Romeo and Juliet: In-Class Writing

Act V Scene I
Here Romeo is in Mantua, banished from Verona. This is his monologue:
If I may trust the flattering eye of sleep,
My dreams presage some joyful news at hand;
My bosom's lord sits lightly in his throne;
And all this day an unaccustom'd spirit
Lifts me above the ground with cheerful thoughts.
I dreamt my lady came and found me dead,—
Strange dream, that gives a dead man leave to think!—
And breath'd such life with kisses in my lips,
That I reviv'd, and was an emperor.
Ah me! how sweet is love itself possess'd,
When but love's shadows are so rich in joy!

Here Romeo is joyful, because he dreamt of Juliet. This dream “lifts [him] above the ground with cheerful thoughts.” He is still madly in love. Although this is a joyful monologue it also describes the unhappy idea of death. This dream has opposites again, common in Romeo’s speech (life – death).
Dreams are used to foreshadow the dramatic upcoming events several times throughout the play. They are mostly warning signs of what is going to happen, but they are never fully understood or realized by the characters until it is too late. His monologue is used to foreshadow the events that are going to happen soon. The line, “I dreamt my lady came and found me dead,” is going to come true in just several scenes later.