Imagery Essay, Research Paper
Imagery is the mental image the your mind comes up with when certain words are
said. In scene V (lines 94-111) of Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare, a picture is painted
in the mind by the words said. Imagery vocabulary, explanations, and affects of the
reader are the three most important aspects of imagery.
Shakespeare does a wonderful job of using imagery vocabulary to paint a picture
in the minds of the audience. Even now in the 21st century we can read Romeo and Juliet
and get the same sort of picture as the people of Shakespearean times got, even though
the vocabulary is a little different. Words such as shrine, sin, saint, prayer,
faith, and profane all paint the picture of a holy scene in my mind. When reading of
(or listening to) Romeo and Juliet meet you feel as if some holy, religious realm is taking
place. Even though these two have just met you sense some sort of bond. This immediate
bond is cushioned by the fact that they are in holy love or by the fact that they we re
meant to be. It is important to understand imagery vocabulary and understand the sort of
picture you are creating for the audience.
The imagery of scene V depicts that Romeo and Juliet s love was meant to be. It
gives the idea that God, or some other spiritual being, brought the two together at the
masquerade to find each other, and fall in love forever. Even though they have just met,
and their new love just began, they suddenly can t live without one another. The love that
is painted in my mind is the kind that is only found in storybooks or TV sitcoms. the kind
of love that everyone wants to possess. Love at first sight, but justified of the terms that
some religiousness brought them together. This imagery of love is the kind of love that
will make young heartbroken girls want to love again, and encourage elderly couples to
remember the good old days of their youth. This depiction of love makes the audience
forget, for a moment, about the Capulet/ Montague feud. It suggests eternal bonding.
Because imagery is all about what someone thinks, everyone will see things a
little differently (as shown in our Queen Mab drawings).My view on Romeo and Juliet s
love is a love meant to be. I see them as two lovesick individuals who finally find another
who will fulfill all of their needs. Both vulnerable, neither one prepared, a totally
suprising, picture-perfect combo. When seeing Romeo and Juliet meet, and
automatically love one another, it gives me this tingling feeling inside. This loving
feeling, that I have only felt a couple times before. The scene of their meeting and falling
in love is the most important scene throughout the play, in my opinion. Whenever I am
feeling lonely or unloved, I just think of Romeo and Juliet, and I know that someday my
prince will come to love me too.
The way an author paints a picture in your mind, or uses imagery, is the single
most important aspect of good literature, in my mind. How I interpret the story, or how it
seems to me, will determine my rating of the story. if the story doesn t paint a vivid
picture in my mind, and let me live the story, then I can t read it for more than five
minutes. Shakespeare s Romeo and Juliet is a perfect example of successful imagery.