Examine Shakespeare’s presentation of commitment within a love relationship in Romeo and Juliet. William Shakespeare wrote over 400 plays during his life during the Elizabethan era, of which one of his more famous plays is Romeo and Juliet. People from all classes went to watch his plays at the Globe theatre where seating was available to suit the various classes. His plays examined several issues that occurred to Elizabethan society, at a time when loyalty, religion and family were paramount. This essay will be looking at the theme of commitment and how it was portrayed. Shakespeare shows the theme of commitment in the play Romeo and Juliet by demonstrating commitment to one another within a love relationship. This was demonstrated within the lines “If thou dost love me, pronounce it faithfully” which is followed later in that dialogue with “Lady by blessed moon I swear.” This shows commitment by swearing at the moon of their love, which is an example of pathetic fallacy due to the fact that this scene occurs at night. This is pathetic fallacy as the relationship is secretive which has connotations of darkness / night. The word “moon” can have several meanings in this context. The first meaning “moon” can have is of one where it provides light in the darkness which as previously discussed may be referring to the secrecy of their relationship. A second meaning is that the darkness represents the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets; whilst the moon is representing
One might think that masculinity is only a mental and ethical issue, yet throughout the tragic play of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, masculinity proves to be a two headed beast that not only is a mental but also physical problem. All the way from the beginning in scene 1.1 to the final scene of act 5, there was constant conflict occurring with short breaks of love and triumph collapsed by more ensuing conflict. Furthermore, a majority of this clash between the two families, Capulets and Montagues, was indirectly or directly evoked by the masculine behavior exerted by the men in the story. All things considered, the tragedy where two lovers upon many others meet their ultimate fate of death would have never been a tragedy without all of the masculinity that all of the men characters seem to exude. All throughout this essay, it will become more apparent that the idea of the internal and external need for masculinity in the men has consequently kindled the fire of conflict between the Montagues and Capulets in the tragedy because of the status quo, disrespect for women, and mindset of a masculine man.
In this essay, I will take a gander at the play of Romeo and Juliet. I will examine how Shakespeare has utilized dialect in the play for symbolic impact. I will also see how Shakespeare has displayed love and the path in which Romeo and Juliet converse with each other, I might choose whether their affection was genuine and discuss their parents differentiating perspectives and conclusions. I will likewise remark on the play's pertinence today and perceive how Shakespeare has utilized dramatic devices and structures to improve the discussion between the youthful lovers. All throughout the play, there is a consistent theme of love and destiny, I will be dissecting this subject and show how it influences Romeo and Juliet.
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet – popularly considered by many to be the quintessential love story of all time – is a play that we are all familiar with in one way or another. Whether it be through the plethora of portrayals, adaptations and performances that exist or through your own reading of the play, chances are you have been acquainted with this tale of “tragic love” at some point in your life. Through this universal familiarity an odd occurrence can be noted, one of almost canonical reverence for the themes commonly believed to be central to the plot. The most widely believed theme of Romeo and Juliet is that of the ideal love unable to exist under the harsh social and political strains of this world. Out of this idea emerge two
He uses rhyming couplets, ‘as a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear, Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear’. This suggests his love for her is so powerful, it changes the way he speaks. Romeo also uses religious imagery to describe Juliet, such as ‘This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this.’ He compares her to a shrine which shows how their love is pure and how he worships her. This shows he has confused his love with religion. In act 1, scene 4 Romeo says, ‘I fear, too early, my mind misgives some consequences yet hanging in the stars.’ This suggests that he feels something is going to go wrong, which shows that their relationship is doomed from the start. In Elizabethan times people were superstitious and thought that their lives were mapped out in the stars. If you tried to change your destiny it was considered a sin. They also believed that their lives were planned by the wheel of fortune. Philosopher, Boethius proposed a theory of that people can rise in power of luck, but; it has to come down. In act 3, scene 5 Juliet refers to this. ‘O fortune, fortune! All men call thee fickle.’
William Shakespeare is the world’s pre-eminent dramatist whose plays range from tragedies to tragic comedies, etc. His general style of writing is often comparable to several of his contemporaries, like Romeo and Juliet is based on Arthur Brooke’s narrative poem, “The tragical history of Romeo and Juliet”. But Shakespeare’s works express a different range of human experience where his characters command the sympathy of audiences and also are complex as well as human in nature. Shakespeare makes the protagonist’s character development central to the plot.
In William Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet”, Shakespeare presents characters in difficult situations in Romeo and Juliet through various language techniques and structure. Romeo and Juliet were star-crossed lovers. Both Romeo and Juliet were from feuding families that would not approve of their marriage. In the play they are presented with many difficult circumstances. The play was set in the Elizabethan era; there was a significant change in religion, family and politics. Attitudes and key scenes highlight the theme of love in difficult circumstances and prepare the audience for Romeo and Juliet’s suicides at the end of the play. In this essay I will be exploring the ways Shakespeare presents characters in difficult situations.
