Romeo and Juliet
'Romeo and Juliet' Summary
Romeo and Juliet is sometimes considered to have no unifying theme, save that of young love.mRomeo and Juliet have become emblematic of young lovers and doomed love. Since it is such an obvious subject of the play, several scholars have explored the language and historical context behind the romance of the play.
On their first meeting, Romeo and Juliet use a form of communication recommended by many etiquette authors in Shakespeare's day: metaphor. By using metaphors of saints and sins, Romeo was able to test Juliet's feelings for him in a non-threatening way. This method was recommended by Baldassare Castiglione (whose works had been translated into English by this time). He pointed out that if a man used a metaphor as an invitation, the woman could pretend she did not understand him, and he could retreat without losing honour. Juliet, however, participates in the metaphor and expands on it. The religious metaphors of "shrine", "pilgrim", and "saint" were fashionable in the poetry of the time and more likely to be understood as romantic rather than blasphemous, as the concept of sainthood was associated with the Catholicism of an earlier age. Later in the play, Shakespeare removes the more daring allusions to Christ's resurrection in the tomb he found in his source work: Brooke's Romeus and Juliet.
Book Details
Author
William Shakespeare
United Kingdom
William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon. The son of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden, he was probably educated at the King Edward VI Grammar School in Stratford, where he...
More on William ShakespeareDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
Related books
Kept in the Dark by Anthony Trollope
Kept in the Dark is a novel by the 19th-century English novelist Anthony Trollope. One of his lesser and later works, it nonetheless has interest. It...
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, the novel depicts narrator Nick Carraway'...
A Day of Fate by Edward P. Roe
This is a compelling novel that takes readers on a captivating journey through the twists and turns of life's defining moments. With its engaging narr...
I Say No by Wilkie Collins
Emily Brown is an orphan girl that almost no one can help but love when they meet her. She is pursued by two worthy men: Mr. Alban Morris, the drawing...
The Two Destinies by Wilkie Collins
Mary Dermody is destined to be together with George Germaine one day, or so at least her grandmother prophesies. Destiny at first doesn't seem to adhe...
When Woman Proposes by Anne Warner
In the glittering world of high society, where wealth and reputation reign supreme, a bold and unconventional proposal is about to turn everything ups...
John Halifax, Gentleman by Dinah Craik
This novel, was one of the popular and beloved novels in the Victorian era. It is told in the first person by Phineas Fletcher, an invalid son of a Qu...
Iracema, the Honey-Lips: A Legend of Brazil by Jose de Alencar
The story revolves around the relationship between the Tabajara indigenous woman Iracema and the Portuguese colonist Martim, who was allied with the T...
The Ice Palace by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The story is about Sally Carrol Happer, a young southern woman from the fictional city of Tarleton, Georgia, who becomes engaged one summer to Harry B...
Tristan and Iseult by Joseph Bédier
He is a divinely handsome young man, valiant and fiercely loyal to his uncle who adopted and nurtured him from the time he was an abandoned orphan. Sh...
Reviews for Romeo and Juliet
No reviews posted or approved, yet...