Paper Summary:

This paper is a critical analysis of the authors' presentation of the partings of people who love each other in Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet', Act 3, Scene 5, and Hardy's 'The Woodlanders', with a critical focus on the writers' choices of form, structure and language, and wider reading in the literature of love. The paper concludes that although the extracts differ in form, they both effectively use language with dual meanings to conjure imagery that illustrates the tragedy of the permanent parting of lovers by death.

From the Paper:

"This 'light' interplay of conversation between the characters is a brief reprieve from the tragedy of the events which have begun to unfold (Mercutio and Tybalt's deaths, Romeo's banishment), much like Mercutio and Benvolio's conversation is a reprieve before Mercutio's death. This scene is an example of Shakespeare's use, throughout the play, of the comedy/tragedy dramatic structure which keeps the audience in a state of suspense: the hope for a happy ending provided by the lighter 'interlude' makes the final events seem that much more tragic, and this scene in particular makes the audience feel this sense of hope, but it also adds to a state of apprehension. The last time there was a lighter, playful exchange between characters, it was followed by one of the characters' deaths, and so while we hope for a happy ending for the two lovers, we also have an uneasy feeling that something bad may be about to happen to one or both of them. "

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