Summary GCSE Romeo and Juliet, The Prince and Paris Grade 9 anlaysis
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Course
English
Institution
GCSE
This is a handwritten, unique analysis of The Prince and Paris in Romeo and Juliet that helped me to achieve a grade 9 in english literature with 156/160
In the beginning of the play Paris is presented as quite shallow and insensitive as his only
focus is on marrying Juliet despite her youth every though due to the context of the time, he
was truly just following social codes of the day. After a while, Paris then begins to appear
more frequently and by Act 5 he comes to life as a character in his own right embodying
hero-like and righteous qualities as he shows profound sincerity and love towards Juliet in
how he battles Romeo as he thought he was doing up to no good in Juliet’s tomb and when
he loses, he asks Romeo to ‘lay' him ‘with Juliet'. Not only does Shakespeare allow for
character development but through the play since the very start huge parallels are drawn out
with Romeo like how both are referred to as wither by Friar or Nurse as ‘wax and their haste
which is also reprimanded as well as many other moments- may be done in order to
exaggerate how is it just weren’t for Paris, Romeo could have pursued Juliet without all this
tragedy. Ultimately these parallels and the character development may have been done
purposefully in order to position Paris as the antagonist of Romeo and hence a reprise of
Tybalt- as Tybalt died Shakespeare needed a new antagonist to keep the dramatic tension
levels high so the previous idiotic, one-dimensional character now transform into a brave
and heroic one willing to fight to the death in order to defend the honour of Juliet.
Gallant- describing him as though a knight which implies that Juliet needs to be saved-
perhaps from the tragedy in the first place- links with how he is called a ‘flower'
The other quotes are on other character's analysis I made that were describing him e.g. ‘a
man of wax’. 'Verona's summer hath not such a flower’
‘Younger than she are happy mothers made’
A modern audience finds his behaviour severely concerning
, ‘I am a stiff and lacking in passion'
His words are rhythmic and like a sing-sing through the tight, closed off rhyme which
employs a heroic couplet. This is effective as it makes Paris' words seem forced and in
genuinely unlike Romeos iambic pentameter full of deeper and profound emotion as well as
mimicking his heartbeat. In turn, this delineates at a superficial element within Paris as
though his love towards Juliet was truly in alignment with the patriarchal society and a
product of business and he is ready to move on to the next potential candidate.
The noun ‘stiff' links with Juliet as when she was found Lord Capulet stated that ‘her joints
are stiff' – could foreshadow his death.
The adjective ‘stiff interestingly comes from the root word ‘stifle' which means to suffocate or
to crush. This idea of suffocation as a result delineates at his overwhelmed state and implies
her presence is painful. This idea of suffocation may also allude to his breathlessness,
suggesting as though seeing Juliet dead is enough in itself to kill him and inflict distress. As
a result, this fulfils Paris' description as being ‘gallant'- he is a knightly hero. Furthermore,
this idea that he feels dead himself is furthered as his use of ‘stiff’ reflects how Juliet’s state
was described as ‘stiff by Lord Capulet as though Paris is mirroring her death in attempt to
show sincerity and love.
Furthermore ‘stiff' may also allude to the idea of disease and injury suggesting as though it
was the ‘disease’ of conflict that initially caused Juliet’s death but also implying that Paris
feels vulnerable and as though he is in some sort of battle. By doing this, it consolidates the
idea that Paris would die for her thus dramatizing his emotions into a clichéd notion that the
audience already knows is not possible as can be furthered through the forced rhyme
scheme.
Alternatively, ‘stiff’ may also suggest that he is being restrained and cannot move which in
turn implies as though he previously latched onto Juliet and sought her out but now that she
is dead and the option of marriage, he adamantly pressed Lord Capulet about, is unavailable
he feels overwhelmed and dismal. This conveys that rather than sadness stemming for Juliet
herself, it stems from the missed opportunity of marriage and taking Juliet’s virginity and so
now he must find the next candidate.
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