Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Why does Shakespeare use the literary technique of oxymoron throughout Romeo and juliet?Is this technique perhaps used to reflect the conflict of...

You are definitely on the right track with your thinking. 
Oxymorons are words with opposite meanings used consecutively.  Oxymorons are used by
Romeo and Juliet to express how they are feeling opposite emotions simultaneously.  
Love and hate are both felt by Juliet in Act III when the Nurse tells her Romeo killed
her cousin Tybalt.  She still feels love for Romeo, yet she hates him at the same time
for killing Tybalt.  Some of the oxymorons she uses include "beautiful ruffian",
"angelic devil", etc.


Romeo jointly feels the emotions
elation and depression.  This is most evident in Act I when Romeo is trying to explain
his love for Roseline to Benvolio.  He is experiencing elation because he finally found
the supposed girl of his dreams, yet he feels depressed because she has vowed a life of
chastity and, therefore, can never be with him.  Consequently, he spews off several
oxymorons "brawling love", "heavy lightness", "serious vanity", "feathers of lead",
"bright smoke", "cold fire", "sick health", etc. to describe to his friend how he
feels.

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