Irony in Romeo and Juliet

     Irony is an outcome of an event that is not expected. Irony is a literary technique that is used a lot in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. In this play, the irony he used is not only enjoyable, but it also helps with the plot. In some cases, one ironic event led to another ironic event.

     One example of irony is in Act 1 Scene 2. The ironic event is between Capulet and the Serving man. Capulet gives the Serving man a list of names of people that are invited to his party. Capulet instructs the Serving man to tell the people on the list to come to his party. The irony is that Capulet doesn’t know that the Serving man is illiterate. The Serving man can’t read, so he can’t tell anyone on the list about the party. This ironic event actually leads to another ironic event.

      The event is in the same act and scene. The Serving man doesn’t know what to do. He has to give the list to someone who can read and have him or her read it to him. That is when Romeo and Benvolio stroll in. In desperate need of help, the Serving man gives them the list. The irony is that Romeo is a Montague, an enemy of the Capulets. This event also helps to progress the story. Romeo finds out that Rosaline, his one true love is going to attend that party. So he decides to crash the party in order to meet her. Irony is being used as a way to progress the story.

     Finally, one ironic event that is very important to the plot of the book is in Act 1 Scene 5. In this scene, Romeo falls in love with Juliet when he first sees her. The irony is that he came her to see his “true love” Rosaline, yet he fell in love with another girl. Also, Romeo says many times that Rosaline would be his only love, yet on line 60, he complete disregards his love for Rosaline. He says,” For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.” He’s saying that he has not seen true beauty before, until he saw Juliet. This is also an important event because this is where Romeo and Juliet’s relationship starts.

     This is not all the irony in this book. This book is rich with ironic events and ironic dialogue. Shakespeare uses this as a way to entertain his audience. People are interested to find out what happens because of theses events.

My Favorite Character in Romeo and Juliet

     In Romeo and Juliet, there is a numerous amount of characters, all of which vary in personality. You have Romeo, the emotionally charged lover, willing to do anything for the girl he loves. Then there are people like Sampson who are disgusting. In Romeo and Juliet, my favorite character would be Capulet because of his actions. He is a good father, and a good person that cares about his daughter.

      He shows concern for Juliet when Paris asks for Juliet’s hand in marriage. He shows his concern on line 13 of Act 1 Scene 2. He says “And too son marred are those so early made”. This line means girls who get married too soon grow up too soon. In the play, Juliet is only thirteen, so Capulet is worried about her. He doesn’t want her to get married because he thinks she’s too young.  He also doesn’t want her to grow up so fast.  Capulet is a caring and protective father.

      Capulet also has good morals. An example is when he is talking with Tybalt on lines 72 to 99. Tybalt points out that Romeo was at the party. Romeo is a Montague, the enemy of the Capulets. Instead of getting angry for Romeo being there, he gets angry at Tybalt for getting so upset. He says that Romeo is a dignified gentleman with a good reputation. He puts his hatred for the Montagues aside and allows Romeo to stay. Capulet shows that he is willing to allow someone from a family of people that he hates to his party out of respect. Capulet has morals that make him someone to look up to.

     Capulet is a character that anyone can look up to. He is a caring father and has morals that make him respectable. He is a shining star amongst the other characters in the play.