Quote: Shall I believe That unsubstantial death is amorous And that the lean abhorrèd monster keeps Thee here in the dark to be his paramour?
*Romeo is the speaker. He is talking to himself / Juliet’s “dead” body.
*Context: He says this to the body of Juliet as it lies (not dead, though he believes it to be) in the Capulet tomb after she has feigned her death by taking the sleeping potion that Friar Lawrence gave to her. Romeo has heard that Juliet is dead, has unexpectedly returned to Verona from exile, and has gone to her tomb to kill himself.
*Paraphrase: Romeo has been saying that Juliet looks beautiful. In these lines he imagines that death, personified although it has no body or physical existence, is full of love for Juliet. He describes death as a starving, hated monster that wants to keep Juliet with him in the dark grave to be his lover.
*Explanation: Personification occurs when something that is not human is referred to as human, or is given human characteristics. Romeo describes a state of existence (death) as a person (a paramour). Only people can be paramours (lovers)! Therefore, Romeo is personifying death because he talks about it as if it were human.
