Thou detestable maw, thou womb of death,
Gorged with the dearest morsel of the earth,
Thus I enforce thy rotten jaws to open,
And, in despite, I’ll cram thee with more food!
– William Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet, Act 5, Scene 3. Romeo delivers this speech when he visits Juliet’s resting place in the Capulet tomb. Using personification, he likens her tomb to the jaws of a voracious beast hungry for more bodies to consume. Juliet is the "dearest morsel of the earth" on which the beast has gorged. Romeo, who wishes to join Juliet in death, plans to open the jaws of the beast and metaphorically offer himself to it as "more food." But Romeo is mistaking Juliet’s death-like appearance for real death. The audience knows that she has taken a sleeping potion, making this an example of dramatic irony.