Asked by Sigma
What is an oxymoron?
What is an example of an oxymoron in Romeo & Juliet?
What is an idiom?
What is an example of an idiom in Romeo & Juliet?
Romeo & Juliet:
In Act 4 Scene 4, the Capulets are preparing for Juliet’s wedding; however, as readers of the play, we know that Juliet has taken Friar Lawrence’s potion and is “dead.” What type of irony is this?
How do the Nurse and Lady Capulet react when they discover Juliet “dead” in her bed?
How does Lord Capulet react to Juliet’s apparent death? What does this reveal about his character?
How does Paris react to Juliet’s death? What does this suggest about his feelings for her?
How does Friar Lawrence attempt to comfort the Capulet family after Juliet’s “death”? What motivations might Friar Lawrence have for his words and actions in this scene?
All Answers 1
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1) What is an oxymoron?
- An oxymoron is a figure of speech that joins two contradictory or opposite words together to make a new, often striking meaning (usually a short phrase like "deafening silence" or "bittersweet").
Example from Romeo & Juliet
- Romeo uses several oxymora when he is baffled by love in Act 1, Scene 1: e.g. “O brawling love! O loving hate!” and the string of oxymora “Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health.” These pairings show his confused, contradictory feelings about love.
2) What is an idiom?
- An idiom is a phrase whose overall meaning cannot be deduced literally from the meanings of its individual words; it’s a fixed expression understood by cultural usage (e.g. “break the ice,” “kick the bucket”).
Example from Romeo & Juliet
- “Star-cross’d” (Prologue) — now an idiom meaning “doomed or thwarted by fate.” In the play the Prologue calls Romeo and Juliet “a pair of star-cross’d lovers,” meaning their relationship is ill-fated.
3) In Act 4 Scene 4, the Capulets are preparing for Juliet’s wedding; however, as readers of the play, we know that Juliet has taken Friar Lawrence’s potion and is “dead.” What type of irony is this?
- This is dramatic irony: the audience (and some characters, like Friar Lawrence and Juliet) know Juliet is alive in a deathlike sleep, while most characters in the household do not.
4) How do the Nurse and Lady Capulet react when they discover Juliet “dead” in her bed?
- Both are devastated and noisy in their grief. The Nurse wails, cries out in shock, and beats her breast; she is hysterical and overwhelmed. Lady Capulet also cries out (“O me, O me!”) and expresses intense sorrow, calling for help and lamenting her “only life.”
5) How does Lord Capulet react to Juliet’s apparent death? What does this reveal about his character?
- Lord Capulet is stunned, anguished, and fierce in his grief. He uses strong images (e.g. comparing death to an untimely frost on a sweet flower), orders immediate funeral arrangements and lavish rites, and moves the wedding plans into funeral plans. His reaction shows genuine paternal love and deep feeling, but also emotional volatility and a tendency to act impulsively and by public display; he is capable of extreme orders once seized by passion.
6) How does Paris react to Juliet’s death? What does this suggest about his feelings for her?
- Paris is sorrowful and speaks in mournful, courtly language (he pictures laying flowers on her bridal bed, etc.). His grief appears sincere but also conventional and formal; it suggests he cares for Juliet in the way of an engaged suitor/practical match—respectful and fond, but perhaps less inwardly intimate than Romeo’s love.
7) How does Friar Lawrence attempt to comfort the Capulet family after Juliet’s “death”? What motivations might Friar Lawrence have for his words and actions in this scene?
- How he comforts them: he counsels patience and Christian resignation, reframes Juliet’s state as peaceful (she’s now with God), and organizes funeral rites. He speaks gently to calm them and to help the family accept the loss.
- His motivations: multiple. He genuinely wants to comfort the bereaved as a clergyman; he also has practical motives — he helped arrange Juliet’s secret marriage and the sleeping potion, so calming and directing the family reduces suspicion, buys time, and protects himself and his plan (and he still hopes some resolution might save the lovers). He is balancing pastoral duty, guilt/responsibility, and the desire to limit fallout.
- An oxymoron is a figure of speech that joins two contradictory or opposite words together to make a new, often striking meaning (usually a short phrase like "deafening silence" or "bittersweet").
Example from Romeo & Juliet
- Romeo uses several oxymora when he is baffled by love in Act 1, Scene 1: e.g. “O brawling love! O loving hate!” and the string of oxymora “Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health.” These pairings show his confused, contradictory feelings about love.
2) What is an idiom?
- An idiom is a phrase whose overall meaning cannot be deduced literally from the meanings of its individual words; it’s a fixed expression understood by cultural usage (e.g. “break the ice,” “kick the bucket”).
Example from Romeo & Juliet
- “Star-cross’d” (Prologue) — now an idiom meaning “doomed or thwarted by fate.” In the play the Prologue calls Romeo and Juliet “a pair of star-cross’d lovers,” meaning their relationship is ill-fated.
3) In Act 4 Scene 4, the Capulets are preparing for Juliet’s wedding; however, as readers of the play, we know that Juliet has taken Friar Lawrence’s potion and is “dead.” What type of irony is this?
- This is dramatic irony: the audience (and some characters, like Friar Lawrence and Juliet) know Juliet is alive in a deathlike sleep, while most characters in the household do not.
4) How do the Nurse and Lady Capulet react when they discover Juliet “dead” in her bed?
- Both are devastated and noisy in their grief. The Nurse wails, cries out in shock, and beats her breast; she is hysterical and overwhelmed. Lady Capulet also cries out (“O me, O me!”) and expresses intense sorrow, calling for help and lamenting her “only life.”
5) How does Lord Capulet react to Juliet’s apparent death? What does this reveal about his character?
- Lord Capulet is stunned, anguished, and fierce in his grief. He uses strong images (e.g. comparing death to an untimely frost on a sweet flower), orders immediate funeral arrangements and lavish rites, and moves the wedding plans into funeral plans. His reaction shows genuine paternal love and deep feeling, but also emotional volatility and a tendency to act impulsively and by public display; he is capable of extreme orders once seized by passion.
6) How does Paris react to Juliet’s death? What does this suggest about his feelings for her?
- Paris is sorrowful and speaks in mournful, courtly language (he pictures laying flowers on her bridal bed, etc.). His grief appears sincere but also conventional and formal; it suggests he cares for Juliet in the way of an engaged suitor/practical match—respectful and fond, but perhaps less inwardly intimate than Romeo’s love.
7) How does Friar Lawrence attempt to comfort the Capulet family after Juliet’s “death”? What motivations might Friar Lawrence have for his words and actions in this scene?
- How he comforts them: he counsels patience and Christian resignation, reframes Juliet’s state as peaceful (she’s now with God), and organizes funeral rites. He speaks gently to calm them and to help the family accept the loss.
- His motivations: multiple. He genuinely wants to comfort the bereaved as a clergyman; he also has practical motives — he helped arrange Juliet’s secret marriage and the sleeping potion, so calming and directing the family reduces suspicion, buys time, and protects himself and his plan (and he still hopes some resolution might save the lovers). He is balancing pastoral duty, guilt/responsibility, and the desire to limit fallout.
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