romeo and juliet themes

Prologue: "Star-cross'd lovers"

Love

In the prologue, this means that Romeo and Juliet are destined to be lovers with consequences

Juliet: 'My only love sprung from my only hate!'

Love / Hate / Conflict

Juliet is conflicted between her love for Romeo and her love for her family.

Juliet's inner conflict is between loving somebody she is programmed to hate. The contrast between 'love' and 'hate', she's confused and trying to figure all this out

Capulet: 'She’s the hopeful lady of my earth'

Love

The nature imagery can be associated with a family tree that Capulet is desperate to continue; he has hope that she will represent him well as all his kids are dead

Romeo: 'O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!'

Love

Exclamative Juliet is the brightest thing in Romeo's life. She stands out to him over everyone else. Light imagery

Romeo: 'Juliet is the sun.'

Love

Declarative and metaphor, light imagery. Romeo sees Juliet as the girl who brought light into his darkened life.

Juliet: 'What's in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet'

Love

Interrogative, Juliet is implying that their family is now as important as the 'unending' love they (Romeo and Juliet) have for one another.

Tybalt: "Peace I hate the word as I hate hell, all montogues and thee"

Hate

Abstract nouns 'hate' and 'peace' are used because there is a contrast. Refers to 'hell' when talking about montogues, he really despises them.

Tybalt: "to strike him dead i hold not a sin"

Hate

Tybalt finds murdering the montogues allowable because of how much he truly hates them

Mercutio: 'a plague o' both your houses!'

Hate

Exclamative, Mercutio hates the rivalry between both of the households and wishes pain within both. Prophetic fallacy, something bad will happen (deaths of Romeo and Juliet)

Tybalt: 'No better term than this: thou art a villain.'

Hate / Conflict

Tybalt referring to Romeo, using the noun 'villain' because he sees Romeo and pure negativity, a person of mayhem and chaos.

Mercutio: 'o calm, dishonourable, vile submission!'

Hate

Mercutio's view of Romeo's refusal to fight Tybalt. Use of these adjectives to create a semantic field of disappointment and shame towards Romeo.

Friar Lawrence: 'These violent delights have violent ends'

Conflict

Use of the adjective 'violent' so create a sense of danger and fury with the problem at hand.

Capulet: 'What noise is this? Give me my long sword, ho!'

Conflict / Honour

He wants to defend his family line at the cost of adding to the conflict within the village

Exclamative to show his willingness to represent his family proudly and how he is full of pride in this squabble.

Capulet: “Hang thee, young baggage! Disobedient wretch!”

Conflict / Honour / Gender

Lord Capulet berates his daughter for not obeying his role as a woman in the Elizabethan time. She is required to be 'obedient' to her father.

Capulet sees Juliet as a dishonour to his family now that she refuses to marry Paris. He needs to marry her off so she is in good hands and his heritage can go somewhere.

Romeo: 'And so, good capulet, which name I tender.'

Family

Romeo, who is now Juliet's wife, cares about the Capulets and does not want anything hate towards them.

Sense of innocence and respect

Capulet: 'But an you will not wed, I’ll pardon you!'

Family

If she doesnt do as he says she will no longer be part of his family, and she is 'dishonourable'.

Capulet: 'We have a curse in having her.'

Family

Capulet shows his fury by saying that he and his wife have been cursed having Juliet as a daughter.

Capulet: 'Too soon marred are those so early made.'

Family

Initially, Capulet refuses to marry Juliet to Paris as he feels she is too young. Adjective 'early' to imply she is too vulnerable to be let go.

Montague: 'black and portentous must this humor prove'

Family

Lord montague says this about Romeo, it shows he cares about his son; he is not controlling like Capulet towards Juliet. The word "portentous" also reflects upon the key theme in the play, fate.

Capulet: 'upon the sweetest flower of all the field”

Family

Capulet says this when Juliet is found 'dead', it contrasts with "baggage" and "disobedient wretch".

Nurse: 'I think its best you married with the County. O he's a lovely gentleman!'

Honour

The nurse wants Juliet to get married to Paris due to a few reason such as: the family having a more honourable status, more money, a safe and stable life, etc. 'Best', she wants the greatest for Juliet

Capulet: 'you be not, hang, beg, starve, die in the streets'

Honour

Very possessive over Juliet as men in those times were top of the family and were very possessive and protective over their daughters however capulet takes it too far as he uses a semantic field of punishment; he wants her to suffer as she has disobeyed him and children/women were not allowed to circa 1595

Sampson (Capulet): 'I will bite my thumb at them which is a disgrace to them if they bear it'

Honour

"I will bite my thumb" is an elizabethan way of putting up a middle finger , therefore is a rude gesture. They make the montages look inferior to their honourable family household.

Mercutio: 'I see Queen Mab hath been with you.'

Dreams

The whole Queen Mab speech is Mercutio mocking Romeo and saying that the reason he feels so in love is because a fairy has drugged him in his sleep. Mercutio is imaginative and mad.

Mercutio: 'The cover of the wings of grasshoppers'

Dreams

Sense of nature and unrealism, Mercutio implies that he believes that dreams are not prophetic but instead a bunch of nonsense.

Mercutio: 'Her traces of the smallest spider's web'

Dreams

Sense of nature and unrealism, Mercutio implies that he believes that dreams are not prophetic but instead a bunch of nonsense.

Mercutio: 'And in this state she gallops night by night Through lovers' brains, and then they dream of love'

Dreams

According to Mercutio, Queen Mab (or dreams) fills people's heads with things they may desire, but these things are nothing but fantasies just the same.

Servant: 'I will be civil with the maids; I will cut off their heads'

Gender

Basically saying he will rape the maids and take their virginity. 'maidenheads' is slang for virginity. Here he is equating fighting the men to raping the maids, which was seen as manly during the Shakespearean era. Shows the double standards for men and women.

Capulet: 'ere we may think her ripe to be a bride.'

Gender

Capulet - talking about marrying Paris and Juliet. Juliet isn't there to give input because it was normal for families to marry off their daughters. The adjective 'ripe' implies that Juliet is a fruit and cannot yet bear children as she's not 'ripe'

Lady capulet: 'Here in Verona, ladies of esteem, Are made already mothers.'

Gender

Stereotyping females in elizabethan times, they are born to be married off and give birth to children (preferred boys) to take over the family.