Tag Archives: Romeo and Juliet

Here then, is the theme of The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. The play’s legacy is the romantic relationship between the two title characters. Is the tragic end of Romeo and Juliet attributable to disordered affections? Or, instead, are they the victims of a disordered society? Is their love the problem? Or is it the church,Continue reading “Romeo & Juliet: Theme”

In the poem The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet (Shakespeare’s chief source for the play), Arthur Brooke argues that Romeo and Juliet are villains. They are guilty of thralling themselves to unhonest desire; neglecting the authority and advice of parents and friends; conferring their principal counsels with drunken gossips and superstitious friars (the naturallyContinue reading “Romeo & Juliet: Act 5 Observations”

As the turning point in the play, Act 4 gives us three different authorities, all asserting their power. The power they invoke is, analogically, the same as the playwright’s. Each authority wants to write the script for the rest of the play’s action. Shakespeare contrasts the desire for agency with the repeated theme of fate.Continue reading “Romeo & Juliet: Act 4 Observations”

For all of Romeo’s talk, he has difficulty living in a new way as a result of Juliet’s love. Having watched his friend Mercutio die at Tybalt’s hand, Romeo says, “O Sweet Juliet, / Thy beauty hath made me effeminate / And in my temper softened valor’s steel.” This is some next-level excuse making: somethingContinue reading “Romeo & Juliet: Act 3 Observations”

Romeo compares Juliet to the sun: his ruler. The moon, with its connotations of virginity and chastity, is cast away. Her eyes are “two of the fairest stars in all the heaven,” and they exert a reality-bending effect: they fool the birds into thinking that night is day. Juliet expresses an unusual form of theContinue reading “Romeo & Juliet: Act 2 Observations”

The play begins with representatives of the two families that we never see again. Sampson and Gregory manifest the power of hierarchy: “The quarrel is between our masters and us their men.” This is the way authority works. Everyone has to serve somebody. That familial hierarchy must be reconciled with other authorities, namely the law.Continue reading “Romeo & Juliet: Act 1 Observations”

There are three hierarchies at war in The Tragedy of Romeo & Juliet: The family The church The state At the play’s end, the families are ruined. The Montagues and Capulets have no more heirs. The church, too, has been embarrassed. Friar Laurence has exacerbated the situation with his poison plot. He declares: [I]f aughtContinue reading “The Prince and the Play”