Question

Read the lines from Act I, scene v of Romeo and Juliet.

Romeo: Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?
Juliet: Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.
Romeo: O! then, dear saint, let lips do whit hands do;
They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair. Shakespeare uses the structure of these lines to develop • Juliet's character as she acts shy with Romeo.
• Juliet's character as she describes her religion.
• Romeo's character as he encourages Juliet to pray.
• Romeo's character as he persuades Juliet to kiss
him.

Answer 1

In the lines from Act I, scene v of 'Romeo and Juliet', Romeo persuades Juliet to kiss him, using the metaphors of prayers and saintly behavior to frame the act of kissing as holy and desirable.

Step-by-step explanation:

Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is a classic play that often demonstrates complex character interactions and developments in just a few lines. In the provided excerpt from Act I, scene v, Romeo uses the imagery of saints and prayers to convey a rather intent towards Juliet. He compares a kiss to a prayer, an act that ostensibly should be chaste and pure. This interaction serves not to show Juliet's shyness or her religious views, nor Romeo's encouragement for prayer, but instead it showcases Romeo's character as he persuades Juliet to kiss him, suggesting that a kiss is akin to a prayer that should be answered, lest his 'faith turn to despair.'