Question

read this excerpt from act ll, scene ll, of romeo and juliet. which theme is depicted through juliets monologue

Answer 1

The main takeaway of Juliet’s monologue in this scene is that the only thing that keeps her and Romeo apart is their last names. She argues that names mean nothing because it is not actually a part of a person. She says that it is just another way to keep her and Romeo apart. “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other word would smell as sweet?” Juliet is saying that names are only used to describe something and she asks why is it that if we call a rose something else, it would take away from the beauty of both the flower and the word. When she says this, the main theme is only names separate them, but they are both of affluent families, so why would she be seen as lesser if she took on the Montague name and shed the Capulet name? But the only problem is that she basically tells Romeo that if he cuts his ties to his family and his name, that he can have her. I guess the most basic theme to draw from this is that “Love is selfish” because she is asking Romeo to change HIS name because she can keep her name and riches.