Irony Surrounding the Death of Romeo and Juliet - Essay Example

Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet is a play about young love that has inspired millions of readers all over the world. The classic play shows impetuous and idealistic passion of young hearts in the best way; moreover, it has captured and will continue to capture minds of young and old people for many centuries. The play Romeo and Juliet has two main characters who fall in love at first sight and are trying to overcome all difficulties on their way for the purpose of being together. Romeo and Juliet, as ‘a pair of star-cross’d lovers’, are remarkable by overwhelming force of their mutual love, but the outcome of the play is ironic. Thus, we are going to interpret the irony surrounding the death of Romeo and Juliet by referring to events from the play. Theoretically speaking, general expectation of perfect romantic love, the union of physical desire with selfless devotion finds its full expression in the play, and creates a ‘great love-tragedy of the world’. The finest achievement of Shakespeare’s play is a successful image of a passionate physical love in terms of purity and innocence, which has been really successful due to the hints of forthcoming tragedy that increased the dramatic irony and suspense of the play. For instance, Juliet, waiting for Romeo, says the words that point out the hints of future tragic death: “O God, I have an ill-diving soul! Methinks I see them, now thou art below As one dead in the bottom of a thumb” (Act III, Scene V, lines 54-56). Romeo and Juliet is also a play which combines in itself a big variety of human feelings such as love and anger, passion and death. Comparing the irony surrounding the death of Romeo and Juliet to the rest of the play we see that the secrecy of the main characters’ marriage also pointed out a kind of dramatic irony. This is presented by Juliet’s ambiguous words when Lady Capulet is accusing Romeo. These words are: “Ay madam, from the reach of these my hands: would none but I might verge my cousin’s death.” (Act III, Scene V, lines 85-86) or “Indeed I never shall be satisfied With Romeo till I behold him -dead- ” (Act III, Scene V, lines 93-94). Analyzing the play Romeo and Juliet we see that irony as a hint at the hypocrisy, contains its ‘key’ not in the usual terms, but in the context or tone, and sometimes in a situation of utterance. Dwelling on irony’s specific characteristics it can be noted that a kind of romantic irony in combination with dramatic nature of the situation can be find in Juliet’s relationships with her parents, especially in her quarrel with parents when she refused to marriage other person. Parents automatically wished her death, and Lady Capulet mentions: “I would the fool were married to her grave!” (Act III, Scene V, line 140), while Lord Capulet says that they have only one child: “That God had lent us but this only child; But now I see this one is one too much” (Act III, Scene V, lines 165-166). They do not think so, and Juliet understands this, but their words are an ominous and ironic prediction of the future. Observing the play we can mention that Shakespeare shows also the irony of life that is opposed to the irony of death through the dramatic changes of situations in the play Romeo and Juliet. Examining this fact we see that Romeo, being depressed, is reluctant to go to the ball to Capulet’s house, where he rapidly changes his mood looking at Juliet, but situational irony shows us that Juliet is the enemy of Romeo’s family and happiness again changes by depression: “Is she a Capulet? O dear account! my life is my foe's debt” (Act I, Scene 5, lines 117-118). Juliet’s passion for Romeo ennobles her inner motives, and the same thing we see in tremendous feelings of Romeo. However, endless devotion to each other leads lovers to an ironic and untimely death, yet we cannot say that it is the complete defeat of the senses, because their love is greater than the storms of tests: “Some shall be pardon’d, and some punished: For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo” (Act V, Scene V, lines 307-309). Also referring to the rest events (except main characters’ death) we see that the play includes in itself different variations of situational irony. For example, situational irony can be found in mutual hate of both families to each other, when they were trying to destroy true love of their children and kill them in such unexpected way: “From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life” (Prologue, lines 3-6). Afterwards, we see that both families make up at the end of the play, but it takes the death of their children: “Where be these enemies? Capulet! Montague! See, what a scourge is laid upon your hate, That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love” (Act V, Scene III, lines 290-293). To sum up, discussing the irony surrounding the death of Romeo and Juliet we see that it reaches its highest point when Romeo, standing near the tomb of Juliet, saw her beauty as if she were alive: “Call this a lightning? O my love! my wife! Death, that hath suck’d the honey of thy breath, Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty” (Act V, Scene V, lines 91-93) and drank the poison to join her in death: “A dateless bargain to engrossing death!” (Act V, Scene V, line 115). The audience knows that Juliet will wake up after a few moments, but Romeo is dying near his Juliet and all readers aware of the miserable irony of the situation. To summarize, the play Romeo and Juliet has many examples of dramatic and situational irony. It is obvious that the biggest example of irony is in the chorus, because readers know not only the plot, but also its dramatic final. In conclusion, the most remarkable irony surrounding the death of Romeo and Juliet finds its place in fact that heroes are wrong, but their mistakes are not their sins; all mistakes have occurred only because of their impetuous haste and unfair fate. Work cited: Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. Washington Square Press, 1992. Read More