Literary Analysis of Romeo and Juliet “What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. (The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet).” This quote from Act II explains how Juliet feels about marrying someone for their status instead of who they really are. Names are a big deal to Juliet’s family because their family doesn’t get along with Romeo’s. In Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, marriage was significantly different than it is in the present day. Marriage choices, preparation, and ceremonies have all changed since the late 1500’s. In the ancient Shakespearean time, marriage was based off of commodity, wealth, or political status. Juliet believes this to be wrong and women should marry for desire and whom they wish to spend the rest of their life with. She wanted to In Romeo and Juliet’s time frame, the bride’s dress wasn’t even white. It was usually one of their best gowns they would wear or they would buy a new one. One reason this happened was because most families were poor which is why women were encouraged to marry rich so the family would benefit from the wealthy side. These kinds of weddings and ceremonies were called Elizabethan weddings. It was also allowed to boys to marry at fourteen and girls at twelve years old. That’s one reason why Romeo was allowed to marry a twelve to thirteen year old girl. Now, most people in America do not choose to get married until they are in their mid twenties or later than that. Overall it makes sense and is understandable why Romeo and Juliet is different than today. One of the biggest differences was getting married. The meaning behind marriage, preparation, and wedding ceremonies all differ from what they used to be. In a hundred years marriage will still probably change in some way. One thing to remember and learn from is that you should always love the person you marry unconditionally and not just for their
The male protagonists, Shinji and Romeo have many differences. Hatsue and Juliet are perhaps not as different from each other than Shinji is to Romeo but still, the distinctions are abundant, as are the resemblances. Both young women seem to be a puppet of their families. Without consulting her first, Juliet’s father chooses Paris to be his daughter’s groom. Juliet obviously despises Paris and loathes the very thought of their marriage, stating that she would rather leap off the battlements of any tower, walk in dark alleyways, be chained to roaring bears, or hide in a mortuary covered with dead men’s stinking limbs and rotting bones (4.1.78-90). Hatsue, too, is forced unwillingly to marry someone whom she obviously has no interest in: Yasuo Kawamoto. When Shinji asks about the marriage on page twenty-two, Hatsue dismisses it with a laugh and says “Silly! It’s a big lie.” It indicates that Hatsue is looking forward to be bonded in holy matrimony with Yasuo about as much as Juliet is looking forward to the day that makes her the wife of Paris. Juliet’s family is wealthy, and so has the adequate amount of money to go through with the wedding. Also, in those days, it was common for fathers to marry off their daughters to a stranger of his choosing. The reader discovers that Hatsue’s family is also wealthy, her father being “Terukichi Miyata, the wealthy owner of two coasting freighters chartered to Yamagawa Transport” (page thirteen). These two rich and noble men both marry off their daughters to a stranger. It is obvious through this that the daughters, Hatsue and Juliet, are merely puppets to their fathers. To bolster this piece of evidence even more, Yukio Mishima reveals in a paragraph on page thirteen that Hatsue was sold becaus...
In Romeo and Juliet time there were tons of rules to marriage. In Romeo and Juliet’s time the man was granted ownership over the finances of the family. This is something that is shared between couples today. Romeo and Juliet might have considered not getting married more if the rules of today had been in place. Today there are all kinds of legal paper and such involved in getting married In Romeo and Juliet the only thing that sealed the deal on marriage was the consent of both people in the partnership. If they had had to jump through all the hoops that you have to today to get married Romeo and Juliet might have realized how big of a deal marriage is. Romeo and Juliet might have been better off if today's rules had affected them.
Romeo Montague is considered an atrocious role model because of his repeatedly impulsive and immature attitude. He tends to rush into things and makes major life choices on a whim. “But this I pray/That thou consent to marry us to-day” (2.3.64-65). This proves that Romeo is impulsive and impatient. There was no rational reason for Romeo and Juliet to get married that soon. Had they waited until they received their parents
Romeo and Juliet was first published around 1595. At this time in England the family was one of the most central and pivotal figures of social order. Children were expected to honor and obey their parents and seek their assistance in any decisions made. Especially in choices made concerning marriage. At this time children were finally able to take a more active role in choosing their husband/wife, but parents were essentially given the final decision (Amussen 94). Romeo and Juliet took it upon themselves to make such an important decision and hardly even considered their parents in the process. During the first half of the 17th century the average age for a woman to marry was 26 and for a man, 28 (Amussen 86). Shakespeare’s central characters are barely entering their teen years. As a son coming of age, and more importantly the singular male heir for the Montague family, Romeo should be entering University to prepare himself for handling the family fortune, not marrying in secret. This is merely the beginning of his show of irresponsibility towards his family and ultimately the role he is meant to play in society.
