Sunday, June 7, 2015

In what kind of verse is Romeo and Juliet written?

Romeo and Juliet is largely written in blank verse (this means there is a regular rhythmic pattern through the dialogue, but it isn't rhymed—make sure not to confuse this with free verse, which has no metrical pattern beneath it at all), though Shakespeare does make a few exceptions for particular passages. As the other answer observes, the prologue is a rhymed Shakespearean sonnet and so is the scene where Romeo and Juliet first meet.
The verse when the lovers first meet is especially significant. By having the two speak in sonnet-form back and forth to one another, Shakespeare is signalling that this love is special, more than mere teenage infatuation, as Romeo's feelings were for Rosaline (notice how uninspired Romeo's poetry about Rosaline is compared to this scene where he first meets Juliet).
This goes to show that Shakespeare's verse style as he employs it throughout the play is not random. There is a deliberate design to these stylistic choices.


For the most part, Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is written in blank verse. What this means is that there is no set rhyme scheme; however, there is a consistent rhythm and meter. Large parts of the play are written in iambic feet with five feet per line. This is called iambic pentameter.
I would like to state that there are a few places within the play where Shakespeare doesn't use blank verse. The prologue of the play is a standard Shakespearean sonnet. It is written in iambic pentameter with the standard ABABCDCDEFEFGG rhyme scheme. This also happens when Romeo and Juliet first meet. They speak to each other using perfect rhyme scheme, rhythm, and meter. Audiences definitely notice this departure after listening to all of the blank verse preceding the encounter. The perfect language of the sonnet is meant to highlight how perfect their love is/will be for each other.

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