Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespare

Melisa Jaskova

Renaissance Theater

Characters

Symbolism

William Shakespeare

-A rectangular stage platform

-Trap door for use by performers to enter from the "cellarage" area beneath the stage.

-The back wall of the stage had two or three doors on the main level, with a curtained inner stage in the center and a balcony above it.

-The ceiling under this roof was called the "heavens," and was painted with clouds and the sky.

-The Globe.

• Juliet is the 13-year-old daughter of Lord and Lady Capulet and eventual wife of Romeo. She kills herself rather than live without her husband.
• Romeo is the son of Lord and Lady Montague and eventual husband of Juliet. He kills himself rather than live without his wife.
• Lord Capulet is Juliet's father.
• Friar Lawrence is a brother of the Franciscan order, Romeo's confessor, and a guide and advisor to Romeo and Juliet.
• Mercutio is a friend of Romeo's and a kinsman (relative) of the prince, murdered by Tybalt
• The nurse is Juliet's caretaker.
• Paris is a count, kinsman to the prince, suitor of Juliet, and murder victim of Romeo.

-The light as something positive, energetic, the love between Romeo and Juliet, and the darkness as the hatred between the families.

-Flowers symbolize the possibility of Juliet finding love, and while most men are flowers that do not interest her, Romeo is a rose.

-Daggers and swords as the external force of violence in the play. Weapons are physical representations of masculinity, rage and hatred, and, sometimes, sexuality, but their symbolic meaning is mostly constructed in scenes involving a large group of people.

-Plants and Potions, Friar Lawrence tells the audience, have within them either medicinal qualities or dangerous poison. In this way plants are a symbol of humanity; "in man as well as herbs," he says. He extends the metaphor to say that a plant can be corrupted from purity.

-Lived 1564-1616.

-Arguably the most famous writer of the English language.

-Known for plays and sonnets.

-Much about his life remains open to debate due to incomplete evidence.

Rome and Juliet

Literary devices

-Death is personified continuously in the play and is often characterized as Juliet's lover. This figure becomes especially recurrent towards the end of the work, especially in the mouths of Capulet and Paris.

-The death of characters is full of irony.

- the conflict between Montague and Capulet has its parallel in the younger generation and between the servants of both houses, as is already evident in the opening of the play

-An example of synecdoche is when Mercutio, after Romeo, mocking the Nurse and her page, announces that two sailing ships are coming. "Two, two: a shirt and a blouse".

-Base in the poem The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet by Arthur Brooke.

-Subjects of love, death, youth, and sacrifice enhanced by questioning the fate that was arranged by authorities

-Capulets and Montagues have a dispute, Juliet and Romeo fall in love, and the prince advises to learn from the sad tragedy and turn hate towards love.

"My only love sprung from my only hate!"

-Juliet, Act 1, Scene 5

Resources

• Cain, H. E. (1934). Crabbed Age and Youth in" Romeo and Juliet". The Shakespeare Association Bulletin, 186-191.
• Chang, J. S. (1967). The Language of Paradox in Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare Studies, 3, 22.
• Berry, R. (1978). The Shakespearean metaphor: studies in language and form. Springer.
• Bloom, H. (Ed.). (2009). Romeo and Juliet. Infobase Publishing.
• Bowling, L. E. (1949). The Thematic Framework of Romeo and Juliet. Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, 208-220.
• Levenson, J. L., & Shakespeare, W. (1987). Romeo and Juliet. Manchester University Press.
• Kahn, C., & Kahn, C. (1981). Man's estate: masculine identity in Shakespeare. Univ of California Press.
• Rahmatullah, K. (2018). A critical analysis of William Shakespere’s: Romeo and Juliet. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications.
• Shakespeare, W. (2003). romeo and juliet. Cambridge University Press.
• Hermansen, P. (2015). Examining the Text: Romeo and Juliet. Retrieved from https://www.bard.org/study-guides/examining-the-text-romeo-and-juli
• Shakespeare, W. (2003). romeo and juliet. Cambridge University Press.
• Williams, P. (1953). The Rosemary Theme in Romeo and Juliet. Modern Language Notes, 68(6), 400-403.