4.3.2013
Language and Literature C
Ms. Spaziano Allusion of Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare has been thought for centuries to be the greatest writer from his time. He is known for his plays and poems but perhaps most famously for his tragic love story Romeo and Juliet. Many adaptations of this play have been created but nothing close to the original. Through out the play there are many figures and allusions that are present in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet such as Echo. The Greek mythological figure, Echo, is an important allusion in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet because her story emphasizes Romeos selfish nature which is part of his tragic flaw. Romeos selfish nature is related to a youth by the name of Narcissus. He was a beautiful creature loved by many but Narcissus loved no one. He enjoyed attention, praise, and envy just like Romeo from Romeo and Juliet. In Narcissus’ eyes nobody matched him and he considered none were worthy of him. Echo was a Greek nymph who lived on the slopes of Mt. Helicon (in Boeotia). She was extremely talkative and continually chattered away. A goddess named Hera eventually grew exasperated and ordained that Echo could only speak when spoken to. Also, the nymph could only repeat the last syllables of whatever words people spoke. Later, Echo fell in love with the handsome, conceited youth Narcissus, who rejected her which shows the greediness and selfish side of Narcissus. (Nardon pg. 88) The allusion of Echo mainly shows the relationship between Romeo and Narcissus both being extremely selfish. The allusion discusses when Juliet told Romeo to go home, “To lure this tassel-gentle back again bondage is hoarse, and may not speak aloud, Else would I tear the cave where Echo lies, And make her airy tongue more hoarse than mine, With repetition of “My Romeo!”(Act 2, Scene 2, lines 162-166). In this part of when Romeo estranged Juliet, she makes a reference to Echo a mythical creature, which was ridiculed by Narcissus and she was so sad that she repeated his name and people believe you can still hear the “echo” of her calling his name in caves. Both Romeo and Narcissus act before they think which makes them impulsive and selfish for choosing them selfs over others. In conclusion, Romeos never ending thoughts about he and Juliet ending up together compare to Echo’s non stop babble. Her desire to talk and chat about anything parallels Romeo’s constant desire to figure out he and Juliet’s relationship. In the end, their persistence, one with love and the other with conversation, ended any chance they had to be with someone.
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