Women in Shakespeare's Time and Themes in Romeo and Juliet

Women in the Time of Shakespeare

• In wealthy families like Juliet's, marrying for love was very uncommon.
• Girls typically married much younger (around 13), often to older men.
• Women had very limited rights and were viewed as property owned by men.
  • Until married, a woman was the property of her father; post-marriage, she became the property of her husband.
• Women had no say in whom they married; marriages were seen as business deals between the groom and the bride’s father.

Terms and Techniques

• Metaphor: A figure of speech that describes a thing as if it were something else, enhancing understanding through comparison.
• Simile: A comparison of two unlike things using "like" or "as" to illustrate similarities.
• Imagery: A literary device that uses figurative language to create sensory experiences or vivid images for readers.
• Personification: Attributing human qualities or emotions to non-human entities or concepts.
• Oxymoron: A phrase that combines contradictory terms, such as "bright smoke" or "cold fire."

Fairytales and Folklore

• Elizabethan England showcased a significant interest in folklore and stories about fairies and nymphs, like Queen Mab, known as the "midwife of fairies" for delivering dreams.
• Mercutio delivers a famous speech about Queen Mab in Act 1, Scene 4, highlighting these themes.

Fate, Free Will, and Astrology

• Astrology: A prevalent belief at the time that the positions of celestial bodies could influence human lives, linked to the concept of fate.
• Shakespeare viewed fate as guided by predestination but believed in the power of individual decisions shaping one’s destiny.
• In "Romeo and Juliet," the characters are ultimately unable to escape their destined fates, which are intertwined with their choices.

Key Quotations

• "A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life."
• "My child is yet a stranger in the world."
• "O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!"
• "Did my heart love till now?"
• "If he be married, my grave is like to be my wedding bed."
• "My only love sprung from my only hate!"
• "But, soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun."
• "These violent delights have violent ends."

Plot Summary

• Act 1: Set in Verona with two feuding families, the Montagues and the Capulets, where Romeo and Juliet meet and fall in love at a ball.
• Act 2: Romeo and Juliet continue their secret relationship and decide to marry in secrecy.
• Act 3: Tybalt, Juliet's cousin, confronts Romeo; Mercutio intervenes and is killed, prompting Romeo to kill Tybalt.
• Act 4: Juliet seeks assistance from Friar Lawrence, who provides her with a sleeping potion to fake her death.
• Act 5: Romeo misinformed of Juliet's death, consumes poison; Juliet wakes, finds Romeo dead, and takes her own life. The families reconcile afterward.

Themes and Symbols/Motifs

• Love: Shown as passionate but chaotic; contrasts with orderly courtly love and often leads to violence.
• Fate: Characters are unable to escape their fates, emphasizing the passionate defiance of Romeo and Juliet.
• Violence and Conflict: Central to the play, evident in the family feuds and culminating in the lovers' tragic deaths.
• Death: A recurring theme, with frequent references that reflect the society's comfort with mortality.
• Language and Word Play: Use of puns, rhymes, and double-entendres enriches the text.

Motifs and Symbols

• Poison; Night; light/dark imagery; thumb-biting; Dreams/Queen Mab; diverse perspectives.

Characters

• Romeo Montague: Son of the Montague family.
• Juliet Capulet: Daughter of the Capulet family.
• Mercutio: Romeo's friend, not aligned with either family.
• Tybalt: Juliet's cousin, representing the Capulet's aggression.
• Benvolio: Romeo's cousin and peacekeeper.
• Friar Lawrence: A monk who marries Romeo and Juliet.
• Nurse: Juliet's confidante and maternal figure.
• Prince Escalus: Ruler of Verona, tries to maintain peace.

Setting & Context

• Location: Italian city of Verona.
• Cultural Context: The belief that hot climates breed passionate behavior reflects the societal backdrop during Shakespeare's lifetime.
• Genre: The play, often viewed as a tragedy, features comedic elements, particularly early on.
• Hamartia: Romeo's tragic flaw is his impulsiveness, which drives the plot forward and leads to his downfall.

Key Terms

• Bawdy humour: Rude jokes often using double entendres.
• Soliloquy: A speech delivered by a character alone on stage to express internal thoughts.
• Iambic pentameter: A rhythmic pattern commonly found in poetry, consisting of ten syllables with alternating unstressed and stressed beats.
• Dramatic Irony: A situation where the audience knows more than the characters, creating tension or humor.
• Prologue: An introductory section providing background information.

Sonnets

• Definition: A 14-line poem, often discussing themes of love and death, written in iambic pentameter with a specific rhyme scheme (abab cdcd efef gg).
• Notable Element: Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets, with the first meeting of Romeo and Juliet structured as a sonnet.

Religion

• Context: Christianity was central to European life at the time, with expectations of baptism and church attendance.
• Religious Imagery: Present in the play, especially during the initial encounter between Romeo and Juliet, using the sonnet form to evoke a sense of sanctity.
• Notable Dialogue:
  • ROMEO: "If I profane with my unworthiest hand…"
  • JULIET: "Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much…"