Starting with this conversation, explore how Shakespeare presents
the relationship between Romeo and Juliet.
Shakespeare uses Romeo and Juliet to highlight the positives
aspects of love through their relationship but also makes the
audience aware of the consequences that come with loving
someone to passionately.
Romeo and Juliet have only just met each other in Act I, Scene 5 but
they already prophecy their love for each other. Shakespeare’s
employment of the phrase "two blushing pilgrims' highlights his total
devotion to her which may surprise the 16th century audience as
the two main characters have only briefly met. The noun ‘pilgrims'
illustrates that Romeo has been on a journey of love and has finally
found what he was looking for. His unrequited love for Rosaline was
worth it as due to her name being on the Capulet guest list, he has
now met his "lady' , his “love”. The fact that Romeo is basing has
love for Juliet just by her appearance was not uncommon in the
Elizabethan era as men usually married women based on their
beauty and fertility. Women were seen as possessions back then, so
beauty was everything when picking the woman you wanted to
marry.
Elsewhere in the play, Shakespeare uses the character of Sampson
to make the relationship of Romes and Juliet seem truer and
stronger. In Act 1, scene I, Sampson exclaims that he would 'thrust'
Montague’s maids into the wall. Here, Shakespeare presents
Sampson as a parallel to Romeo as he is only focused on sexual
intercourse with a woman whilst Romeo appreciates the small
features about his lover. The verb 'thrust' has connotations of
dominance, power and carelessness and portrays Sampson as a
typical Elizabethan male who cares about his ego and thinks that
women are "weaker vessels'. The comparison of Sampson and
Romes heightens the relationship between the main characters as it
shows that what they had together was unusual at the time so they
should cherish it.
Similarly, in this extract, Shakespeare shows the spiritual connection
between Romeo and Juliet through the quotation, “holy palmers
kiss”. This illustrates that their love is religious and that there is no
evil in it. The adjective "holy" suggests that their kiss is worthy of
worship and nothing can damage what they have. The fact that
Juliet is speaking about love in the sonnet would surprises the
the relationship between Romeo and Juliet.
Shakespeare uses Romeo and Juliet to highlight the positives
aspects of love through their relationship but also makes the
audience aware of the consequences that come with loving
someone to passionately.
Romeo and Juliet have only just met each other in Act I, Scene 5 but
they already prophecy their love for each other. Shakespeare’s
employment of the phrase "two blushing pilgrims' highlights his total
devotion to her which may surprise the 16th century audience as
the two main characters have only briefly met. The noun ‘pilgrims'
illustrates that Romeo has been on a journey of love and has finally
found what he was looking for. His unrequited love for Rosaline was
worth it as due to her name being on the Capulet guest list, he has
now met his "lady' , his “love”. The fact that Romeo is basing has
love for Juliet just by her appearance was not uncommon in the
Elizabethan era as men usually married women based on their
beauty and fertility. Women were seen as possessions back then, so
beauty was everything when picking the woman you wanted to
marry.
Elsewhere in the play, Shakespeare uses the character of Sampson
to make the relationship of Romes and Juliet seem truer and
stronger. In Act 1, scene I, Sampson exclaims that he would 'thrust'
Montague’s maids into the wall. Here, Shakespeare presents
Sampson as a parallel to Romeo as he is only focused on sexual
intercourse with a woman whilst Romeo appreciates the small
features about his lover. The verb 'thrust' has connotations of
dominance, power and carelessness and portrays Sampson as a
typical Elizabethan male who cares about his ego and thinks that
women are "weaker vessels'. The comparison of Sampson and
Romes heightens the relationship between the main characters as it
shows that what they had together was unusual at the time so they
should cherish it.
Similarly, in this extract, Shakespeare shows the spiritual connection
between Romeo and Juliet through the quotation, “holy palmers
kiss”. This illustrates that their love is religious and that there is no
evil in it. The adjective "holy" suggests that their kiss is worthy of
worship and nothing can damage what they have. The fact that
Juliet is speaking about love in the sonnet would surprises the
