Eloquence is the only way to describe William Shakespeare's writing. His vivid descriptions, his grace with words, his forceful vocabulary . His manipulation of words and at the same time manipulates his audience's mind. To play with the audiences mind and twist their perceptions of his stories and characters. William Shakespeare uses oxymorons and rhyming couplets to express the many emotions of his characters.
Why then, O brawling love, O loving hate,.
O anything, of nothing first created!.
O heavy lightness, serious vanity,.
Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms.
feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health.
still waking sleep, that is not what it is!.
This love I feel I, that feel no love in this, (Act I, i, 167-173).
In this quote Romeo is speaking of his love for Rosaline, he is saying that he loves her, and his love is not being reciprocated. In the preceding quote the oxymorons become stronger as the dialogue continues. They become stronger to express Romeo's emotions becoming stronger to show his infatuation with Rosaline, and to show his emotions becoming more forceful. Shakespeare uses oxymorons to emphasize and recapture the viewers or readers attention. He does this so that the characters emotions shine through.
In the following quote Shakespeare is using rhyming couplets to express the same idea the Romeo is feeling in the previous quote. He is feeling rejected, unwanted and that his love is not being returned. "Why, such loves transgression/Griefs of mine own lie heavy in my breast,/ which thou wilt propagate, to have it prest/ with more of thine./ This love that thou hast shown./ Doth add more grief to too much of mine own- (Act I, i, 176-180). Romeo feels that his love for Rosaline is a sin, he is frustrated that his love is not being reciprocated. He is telling Benvolio to stop prying and to just leave him alone because he is just adding more griefs on to the ones that Romeo already has.
