THE IMAGERIES IN "ROMEO AND JULIET"

Abstract

As stated above, Shakespeare builds up a particular atmosphere in this play by recurrent use of imageries that have connection with each other. Imagery is a technique of expression and can not add to the profoundity of plays or intensify the tragic character. But it can call forth a particular mental attitude so that they can accept the play as a whole. Imageries in the works of Shakespeare sometimes appear to be too extravagant, ridiculous and stale to us who are living in the twentieth cuntury, but it must have been very effective to employ these imageries in the Elizabethan theatre where there was no proper stage setting as today and the audience mainly listened to the actors rather than looked at them. As there was no scene on the Elizabethan stage, it must have been dramatically effective to give forth some tangible images to the audience by means of these groups of imageries. Imageries, a commonplace technique as it was in those days, by the genius of Shakespeare reached a high peak of poetic beauty and brought about a unique flavour to the play by being interwoven into the plot.