William Shakespeare was a playwright and author in the 16th and 17th centuries, with at least 37 plays and 154 sonnets to his name. His many works span in genre and form, from the tragedy of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ to the poem of a father’s unconditional love and eventual acceptance of a loved one’s death. Through a vast variety of linguistic and structural techniques, he is able to promote, develop and explain his personal ideology of love. Evidence of this is seen through the character of ‘Romeo’ in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and the narrative voice in a selection of sonnets.
Shakespeare understood that with young love came rebellion, (which upon Juliet’s marriage to Paris being advanced ahead of time), made the lovers more determined to defy their scorning families and the chain of being. Had their families ceased their feud and with time, let their children get to personally know each other, their young love might’ve extended into true love. Shakespeare presents the complexities and faults with young love in the play with rebellion and time as catalysts in their downfall, suggesting a negative view of the human nature.
Most of the major characters in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night experience some form of love or marriage. Whether it’s unrequited like with Antonio and Malvolio, or it is something seemingly unattainable like with Duke Orsino. Regardless, it is clear that love is prevalent as one of the central themes Shakespeare seems to emphasize in Twelfth Night. With that, we see him communicate different interpretations and feelings regarding the subject. He does this with the medium of melodramatic characters. In this essay, I will elaborate on the opinions of love that Shakespeare communicates through one of the leading characters:
Different types of love and marriage play a significant role in Shakespeare’s twelfth night, whether unrequited like with Antonio and Malvolio; or something seemingly unattainable like with Duke Orsino. Love is prevalent as one of Shakespeare's central theme emphasized in the Twelfth Night. With that, we see Shakespeare communicate different interpretations and feelings regarding the subject. He does this with the medium of melodramatic characters. However, this essay will solely elaborate on the character Duke Orsino and his exploration of love. Through Orsino’s actions, Shakespeare conveys several messages still applicable today, some of which are about the fine line between superficial love and genuine love, love's incoherency, and love's
In the play `Romeo and Juliet` the writer William Shakespeare uses the theme of love as a main feature to push the story along. Presented are a plethora of variations of love including family love, true love and courtly love. This essay aims to analyse these three types of love chosen.
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy that involves young lovers, their “untimely death,” and a feud between their two families. The Capulets and the Montagues war against each other. The feud continues to escalate and provides the background for the story of these “two star-crossed lovers.” This literary masterpiece is still relevant today since it involves parental ambition, family fighting, and young love.
In this context, the imagery of the moon alluded to Diana, the moon goddess who was known for her chastity and refusal of men. In referencing her, Romeo hoped that Juliet would fall in love with him, and not reject him as Rosaline had. When Juliet finally recognized Romeo later in the scene, and had commenced the earlier mentioned conversation between them, she had voiced her concerns about their abnormally fast-paced quality and sincerity of their relationship, and stated that “at lovers’ perjuries / They say, Jove laughs” (II.ii.96-97). Jove in this context is symbolic of Jove, or Jupiter, the king of the gods in ancient Roman mythology. Enforcing contracts that people enter into, such as promises, was one of his duties. If one was to break a contract, one would have offended Jove. Promises made between lovers, however, weren't of any concern to him. Given the mythological background, Juliet’s purpose of mentioning Jove was to highlight her fear that Romeo’s professed love wasn't and wouldn't be
Romeo struggles between his dedication to love and his dedication to honor throughout Romeo and Juliet as well as staying true to his family's side in the feud. Although in the beginning Romeo seemed to only "falls in love" with girls because of their looks, but, after being with Juliet, Romeo showed readers that with her it was more than just her beauty that he was in love with. Along with Romeo made sure to stick with Juliet all the way through until he found out that Juliet died and not fighting Tybalt because they were related after Romeo got married to Juliet until after he had good reason to fight. Romeo disregards the families feud after he finds out that Juliet is a capulet and even goes as far as trying to mend the families feud by
The word love can mean many things. Love can be an object, emotion, and a life. However, love could lead to a loss of power, prosperity, and status. In the literary work “Romeo and Juliet” written by William Shakespeare, the readers are introduced to a tragic love story. In this play, readers are also shown the different perspectives of love and the many downfalls it could lead to. The central theme of this work is the recklessness of love. The theme is significant because it is shown throughout the whole story and it’s a strong force that takes place of all the other emotions and values. In this play, Shakespeare uses characters to present different aspects of love. In addition, Nurse, Mercutio, and Romeo completely show what actual love is and what it is like to lose it due to their experiences.