Similarities Between Shakespearan And Elizabethan Marriage

A marriage proposal is an occasion where one person in a relationship asks for the other's hand in marriage. Overtime, marriage proposals have changed in virtually all cultures. In the 1800s, marriage was more for social gain or monetary gain. However, marriage for love wasn’t unknown. William Collins proposal to Elizabeth Bennet in Jane Austen’s novel, Pride and Prejudice and Bradley Headstone’s proposal to Lizzie Hexam in Charles Dickens's’ Our Mutual Friend are perfect examples of two different types of marriage proposals that may have been giving during the 1800s. Analyzing Mr. Headstones and Mr. Collins’ techniques and the language used in their proposals reveal the weaknesses and strengths of their proposals.

Women had great social pressure on them to marry. Young girls were often married by the age of 13 or 14 . It was socially unacceptable if women were not married by the age of 25 . Marriage was mostly for economic benefits, not romantic situations. A wedding, rather than a religious ceremony, was a civil contract that set the responsibilities and duties of husband and wife . Once married, they legally became one with their husbands. Married women had no control of their earnings, inheritance, property, and also could not appear in court as a witness nor vote . Their husbands, therefore, were responsible for all aspects of their wife including discipline .

Marriage, a tradition that has been practiced throughout history, unifies two people in a personal relationship. Marriage has been a topic of controversy for ages. Whether it be in ancient Greece, in the Elizabethan Era, or in modern times, there are differences and similarities in marriages and relationships between these three time periods. As shown in William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, marriages in ancient Greece were very strict. Marrying someone during the Elizabethan Era meant that a person would have almost no say in their marriage. In modern times, however, people are allowed to pick out their suitor, but even in this time and age, there are some limitations of who a person can marry. These limitations, based on

Before the eighteenth century, marriage was far less complicated. Verbal consent and consumation constituted legal marriage: "once the knot was tied by such verbal exchanges it could not be

In the Renaissance period, marriage was far different and much longer process than it is today. Particularly in the Elizabethan era, marriages were frequently arranged so that both families involved would benefit. Marriages would be arranged to bring prestige, honour and wealth to the family. For the upper class, marriage rarely involved love. Courting outside of one’s class was strictly forbidden and punishable by death in some circumstances. Marriage followed a strict set of protocols that signify maturity and coming into one’s own. In this time, dowries often played a large part in the decision to marry. A dowry, is the custom in which involves an interchange of cash, jewels, foods, estates between the father

The ages to get married could be as young as 14 for the girls and 12 for the boys (Elizabethan Wedding Customs” 1). This was not unusual for girls or boys to be married this young, but the age of consent was 21(Elizabethan Wedding Customs” 1). The ceremony was held at a local church and conducted by a minister(“Elizabethan Marriages and Weddings”). During the ceremony, everyone would stand because there were no chairs(Elizabethan Wedding Customs” 1). This could also be a theory of why people stand when the bride enters the room. As far as the dress code went for the wedding, the couple would just wear their best clothes(“Elizabethan Wedding Customs” 1). The iconic white wedding did not come along until Queen Victoria in the the 1840’s(A Day to Remember: Wedding Ceremony and Cultural Change). There were no legal documents in this era that could confirm the marriage, but there was a certain process called the Marriage Bond. This bond acted as a contract, where it was security and proof for the minister that the wedding was lawful. The first step of the bond was the “Crying of Banns” (“Elizabethan Marriages and Wedding” 1). This phase just announced the couple’s intentions to marry. The “Crying of Banns” was then followed by a statement declaring that there was no pre-contract(“Elizabethan Marriages and Wedding” 1). After the long ceremony, it was now time to celebrate the new married

The main difference between marriages now and in the past is that in this case, the marriages were arranged, and there was no choice in who you married ("Elizabethan Wedding Customs" 1).

Getting married wasn't always a young girls dream during the Elizabethan Era. Once married, the woman lost all her rights as stated before, this limited her greatly as she had to obey her husband. A woman would be owned by her father and then passed on to her husband like property, not a human being. Queen Elizabeth I was reluctant to marry as she would have to obey her husband and he would rule England. Marry Queen of Scots- Elizabeth's cousin- had to obey her husband Lord Darnley. 'I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman;but I have the heart and stomach of a King'

Marriage in Puritan society was more of a contract than a religious sacrament. Daughters were married at a very young age in order

The preparations taken for an Elizabethan wedding were set in stone almost, because these steps were crucial in making sure everything was ready for the couple. Before a marriage was arranged or not people had to take into account the age of consent, which was twenty-one (William Shakespeare info). However, with parental permission girls could marry at twelve and boys at fourteen, however this wasn’t extremely common (William Shakespeare info). After a couple was engaged, the next step was the betrothal. A betrothal was where a couple would join hands and the man would give his fiancé a ring to be worn on the right hand. At the wedding the ring would be switched to the left ring finger. After all this, the couple would seal their betrothal with a kiss, and then sign their wedding contract (Maggi Ros). A wedding contract was much like a marriage license that we have today. Sometimes a couple would have to “get married hastily” and would just sign

Many people believe that marriage rites and customs in the sixteenth century were the same as they are today. However, marriage in the sixteenth century was quite different from today. It is different by the age of marriage, bride and bridegroom clothing, the marriage ceremony, wedding reception, and other wedding customs. Getting married is the day you are suppose to cherish the most. In this century, you have the right to marry whomever you choose.

The standard upheld had been the normal marriage practice among the elite during the Renaissance. The act required that "'banns had to be published two weeks before the ceremony was to take place; second, that the marriage had to be solemnized in a parish church in the presence of a priest and two other witnesses; and third, that parental consent was necessary for persons under 21'" (Cacicedo 193). This practice ensured parental control over the couple and transfer of property.

In the late 1800’s through early 1900’s women and men were did not “tie the knot” like the women and men do in today’s day. In today’s world, women and men get married because they have many things in common, they are in love with each other, and they choose to get married to one another. In many stories written back then, readers can expect to read about how marriages were arranged and how many people were not having the wedded bliss marriage proclaims today.

Pride and Prejudice and Romeo and Juliet are two of the most acclaimed and outstanding English literature composed about the conflict of love. Although both William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and Jane Austen ‘Pride and Prejudice’ are two different genres of literary, one as a play and the other, a novel - both have had a huge impact on the sense of marriage and love. Despite both works are set during the Regency Era and the Renaissance Era, I will demonstrate that both are certainly similar regarding love and marriage.

Arranged marriages have been instituted for centuries in order to link families together for wealth, dominion, and peace. In the late 1500’s, William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet became famous for its writing style and storyline. A true romance story consisting of defying the family 's wishes of an arranged marriage to be accompanied by the true love of their life. In Shakespeare 's Romeo and Juliet love was a dynamic force that eventually brought about the death of both Romeo and Juliet. Nearly 300 years later F. Scott Fitzgerald explores the similar dominance of love in his novel The Great Gatsby. Comparable to Romeo and Juliet many characters in The Great Gatsby exploit their marriage in order to be with another lover. In The Great Gatsby the desire for love of an outside companion to one 's marriage inevitably generates misery in the lives of those who partake. Throughout The Great Gatsby, Myrtle Wilson, Daisy Buchanan, and Jay Gatsby and all experience agony from committing or contributing to affairs. These characters have such a desire for love that it proposes they would die for it.