Question

Read the excerpt from Act II, scene vi of Romeo and Juliet.

Friar Laurence: These violent delights have violent ends,
And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,
Which, as they kiss consume: the sweetest honey
Is loathsome in his own deliciousness
And in the taste confounds the appetite:
Therefore love moderately; long love doth so;
Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow.

The purpose of the oxymoron and paradox used in this excerpt is to

describe what it feels like to love.
emphasize a point about love.
provide the definition of love.
entertain using visions of love.

Answer 1

emphasize a point about love.

Shakespeare uses paradox and oxymoron to warn that excessive passion can be self-destructive, stressing the need for moderation in love.