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Paradox
Definition of Personification
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the sentence, "The rain poured down on the wedding guests, indifferent... read full definition
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the sentence, "The rain poured down... read full definition
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the... read full definition
Act 1, Scene 4
Explanation and Analysis—Mercutio's Language:
Mercutio's language is arguably the most intricate and advanced in the entire play. His linguistic cunning lends him power and status among the other noblemen—all of whom use language as a weapon—and highlights both his sense of humor and his deep-seated cynicism about conventional notions of life and love.
For instance, in Act 1, Scene 4, Mercutio uses personification to explain his views on dreams to Romeo:
True, I talk of dreams,
Which are the children of an idle brain,
Begot of nothing but vain fantasy,
Which is as thin of substance as the air
And more inconstant than the wind, who woos
Even now the frozen bosom of the north
And, being angered, puffs away from thence,
Turning his side to the dew-dropping south.
Related Themes:
Act 2, Scene 1
Explanation and Analysis—Mercutio's Language:
Mercutio's language is arguably the most intricate and advanced in the entire play. His linguistic cunning lends him power and status among the other noblemen—all of whom use language as a weapon—and highlights both his sense of humor and his deep-seated cynicism about conventional notions of life and love.
For instance, in Act 1, Scene 4, Mercutio uses personification to explain his views on dreams to Romeo:
Unlock with LitCharts A+True, I talk of dreams,
Which are the children of an idle brain,
Begot of nothing but vain fantasy,
Which is as thin of substance as the air
And more inconstant than the wind, who woos
Even now the frozen bosom of the north
And, being angered, puffs away from thence,
Turning his side to the dew-dropping south.
Related Themes:
Act 2, Scene 2
Explanation and Analysis—Juliet as the Sun :
In Act 2, Scene 2, Romeo spies Juliet at her balcony after encountering her at the Capulets' ball. In one of the play's most well-known soliloquies, he uses both metaphor and personification to praise her beauty:
Unlock with LitCharts A+But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.
Arise fair sun and kill the envious moon
Who is already sick and pale with grief
That thou her maid art far more fair than she.
Related Themes:
Act 2, Scene 3
Explanation and Analysis—Friar Laurence and Care:
In Act 2, Scene 3, Friar Laurence uses personification to liken the notion of "care" to a persistent lodger who troubles "old men" but leaves young men alone:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Care keeps his watch in every old man’s eye,
And, where care lodges, sleep will never lie;
But where unbruisèd youth with unstuffed brain
Doth couch his limbs, there golden sleep doth reign.
Related Themes:
Act 2, Scene 4
Explanation and Analysis—Mercutio's Language:
Mercutio's language is arguably the most intricate and advanced in the entire play. His linguistic cunning lends him power and status among the other noblemen—all of whom use language as a weapon—and highlights both his sense of humor and his deep-seated cynicism about conventional notions of life and love.
For instance, in Act 1, Scene 4, Mercutio uses personification to explain his views on dreams to Romeo:
Unlock with LitCharts A+True, I talk of dreams,
Which are the children of an idle brain,
Begot of nothing but vain fantasy,
Which is as thin of substance as the air
And more inconstant than the wind, who woos
Even now the frozen bosom of the north
And, being angered, puffs away from thence,
Turning his side to the dew-dropping south.
Related Themes:
Act 3, Scene 2
Explanation and Analysis—Juliet and the Night:
In Act 3, Scene 2, Juliet invokes the night, which she is looking forward to as the time when she can consummate her marriage to Romeo. This soliloquy serves as another instance of foreshadowing, while also personifying the night as a "sober-suited matron all in black":
Unlock with LitCharts A+Come, civil night,
Thou sober-suited matron all in black,
And learn me how to lose a winning match
Played for a pair of stainless maidenhoods.
Hood my unmanned blood, bating in my cheeks,
With thy black mantle till strange love grow bold,
Think true love acted simple modesty.
Related Themes:
