william shakespeare poems romeo and juliet

Personification occurs when a poet imbues a non-human creature or object with human characteristics. Those familiar with the story (which was outlined in the prologue to Act I) will know what these dangers are. In this case, the “extremities” mentioned in the last lines of the prologue suggest that there are many more dangers ahead.

The first of these, allusion, is an expression that’s meant to call something specific to mind without directly stating it. These include but are not limited to allusion, personification, and enjambment. Shakespeare makes use of several literary devices in the ‘Act II Prologue’ of Romeo and Juliet. In this case, the final two lines negate all the difficulties that the two experience in loving one another. They’re sometimes used to answer a question posed in the previous twelve lines, shift the perspective, or even change speakers. In Shakespearean sonnets and Shakespeare’s poetry, they bring with them a turn or “ volta” in the poem. The last two lines of this poem, as noted in the rhyme scheme, are a rhyming pair known as a couplet. The first is unstressed and the second stressed. This means that each line contains five sets of two beats, known as metrical feet. The poem follows a consistent rhyme scheme that conforms to the pattern of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG and it is written in iambic pentameter. This form, which became known due to Shakespeare’s mastery of it and fondness for it, is made up of three quatrains, or sets of four lines, and one concluding couplet, or set of two rhyming lines. The ‘ Act II Prologue’ takes the form of a traditional Shakespearean sonnet. Despite this, they continue to love one another and the danger only makes their passions sweeter. The speaker also describes the difficulty that they have spent time with one another as they are meant to be foes. The first lines speak to the change that is coming over Romeo as he forgets about Rosaline and instead turns all his attention to Juliet. In the ‘Act II Prologue’ by William Shakespeare the chorus speaks on the growing love between Romeo and Juliet and how difficult it is for them to meet.

William shakespeare poems romeo and juliet