Category: Rhetorical Question

In Shakespeare’s play ‘Romeo and Juliet’, the intense conflict between the families of the Montagues and Capulets illustrates the theme of internal conflict present throughout the play. It is this conflict that led to the downfall of Romeo and Juliet’s relationship and their inevitable death. In the play, Shakespeare uses a rhetorical question when Juliet states, ‘What if it be a poison, which the friar Subtly hath ministered to have me dead?’ This illustrates Juliet’s doubt of Friar Lawrence’s intentions, which shows again how the internal conflict has led to Juliet’s death. Additionally, it cleverly alludes and foreshadows the death of Juliet to poison. In the play, when Juliet asks herself ‘What if this mixture does not work at all?’ My pace rises and speaks fast as a sign of lack-of confidence and fear. Speaking fast initiates excitement for the audience and doubt. Through the constant self-doubt Juliet is experiencing, an internal conflict begins to manifest within. She’s concerned that he has purposely given her ‘poison’ to kill her. She speculates that he might want her dead ‘lest he should be dishonoured’ as he married Juliet to Romeo without the parents’ consent. A rhetorical question is a technique used to convince or unconsciously persuade the viewer. A question which has been addressed in order to establish a dramatic effect or to convey an argument rather than to get an answer. Therefore, by having Juliet constantly questioning her beliefs, the reader understands that self-doubt is engulfing all of her intentions and will slowly lead to her inevitable demise. The emotional flute music utilised in my performance carries the perfect atmosphere in this particular scene. The emotional flute music is used to increase the dramatic intensity of this scene by creating an additional dimension of what the audience sees on the camera to the audience. Therefore, by implementing background music and pace to my play, I have successfully utilised these dramatic devices to illustrate my conflict and theme.

In Romeo and Juliet, it is perspicuous that Romeo and Juliet have an imperishable and violent love towards each other. In Act 4 Scene 3, alone in fear, Juliet displays the theme of fear when Juliet grasps the vial received by Friar Lawrence, and wonders in doubt and fright the consequences. Juliet utilises a simile in which she trembles, ‘The horrible conceit of death and night. Together with the terror of the place-‘. Similes encourage the audience to utilise their creativity. As similes show rather than tell, they ask the reader to portray images in their mind. By ‘conceit’, she intends the meaning as an idea that relates heavily to imagination and emotion. Juliets ‘conceit’ was the awakening at night amidst the dead conquers Juliet, that she isn’t capable of concluding her sentence. By comparing death and night, Juliet portrays to the reader that death and night are a gruesome illusion, hence she conveys that Juliet’s awakening in the tomb will be fearsome. Her mind wanders around that dreadful thought, discovering it filled with the bones of ancestors that laid there for hundreds of years, finding ghosts and seeing spirits. Therefore, by Juliet having an immense responsibility on herself, the reader understands the doubt and fright she endures in this scene. My black apron conveys Juliet’s emotions and foreshadows death specifically. This foreshadows Juliet’s death as this was where both her and Romeo died. The blue bed sheets convey the variety of feelings Juliet felt as most of Juliet’s decisions were based on her feelings, and blue is the colour used to represent feelings. She had worries before she took the potion that the potion was potentially poisonous. Despite this, Juliet’s passion for Romeo and urge to be with him conquered her fears and she took the potion. In the end, her ultimate decision was centered on her feelings of love. Therefore, by implementing my costuming choice into my play, I have successfully utilised these dramatic devices to illustrate my theme.

I have chosen Act 4 Scene 3, as personally I initiated it to be a scene which was clear, had a great internal conflict and a significant theme to put together a reflection and performance. This scene distinctly values the fear Juliet perceives whether the potion will not work or if it will kill her. In my opinion, this scene has a great internal conflict relating to doubt, which shows the struggle she is experiencing.

“Sunday Bloody Sunday”: The Bloodshed of 1972 and it’s Legacy

U2 lead singer Bono in the song, “Sunday Bloody Sunday” (1983), condemns the violence caused by the Troubles, implying that the bloodshed has gone on for too long. Bono supports his condemnation by using poetic devices, such as rhetorical questions, repetition, and a war motif to emphasize the true horrors of the Troubles. The songwriter’s purpose is to encourage peace by criticizing the violence and taking a nonpartisan position on the conflict. The author addresses the entire world, specifically the Irish affected by Bloody Sunday and the Troubles, using sad and angry tones.

On January 30, 1972, the second Bloody Sunday occurred in Derry, Northern Ireland. The Parachute Regiment of the British Army killed fourteen innocent citizens. These citizens had participated in a peaceful protest against the British policy of imprisoning suspected members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) without a trial. Although an investigation concluded that none of the protesters were armed with bombs or guns, the government only charged one of the seventeen officers who opened fire (Miller). This atrocity inspired the creation of “Sunday Bloody Sunday” by U2. In this song, U2 identifies with and describes the horrors of Bloody Sunday (“U2’s ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ Meaning”). The band describes the horrific events by explaining that there were “Broken bottles under children’s feet/bodies strewn across the dead-end street” (U2 7-8). Though this song is about Bloody Sunday, as it appears, the song is also about a conflict more complex, the Troubles. The Troubles was a conflict between the Nationalists, who wanted Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to reunify, and the Unionists, who wanted Northern Ireland to stay part of the United Kingdom. During this period of turmoil from 1969 to 1998, tensions between the Nationalists and the Unionists who were supported by the British increased until violence erupted (Coy). Although this is not explicitly stated in “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” U2 alludes to the long duration of the Troubles and implies their position on the situation by asking, “How long, how long must we sing this song?” (U2 3). By posing this question, U2 refers to the broader context of Bloody Sunday and implies that the Troubles had gone on for too long.

U2 uses several poetic devices, including rhetorical questions, repetition, and a war motif in “Sunday Bloody Sunday.” One example of a rhetorical question and repetition is: “How long, how long must we sing this song?/How long? How long?” (U2 3-4). By asking this question, the band makes their position on the Troubles clear – they believe that violence must stop. Repetition strengthens their argument. The use of rhetorical questions and repetition also draws attention to the long duration of the Troubles, tying Bloody Sunday into the bigger picture of the Anglo-Irish conflict. In addition, U2 uses a war motif to enhance the meaning behind “Sunday Bloody Sunday.” Throughout the song, the band uses several words meant to evoke war imagery, such as “dead” (7), “battle” (9), and “trench” (U2 19). Furthering this imagery, Bono writes, “There’s many lost, but tell me, who has won?” (U2 18). This rhetorical question compels the audience to think about the Troubles as more than a conflict between Unionists and Nationalists. He wanted to emphasize that the Troubles was a conflict between humans all willing to fight to the death until one side was victorious. The question also highlights that neither side really “won” because their victory was at the expense of death. This device emphasizes the true horror of the Troubles by comparing it to war.

“Sunday Bloody Sunday” by U2 was inspired by Bloody Sunday in 1972 but was not produced until 1983. The lyrics condemn the atrocity which caused more citizens to join the IRA and worsened the Troubles, rather than picking a side. In order to make their nonpartisan position on the conflict clear, before the song began Bono stated, “This song is not a rebel song.” Additionally, Bono waved a white flag as a call for peace during the performance (“Sunday Bloody Sunday”). These actions remind the audience that the song neither glorifies the Troubles nor encourages revolution. This song continued to take on a new meaning as the Troubles progressed. For example, when thirteen citizens were killed by a bomb set by the IRA in the Enniskillen massacre on November 18, 1987, the day the band recorded “Sunday Bloody Sunday” for their Rattle And Hum movie, they gave a very emotional performance, outraged by the continuing violence. Although this song was written about the Irish, its angry tone and cry for peace make it relevant to other countries and conflicts. For example, the band performed this song waving an American flag after 9/11 in order to honor those who died in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center (Marvilli).

“Sunday Bloody Sunday” was written by U2 in 1983 about Bloody Sunday and the lengthy conflict between Unionists and Nationalists in Northern Ireland. This song is influential for its nonpartisan condemnation of violence and its encouragement of peace, which is emphasized by the use of literary devices, such as rhetorical questions, repetition, and a war motif, as well as by its angry and sad tones. The song continues to be well-known today, decades later. Regardless of the decade, conflict, or country, the truth of the universal cry for peace presented in “Sunday Bloody Sunday” is relevant.

