:

Why the devil came you between us? I was hurt under your arm.

At Mercutio's death, Romeo shows his anguish by killing Tybalt even though he had vowed to keep peace with the Capulets. He says to Tybalt,

Either thou or I, or both, must go with him.

Another point of anguish comes in act 5, scene 3 when Juliet realizes there has been a mix-up, and Romeo, thinking she was dead, has killed himself. She expresses her pain in the following words, but more particularly, by suicide:

O happy dagger,
This is thy sheath. There rust and let me die.

Genuine anguish in this play is unfortunately expressed through death, be it suicide or murder.

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