5 Quote Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet: Act 1 Scene 4

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Breakdown of Romeo and Juliet Act 1 Scene 4

Nutshell Summary:
- Romeo and his friends meet outside the Capulets, in high spirits, exchanging puns and oxymoronic witticisms, ready to crash the party.
- Spirits are high. Except Romeo’s. He won’t dance because he’s too heavy-hearted for Rosaline. He mentions a dream he had…
- …which triggers Mercutio’s cynical rant about the fairy, Queen Mab.
- In some clumsy foreshadowing, Romeo explains that his dream foretold that “some consequence hanging in the stars” will begin this night.

Themes Discussed:
(For more detailed discussion of THEME in Romeo and Juliet see
https://dai.ly/x80qt0r)

T4 Love as disease/destroyer; Love as mere infatuation
T4 Love as waste of time, only destroyer that must be destroyed
T7 Youth as foolish, fickle
T8 Dualism: juxtaposed opposites; oxymoron, paradox; light imagery
T11 Fate as cosmic force revealed in dreams

Characterization Discussed:
(For more detailed discussion of CHARACTER in Romeo and Juliet see
https://dai.ly/x80pud8)

C1 Romeo: melodramatic, narcissistic, idealist, believer (sharp contrast to Mercutio)
C3 Mercutio: cynic, unbeliever, wit, bitter outsider, materialist

This video on Shakespeare’s LANGUAGE might also help:
https://dai.ly/x80qtdh


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