Free Response Essay Question

The second scene of the second act in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is the most famous romantic scene ever penned. In it, Shakespeare uses different literary devices as well as the nature of the two lovers to create a mood of secret passion mixed with hesitancy.

In the balcony scene, Shakespeare creatively uses the two lovers as foils for each other in order to balance the two forces of passion and practicality. True to his nature, Romeo is recklessly in love. He passionately proclaims his love for Juliet, dismissing concern for safety, claiming that with her affection is "proof against their enmity." Juliet, on the other hand, is more concerned with how Romeo got there and the danger he is in. The difference in focus is highlighted by the structure Shakespeare uses: overwhelmingly, Romeo's lines are long and eloquent while Juliet's are short and to the point. Both, however, speak in blank verse, which would make even the most common place phrases seem poetic. Despite Juliet's concerns and hesitations, there is an underlying ardor.

Romeo's language, especially, adds to the rich romance of the scene. Almost all of his lines are seasoned with metaphors and personification. Most notably, he personifies love as his mighty, trustworthy helper. In lines five and twenty he claims love helped him climb over the wall and gave him counsel. In lines six and seven he paints love as an invincible force--which, we may infer, made Romeo think he was invincible by extension. Even when not using devices such as personification, Romeo makes lavish promises and claims about his love for Juliet. He asserts that not only is he invincible against danger due to Juliet's love, he would prefer danger and death to living without her, an ominous assertion considering the outcome of the play. He also promises that even if she were on the other side of the ocean, he would come and find her. Romeo's ardent feelings are very evident in this passage.

As the proverbial icing on the cake to the scene's mood is the setting and elements of foreshadowing. The lovers' meeting place is very secluded: the back balcony, surrounded by an orchard. Also, they are meeting in the dark; as Romeo says, they have "night's cloak" to hide them. The secretiveness emphasizes the forbiddenness of their love, which in turn heightens its passion. The lovers are willing to overcome their families' differences, but for their own safety will not do it publicly. The fact that we know Romeo and Juliet's fate from the prologue makes scenes like this even more poignant, as we know it is futile. We know that Romeo will indeed choose death instead of living without his love. It is also suggestive when he claims he would follow her across the farthest sea, perhaps indicating that he would follow her even into eternity, beyond life.