Romeo and Juliet- Key Quotes and
Analysis
Prologue: "A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life." - answer✔✔Shakespeare gives us the
plot of the play before the play even begins. This is interesting and it intrigues the reader as they
want to know what the series of events that led up to this could have been.
Juliet: "O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? / Deny thy father and refuse thy name" -
answer✔✔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. She calls out to him in
desperation as though it is impossible for her to live without him.
Juliet: "What's in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet."
- answer✔✔Juliet still tries to subdue her conscience with this reasoning, claiming that Romeo's
name matters not, for he is her true love.
Juliet: "Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow / That I shall say good night till it
be morrow." - answer✔✔This is an oxymoron, combining contradictory ideas of pleasure and
pain. Parting is sorrowful because Juliet longs to remain with Romeo however, parting is also
pleasurable, because doing anything with Romeo is pleasurable.
Juliet: "He shall not make me there a joyful bride!" - answer✔✔This shows how headstrong
Juliet is, as she refuses her parents and declares she will not get married to Paris. The use of the
exclamation mark heightens Juliet's emotions as she is shouting her refusal.
Juliet: "Beautiful tyrant! Fiend angelical! / Dove feathered raven!" - answer✔✔Juliet can't quite
wrap her mind around the fact that Romeo has killed her cousin. Shakespeare's brilliant use of
oxymorons emphasises Juliet's confused state, and also emphasises her complete infatuation with
Romeo as even though he has killed her cousin, she still uses adjectives such as "beautiful" when
describing him.
Juliet: "Love give me strength, and strength shall help afford." - answer✔✔This shows how calm
Juliet is when she makes the decision to fake her own death, not knowing what her future holds.
Juliet declares that Romeo's love gives her strength and this fuels her decisions and therefore her
decisive nature.