Shakespeare uses imagery to portray the mood. For example, Romeo describes Rosaline as chaste through the imagery present in his lines such as:
From love’s weak …show more content…
For instance, “Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs;/ Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers’ eyes;/ Being vexed, a sea nourished with loving tears” (I.i.197-199). The gloomy mood is created through descriptive language, a quality of imagery, which is shown as Romeo yearns for Rosaline without any reciprocation. The imagery also exaggerates Romeo’s sorrow, further intensifying the gloomy mood. Later on in the play, Capulet storms in and reprimands Juliet for refusing to marry Paris by calling her a “green-sickness carrion” (III.iv.161), a “young baggage” (III.iv.166), and a “disobedient wretch” (III.iv.166). Juliet tries to calm him down, but Capulet threatens to disown her if she does not obey his wishes. Juliet then begs her mother to postpone the marriage, even saying “Or, if you do not, make the bridal bed/ In that dim monument where Tybalt lies” (III.v.212-213). Capulet’s insults push a villainous image upon him. This association causes the audience focus on Juliet and her actions, allowing her to change the mood to one of distress. The imagery also emphasizes Juliet’s desperate pleas by loading imagery in her dialogue, creating a distressed