Seyi's English Journal

Your task is to identify the metaphor present in the following excerpt and then write a paragraph that explains the metaphor and its effect on the meaning of the passage it is embedded in.

MERCUTIO

True, I talk of dreams,
Which are the children of an idle brain,
Begot of nothing but vain fantasy,
Which is as thin of substance as the air
And more inconstant than the wind, who wooes
Even now the frozen bosom of the north,
And, being anger’d, puffs away from thence,
Turning his face to the dew-dropping south.

Feel free to watch the presentation again from this lesson to remind you of how to approach a passage that contains a metaphor:

Year 9 English – Shakespearian Language from Edutronic.net on Vimeo.

Start with an introduction which tells you what the essay  will contain and what it is about. Then move onto the body of the essay (middle) and elaborate on your points. Finally the end which concludes everything you have talked about and the last point.

“These violent delights have violent ends.” This  quote is said by Friar Lawrence and is wise warning towards them saying do not rush things or this marriage that you are trying to rush will lead to death. Fate is revealed in Romeo and Juliet in many ways, but the most important is through the plot device of coincidence. There are many examples one of them is when the priest Friar John gets quarantined because there was a disease and nobody was allowed in or out of the city.

“Friar Lawrence: Who bare my letter then to Romeo? Friar John: I could not send it-here it is again-Nor get a messenger to bring it thee, so fearful were they of infection. Friar Lawrence: Unhappy fortune! By my brotherhood,  but full of charge, of dear import, and the neglecting it may do much danger. Friar John: Go hence, get me an iron crow and bring it straight unto my cell.”  This quotation deals with fate because as God is in control it was not by coincidence that the town was closed and no one was allowed in or out. Also how the note was blown away by the wind it is believed that it was not by coincidence. Shakespeare’s idea of fate’s power is used a lot in the play. Fate is demonstrated through things that happen to ensure that Romeo and Juliet end up how they were predicted to. This quotation is a good example of this as Friar John was sent with a message for Romeo but could not get it to him because of a disease that was found.

When  Juliet and Romeo get married the friar Lawrence say’s “Romeo come forth , thou fearful man-affliction is enamour’d of thy parts, and thou art wedded to calamity”. This means this wedding could end badly and by marrying Juliet it could lead to death. This suggests how their future will end.

An example of fate is when Mercutio dies and as he dies says “A plague on both your houses” and in the end Romeo and Juliet die. This is an example of fate because in those times curses were believed to have an impact on their lives. Romeo was a montague and Juliet was a Capulet. Those were the two houses.

Tuesday evening: Juliet drinks the drug.
Late Tuesday evening: Lord Capulet is watching the wedding preparations.
Wednesday morning: Paris arrives. The Capulets and other people discover Juliet’s body and thinmk she is dead.
Thursday afternoon: In Mantua Romeo is old by Balthasar that Juliet is dead. Romeo buys poison.
Thursday evening: Friar Lawrence finds out that Friar John was unable to deliver the message to Romeo. Friar Lawrence writes another letter to Romeo and goes to meet Juliet as she wakes.
Thursday late night: Romeo and Balthasar arrive. Paris and a servant arrive at Juliet’s tomb. Romeo gives Balthasar a letter (his suicide not) and sends him away. Paris confronts Romeo and Romeo kills him. The servant goes and Romeo kills himself. Friar Lawrence arrives and meets Balthasar. Juliet wakes up and Friar Lawrence tries to get her to leave. Friar Lawrence flees and Juliet kills herself after knowing that Romeo is dead. The watchmen find the bodies and send for the Prince, Montagues and Capulets. They all arrive and Balthasar, Friar Lawrence and the Servant explain what happened.

Tuesday early morning: Romeo leaves after spending the night with Juliet. Juliet is told she must marry Paris on Thursday morning.
Tuesday afternoon: Paris talks to Friar Lawrence about the upcoming wedding. Juliet goes to Friar Lawremce and he suggets a plan that she takes a drug that makes her look dead so that she can sneak away with Romeo. Friar Lawrence sends someone with a message to Romeo.
Tuesday evening: Lord Capulet is arranging a big wedding celebration. Juliet returns from seeing Friar Lawrence and pretends to be cooperating.

Monday late Afternoon: Romeo kills Tybalt as he killed Mercutio and as a result Romeo is banished from Verona by the Prince. Then the Nurse tells Juliet about Romeo’s banishment and Tybalts death.
Monday evening: Friar Lawrence tells Romeo that he has been banished and the Nurse comes to bring Romeo to Juliet.
Monda late evening: Lord Capulet decides that Juliet will marry Paris on Thursday.

Some of the comparisons are when Mercutio is killed by Tybalt and there is thunder directly after. That also happens when Romeo kills Tybalt. Also when there was a brawl and they used guns which they would not have used in Shakespearean times.