Literary Quote of the Day: Juliet Betrays Her Family

Act I sets the stage. In Act II, the plot thickens. Here are some Romeo and Juliet quotes from Act II to make you sound smart.

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Intro Music

Quote: O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? / Deny thy father and refuse thy name (II, ii, 33-34.

Analysis: The key word in Juliet’s question is wherefore, which means why, not where as many foolish neophyte Shakespeareans believe. Juliet, in these lines, declares her willingness to disown her own family if she can be with her true love, who she’s known for almost an hour-and-a-half. And you wonder why fathers go bald?

Quote: What’s in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet. (II, ii, 43-44).

Analysis: Juliet still tries to subdue her conscience with this reasoning, claiming that Romeo’s name matters not, for he is her true love. Juliet is wrong. A rose would not smell as sweet if you called it a Harkraken or Schnockter or a Sewage Weed. That’s just my analysis. What do you think?

Quote: Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow / That I shall say good night till it be morrow (II, ii, 184-5).

Analysis: Juliet speaks all the good lines. She’s a rather aggressive Middle Ages girl, don’t you think? Juliet obviously cares little for societal restrictions.

Classroom Application

There’s like 8 examples of figurative language in these 3 quotes. There’s apostrophe (Wherefore art thou Romeo), There’s metonomy (deny thy father…). There’s imagery–that of a rose. There’s metaphor (parting is such sweet sorrow), which is also an oxymoron. Here’s a lesson idea: (2) Make a chart. Duh! Like you didn’t know I was gonna do a chart did you?

Here’s another lesson idea if you want a bunch of already made Romeo and Juliet lesson plans: Go to the show notes and click on the R and J lesson plans link.

Life Lesson

Let’s get back to the quote. Romeo is governed by emotion. Guess who else is governed by emotions? Your students. And guess who else is governed by emotions? You and I! And what causes our emotions? Our thoughts. So what thoughts are we hearing over and over? I don’t know. I can’t read your mind. But it’s important to listen to the soundtracks playing in our brain and asking ourselves if they’re serving us. If they are, great. Keep playing it. If not, it’s time to change that soundtrack.

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