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Kevin Dominado

Brock

H. English 9

5 April 2019

Language of Love Following Tragedy in Romeo and Juliet

After the simultaneous tragedies of Tybalt’s death and Romeo’s exile in Act III, we see

the titular characters of ​Romeo and Juliet​ continuously reaffirming their unwavering love for

each other. The characters exemplify the shared belief, through their language, that true love will

always find a way to manifest and will never dissipate, regardless of the circumstances.

Shakespeare primarily uses lengthy conversations between the lovers, figurative language, as

well as speeches to display this belief in the language of the characters. In this case, when the

lovers are cast in a difficult situation where Romeo kills Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt, and subsequently

gets exiled, their relationship proves to be stronger than ever before.

Following the fight where Tybalt is slain by Romeo, which causes him to be exiled,

Romeo and Juliet continue to reaffirm their love through their conversations with each other.

One example can be found where Romeo doubts that they won’t meet again, and that “all these

woes” would make for “sweet discourses” in their future (3.5.52-53). This shows that even in

their adversity, Romeo still has no intention of leaving Juliet as he is downplaying their current

situation by saying that it would make for good conversation in the future. After Romeo exits the

scene, Juliet calls fortune “fickle” and hopes that fortune “wilt not keep him long” and will “send

him back” (3.5.60-64). By saying this, Juliet reveals that she still has hope that Romeo’s exile
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will be eventually lifted, and that Romeo will come back to Verona, while also revealing that she

still believes in their love. This exchange between the characters reveal that both of them believe

that they still have a future together, and that their true love cannot be broken by the exile.

In addition to conversations, Juliet also repeatedly implies, using figurative language, that

she is not willing at all to break her bond with Romeo. An example of figurative language can be

found in a conversation with the Friar about her planned wedding with Paris, where she states

that if the Friar does not give her “present counsel,” a “bloody knife shall play the umpire”

between her and her misfortunes, rather than the Friar as even with his “years and art,” he would

not be able to resolve her issues honorably (4.1.60-67). When Juliet says this to the Friar, she

implies that she believes that the only way for her to solve her issues would be to kill herself, and

that he cannot help her with her issues as his honor would prevent him from doing so. Juliet still

believes that Romeo is her true love and that their love will endure; Therefore, she would rather

kill herself than be with Paris. Following this, in the same conversation with the Friar, Juliet

states that she would rather, among other things, “walk in thievish ways,” be “chained with

roaring bears,” as well as go into a “new-made grave” without any regrets in order to “live an

unstained wife” to Romeo (4.1.77-88). By using vivid imagery to show how much Juliet is

willing to sacrifice in order to not marry Paris, Juliet once again reinforces her commitment to

her secret marriage with Romeo — saying again that she would rather die than marry Paris.

Finally, Romeo and Juliet both use lengthy ‘speeches’ to discuss how their love for each

other is eternal, and how it will survive even past both of their deaths. After Romeo kills Paris in

the Capulet grave, he continues talking to both Paris and Juliet’s bodies. In the speech prior to

his own death, Romeo asks if he should believe that “unsubstantial Death is amorous,” and if
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Death is keeping her in the darkness in order for her to become his lover; In addition, due to his

fears of that happening, Romeo proclaims that he will stay with Juliet and “never from this dim

pallet depart again,” foreshadowing his upcoming suicide (5.3.101-108). In this passage, Romeo

expresses his fear that by being kept in the dark alone, Juliet would be Death’s lover instead of

his; In order to combat this, Romeo is willing to commit suicide on Juliet’s deathbed so they will

never be separated again. By saying this, Romeo is exemplifying the belief that no matter what,

their true love for each other cannot be broken. Following Romeo’s death, Juliet wakes up and

notices both Paris and Romeo next to her, deceased. In a shorter speech to Romeo’s body, Juliet

notices that poison “hath been [Romeo’s] timeless end,” and is disappointed that he “left no

friendly drop” to help her take her own life as well; Following this, Juliet unsuccessfully tries to

kiss Romeo’s lips to attempt to take her own life with the remaining poison on his lips, and states

that the poison would make her “die with a restorative” (5.3.161-168). In this passage, Juliet

states that the poison would act as a restorative with healing properties, as it would help her be

with Romeo in Heaven. By saying this, Juliet maintains that death would instead help her be

reunited with Romeo, and that their love for each other would remain after both of their deaths.

Overall, the use of literary devices in the dialogues of Romeo and Juliet helps readers

understand the lovers’ belief that true love will always prevail in any circumstance. First, after

both tragedies, both Romeo and Juliet are optimistic that they will find a solution to Romeo’s

exile. Next, Juliet uses vivid and violent imagery to show what she is willing to do in order to

stop a forced marriage between her and Paris. Finally, both use speeches prior to their deaths to

conclude their feelings for each other. Language is not only used for dialogue, but also to include

meaningful discussion and commentary by both characters on the enduring promise of true love.