Lauren's Online Journal

“O God, I have an ill-divining soul!” – Juliet A3 S5 L54

When Juliet says this I think it means…  She has realised that she has an evil soul and bad things are destined to happen to her.

“ill-divining” – evil                                                                                                                                                                –  bad

In relation to the whole play, I think this quote is stating that Juliet has a premonition for her or Romeos death. It is more likely to be Romeo’s death because the conversation they are having is about killing Romeo.

 

 

“Is love an invention created by humans?”

I think love is a concept that humans have thought up more than an invention. In the rest of the animal kingdom, only some animals have a life partner. Most species have a season when they find someone to mate with, but that is just because of instinct and they may not be together for more than one season. Some creatures even eat each other after mating. Even domestics dogs and cats will breed off a one or two-night stand. The idea of ‘love’ as we know it is just something we have created to make reproducing sound more meaningful.

These violent delights have violent ends,

And in their triumph die like fire and powder,

Which as they kiss consume.

violent = intense, rough, dangerous, passionate, sudden.

delights = joy, happiness

triumph = win

fire = fire,heat

powder = gunpowder

kiss = kiss or be together

consume = explode.

So I think this quote basically says that sudden or intense happiness will also lead to a  sudden end. That they might not win until their death, and in the end, everything will end or blow up the situation, but they will be together.

Nay, I am the very pink of courtesy.

This translates to – Yes, I am the pink flower—the master, of courtesy and manners.

I like this quote because it seems almost out of place in all their joking around but somehow also seems to fit.

Switch and spurs, switch and spurs, or I’ll cry a match.

This translates to – Keep going, keep going, or I’ll declare myself the winner.

I think Romeo said this because he was either regretting still joking with the boys or he wanted to keep talking with them and they were getting sick of the joke.

Is a white sheet of paper more blank than a blank sheet of paper?

I think a white piece of paper is more blank than a white piece of paper. To make the paper white it is bleached. To make a piece of paper black you would need to dye it. The amount of dye it intakes is probably more than the amount of bleach left in white paper. Therefore when you come to think about it properly the white paper will seem more blank. Also, in some cases, I think the paper is bleached and then dyed to make it black. 

“…they stumble that run fast.”

I think Friar Lawrence is trying to get Romeo to understand that he needs to take a step back and look at his situation before marrying Juliet. Romeo was also deeply in love with Rosaline until he met Juliet. I think it also refers to how fast he changed between the looks of two women. Romeo is clearly rushing things seeing as he only met Juliet a day before wanting to marry her, and I think this quote says that no matter how in love they think they are if they rush into things they will be faced with a problem.