Romeo and Juliet Social Context : Love and marriage

Courtly love (romance occurring in the Elizabethan court)

was intense, melodramatic and often fleeting: arranged marriages and unrequited love was common, secret and forbidden affairs were common - it’s said that Queen Elizabeth I had a secret affair with the Earl of Leicester, As the play was written for Queen Elizabeth I, Shakespeare could be mirroring her own challenges within forbidden relationships  

Marriage occurred at a much younger age in the Elizabethan era

The average age of death was 40yrs old and marriage would occur at around the age of 13. Wealthy fathers would arrange marriage once a daughter was able to bear children

Renaissance marriages were arranged by the father to improve the family’s social mobility:

For many daughters marriage would be a duty, a diplomatic exchange

Renaissance aristocrats believed it foolish to marry for love and Shakespeare’s work often advocates for pure and lasting love

The play has been enduringly popular, since its production in the 16th century, for its focus on pure and infinite love

How does love and marriage link to Romeo and Juliet?

• Romeo’s attitude to love - Romeo's impulsive obsession with love is his fatal flaw. Shakespeare portrays courtly love (medieval, idealized form of romantic love, that emphasized chivalry, nobility, and the devotion of a knight or lover to a (typically unattainable) lady) as superficial, as Romeo instantly falls for Juliet the same day he laments over Rosaline

• Convections of marriage - Lord Capulet tells Paris to wait “two more summers” until Juliet is “ripe to be a bride,” highlighting her duty to bear children. He emphasizes the importance of her marriage by calling her the “hopeful lady of my earth.”

• Subverting societal conventions - Romeo and Juliet defy their families for love, highlighting societal pressures in their tragedy. Juliet would “rather die” than marry Paris, showing her desire for choice. Their shared sonnet’s religious imagery suggests purity in their love (challenging societal norms), and their tragic death symbolizes everlasting love