Although the characters in Romeo and Juliet have differing ideas of love and marriage, they all still reflect the opinions of people who lived in the Renaissance. This is revealed through the thoughts and actions of Lady Capulet, Nurse, and Lord Capulet. In Act 1, Scene 3, it is shown that Lady Capulet believes that marriage is way to gain social status and become more wealthy. This idea is brought to life when she attempts to persuade Juliet to marry Paris, the Prince’s son. Paris is very wealthy and is of high social status. If Juliet were to marry Paris, she would become part of the royal family and would become extremely wealthy. To add, Lady Capulet argues that she herself was married at a young age and even
Considerable expectations are placed on Juliet due to her gender. As a female, Juliet was expected to marry the man of her family’s choosing, granting her no control over her future. Capulet and County Paris discuss whether Juliet is fit to be a bride. Although age plays a factor in this decision, Capulet is deciding his daughter’s fate based on the expected gender roles of her being the sole female daughter of the family, “ She hath not seen the change of fourteen years;/Let two more summers wither in their pride/
In the Elizabethan period, woman of higher social classes were supposed to embody “obedience”(Gerlach et al. 1) and this is shown throughout the text. In the beginning of the book, Lady Capulet tells Nurse to summon Juliet, so she can inquire about her getting married. As Juliet enters the room she says,“Madam, I am here. What is your will?” (1.3.7). Here, we can see not only Nurse being obedient to Lady Capulet’s wishes, but also Juliet being obedient and going to her mother after she is summoned. Similarly, after a discussion with Count Paris, a noble man who seeks Juliet’s hand in marriage, Lord Capulet decides that Juliet will marry him and tells Lady Capulet to deliver the news to Juliet. Not happy with this, Juliet expresses her opposition
Before the Renaissance, marriage was all about money which had to do with arranged marriages. This all changed during this time, and Shakespeare hit on this idea in his play of Romeo and Juliet. They became lovers not through arranged marriage, although Juliet was to be wed to another. Romeo used interesting tactics of language to get Juliet to speak to him. The literature book explains this doing as the phrase by Horace, “Carpe Diem.” Adams clarifies this term by saying, “Make the most of your opportunities. It comes rarely.” This phrase translates to seize the day. The textbook will use this as a coverup for
In Shakespeare’s novel Romeo and Juliet, Juliet’s father decides that she must marry Count Paris. Even if she shows no interest and is already married to Romeo. Marriage is a big life changer for most people which is an important decision. Many cultures allowed them to choose their love, while there are still some cultures that forced arranged marriages. Arranged marriages wouldn’t be supportive and parents now shouldn’t arrange their children’s marriage, because there is a high rate of unhappiness, the children may be in love with someone else but having to marry by their parents’ choice, and there’s a higher than average divorce rate in arranged marriage.
In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Lord Capulet makes Juliet have an arranged marriage despite her love for Romeo. Marriage is between two people that love each other. In different times and different cultures arranged marriage was allowed. Today it still exists. Arranged marriage is bad for the child because it can make the child feel trapped, the child doesn’t know their future spouse, and they could be scared of their new spouse.
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is about two young people who fall in love and then ultimately die together. It is a timeless classic and one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays. There are many marriage customs in Romeo and Juliet that differ quite drastically than ours. Marriages used to be arranged, Almost never for love, and the age of both of the betrothed was a huge gap.
Romeo and Juliet are star crossed lovers, who meet, fall in love, and die in four days. In 13th century Italy, young girls were permitted from talking to young men or even make eye contact with them. Instead, their families arranged their marriages, like how Juliet was supposed to marry County Paris. But Juliet broke all the rules by talking to Romeo, marrying him, and refusing to marry noble Paris, because she was madly in love with Romeo. But she starts facing the consequences of being impetuous and eventually makes irrational decisions in order to marry Romeo. like the Friar saying, “wisely and slowly; they stumble that run fast’’ [2.3.94]. After they get married, Romeo kills Tybalt and gets banished from Verona and Romeo and Juliet
From “the fatal loins” (Prologue.5) of Lord and Lady Capulet, protagonist Juliet is born in Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. Early on in the play Juliet is portrayed as a very dutiful daughter to her family. After her encounter with Romeo however, she begins a rapid transformation from a naive young girl into a woman. By the end of the play Juliet’s transformation evolves her from a dutiful daughter, into a faithful wife that is willing to desert her family in the name of love.
Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet in the 16th century, at a time where the role of the woman was to be subservient to men and act as a wife to their husband and a mother to their children. Women were expected to conform to the expectations of society, and were seen as possessions by their fathers and husbands. Fathers arranged their daughters’ marriages, usually for financial or social gain for the family. In Romeo and Juliet, the unfair treatment of women is conveyed through characters such as Juliet, a young girl who is growing into the expectations of society, and Lady Capulet, who represents a traditional side of love and values social position rather than men themselves.
Romeo and Juliet’s actions have a strong rebellious nature, in that they refuse to obey and adhere to society’s norm. They are so deeply in love that they are willing to deny their own names to, in a way, prove their love to each other: ‘My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself,// Because it is an enemy to thee’. (Act II, scene II, 55-56). They did not value their names as much as the rest of the society did in Shakespearian times: 'What’s in a name? that which we call a rose // By any other name would smell as sweet’ (Act II, scene II, 47-48). Unlike most people in their time, who believe that a name sets out how you are viewed, the young lovers expresses a very modern notion that a name does not define a person; that a name is nothing more than a title. This is a progressive idea that showcases their rebellious, yet undoubtedly genuine thoughts; their refusal to conform to the common opinion. For all of Juliet’s life, she has been taught to be an obedient daughter;