"Mirror Imagery"

Throughout the play, many incidents have been repeated, and often in a "back-to-back" fashion. In the opening scene, a cousin from one side arrived at the fight (Benvolio), only to be matched with the cousin from the other side (Tybalt). Then, Mr. Capulet appears, with his wife trying to hold him back. This is matched when Mr. Montague appears, with his wife trying to hold him back.

Now, we have just witnessed one scene (Scene 2) where Juliet is upset, and, due to the Nurse's poor communication skills, she attempts suicide. Shakespeare follows this with the current scene, in which Romeo is upset, and, due to the Nurse's inept communication, HE attempts to kill himself.

Many scholars believe that Shakespeare's use of this clever device strikes a balance, while displaying a "comparison" and "contrast" motif. Others, though, assert that the man was just stuck for fresh ideas.

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