Works Cited

1. Coy, Patrick G. ‘Bloody Sunday.’ World Book Advanced, World Book, 2019, www.worldbookonline.com/advanced/article?id=ar726443. Accessed 2 Nov. 2019.
2. Marvilli, Joe. “Rock History 101: U2’s ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday.’” A consequence of Sound, Consequence of Sound, 2019, https://consequenceofsound.net/2009/11/rock-history-101- u2s-Sunday-bloody-Sunday/. Accessed 6 Nov. 2019.
3. Miller, Michael E. ‘In Ireland, Bloody Sunday’s ‘communal wound’ reopened on St. Patrick’s Day’s eve.’ Washingtonpost.com, 16 Mar. 2019. Gale In Context: High School, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A578730618/SUIC?u=cinc48953&sid=SUIC&xid=4f00ebd. Accessed 2 Nov. 2019.
4. “Sunday Bloody Sunday.” Songfacts, Songfacts, 2019, songfacts.com/facts/u2/sunday-bloody-Sunday. Accessed 4 Nov. 2019.
5. U2. Lyrics to “Sunday Bloody Sunday.” Genius, Genius Media Group, 2019, https://genius.com/U2-sunday-bloody-sunday-lyrics. Accessed 1 Nov. 2019.
6. “U2’s ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ Meaning.” Song Meanings and Facts, Song Meanings and Facts, 2019, songmeaningsandfacts.com/u2-sunday-bloody-sunday-meaning. Accessed 3 Nov. 2019.

Wilfred Owen’s poetry ensures that the poems always remain relevance in society today as conflict through war is still taking lives causing loss and grief uses the empathy of the solider suffering at war to encourage engagement from the readers through the dehumanising ways, and the irreconcilable mourning to demonstrate the intense consequences of war enduring the relevance of war today, while still questioning the religious beliefs as one of Wilfred Owens poems “Futility” reveals the pointlessness of war and empathy the soldiers have for one another, while representing the melancholy of the soldiers and the consequences for those who are left to survive. While the other poem I will be doing is “Anthem for Doomed Youth” this poem exposes the empathy of youth and waste of life in war, as well as talking about the impact of war on the soldier’s families making it empathic to the audience, through the false sense of glory and propaganda.

Owens poem ‘Futility’ embodies the pointlessness of war though many poetic techniques causing empathy for the soldiers and making it relevance to the waste of life at war. In this poem, Wilfred focuses on the soldier’s experiences and life and death are symbolically presented throughout. The sun and earth are personified in the relationship to life and death of the soldiers at war. In the 1st stanza the sun is referred to a kind and it’s “touch awoke him”, symbolically and metaphorically presenting it as life, whereas the earth is referred to asleep, representing the soldier’s as asleep, or, even more horrifically, dead in the trenches within the earth. This causes the readers to feel compassionate as it depicts war as wasteful and challenging as soldiers need to overcome death. The imagery used in this poem, includes the symbolism of seeds for growth and the personification of the “kind old sun”, contributed to the experiences of the soldiers. The use of rhetorical questions impacts the audience and makes the readers question “gods” ability through biblical imagery. The change of sleep is used to refer to death, presenting a clam, slow tone and mood in the 1st stanza while the 2nd stanza presents a desperate, growth frustrated tone and mood. Owen idea was to covey to the audience grief and loss experienced firsthand. This poem is confronting the inhumanity of war. As Owen argues that war is an unnatural pointless end to the life of young men.

In contrast, Owen’s poem “Anthem for Doomed Youth” which explores the effect of war on soldiers as well as their families through the machinery of war and the endurance the solider have to overcome casing empathy throughout the poem. Firstly, the use of bitter tone to identify the consequences of war, forces the readers to feel empathic and compassion for those who have and are suffering and dying at war. The opening of the poem is a rhetorical question identifying the lack of humanity left in those who die. As there are no “passing-bells” as unusually the ritual of the bells happens when someone dies but there aren’t any bells for the soldiers dehumanizing them. Compared to the opening of ‘Futility’ as it is very soft and personifying the religion used to care for the soldiers to appeal the bringing back of the solider. Owen employs assonance in the first stanza of “anthem of doomed youth” to convey the mistreatment of the soldiers. Though the repetition of ‘a’ sound in ‘rapid rattle’ mimics the sound of church bells. Another technique used by Owen to highlights the effect which war had on the soldier’s families is the light and dark imagery, shown through the word’s “glimmer”, “shine” and “blind”. The imagery allows the readers to visualise the dimming of lights, this represents the death of the soldiers, the fading away of memories as pass away. Unlike Owen’s poem ‘Futility’, ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ depicts the effect which the war has on soldiers as well as their families. Resulting the wasteful life of the youthful soldiers at war.

In conclusion, we can say Wilfred Owen uses his poems, ‘Futility’ and ’Anthem for Doomed Youth’ to represent the brutal and horrid nature of war and suffering of both soldiers and family though the expression of the feeling of loss & grief through the use of poetic devices in an empathic way making his poems relevance to today. Leaded to a sense of compassion for those lives that have been destroyed by the war.