Rhetorical Devices – How to Analyse

Step 1: Identify the device  This is an example of a paradox.

Step 2: Define the device  A paradox is when something in a sentence seems to contradict itself, but it is actually the truth.

Step 3: Make a connection between the quotation and the device  While Juliet knows that Romeo is not a serpent, nor does he have a face full of flowers, her use of these descriptions show how paradoxically he is her lover and the murderer of her cousin at the same time.

Step 4: Explain the significance of the device  This helps to reinforce the conflict that Juliet faces. She is caught between her family and her love for Romeo and this is destroying her and leads her to take desperate action and ultimately leads to her death.

This is an example of personification. Personification is when you give inanimate objects, human qualities. Here, Romeo tells us that Juliet's beauty is much brighter than that of the torches - so she is very beautiful. She is so much brighter, that she teaches the torches how to shine. This is a poetic exaggeration, since torches can't really be taught. It is important for Romeo to say this, as the audience cannot see Juliet's beauty directly. In Shakespeare's theatre a boy, perhaps seen at some distance, plays Juliet. Thereby making a description of her beauty necessary for the audience to understand what is happening. This is also important because it serves as a form of stage direction. This tells us that it is night, as Romeo can see the torches he compares her to. The audience must imagine this, as the play is performed by daylight, and no lighted torch would be safe in the theatre.

This is an example of a metaphor. A metaphor is when you compare two things. Here Romeo compares Juliet to the sun who is far brighter and more beautiful than the moon. Romeo claims that she eclipses the stars as daylight overpowers a lamp. Her eyes alone shine so bright, that they will convince the birds to sing at night as if it were day. This quotation is important because in addition to initiating one of the play’s most beautiful and famous sequences of poetry, it is a prime example of the light/dark motif that runs throughout the play. Here, Romeo imagines Juliet transforming darkness into light; later, after their wedding night, Juliet convinces Romeo momentarily that the daylight is actually night (so that he doesn’t yet have to leave her room).

This is an example of an allusion which is when you make a reference to something you assume your audience will know and understand. Here, Shakespeare makes a reference to the story of Phaethon and his father Phoebus Apollo. In this story, Phaeton acts on his emotions and fails to listen to the warnings of his father. It is also a story about a young boy who acts impulsively, without thinking about the consequences of his actions. He is so caught up in this ultimate goal (to bolster his pride) that he is blinded to the possible tragic outcome. This reference is important for several reasons. Here Juliet is waiting impatiently for Romeo to come to her on their wedding night. She does not yet know that Romeo has killed Tybalt and is not aware of the bloodshed and destruction that we have already seen. Also, it is an effective comparison as this is also a story of two young teenagers who act impulsively on emotions without stopping to take the time to analyse the situation. The friar had previously warned Romeo to slow down. Juliet is now also moving very quickly (despite her previous expressions of concern). Finally it is an apt allusion because of Romeo’s previous reference to Juliet as the sun. Apollo’s job was to drive the chariot around the sun. However, when Phaeton tries to take over his job he looses control of the horses and burns the earth and subsequently dies. Therefore, it foreshadows that the power of his love for Juliet (who Romeo now centers his life around) will lead him to a fiery destructive end that he cannot control.

This is an example of dramatic irony. Dramatic Irony is when the audience knows something the characters do not. At this moment, the audience knows that Juliet is only sleeping, and she is not really dead. But we are also aware that Romeo thinks she is dead. Here Shakespeare tells us that Romeo notices that Juliet does not “look” dead. This adds to the suspense and rise in tension, as the audience waits impatiently to find out if Juliet will wake up in time before Romeo commits suicide. This also adds to the audience’s frustration at the whole situation as they start to wonder why Romeo is so blind and impulsive, that he doesn’t think about what he is seeing. This also adds to Romeo’s character development as he is yet again portrayed as someone who does not think and analyse situations before he acts.