Summary of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Paris asks Capulet for his daughter Juliet's hand in marriage. Capulet replies that she is still too young to be married, but nevertheless invites Paris to try to woo her at a banquet he is holding that night. He gives a servant a list of guests and tells him to take an invitation to each of them. The servant is illiterate, and so goes about trying to find someone to read the list for him. He runs into Romeo and Benvolio, who are still discussing Romeo's unrequited love. The servant gets Romeo to read the guest list for him, and then tells him about the banquet. Benvolio convinces Romeo to go along with him to the banquet to compare the other beautiful women there with the one he is pining for: Rosaline, a niece of Capulet. Act I, Scene iii Lady Capulet, Juliet, and the Nurse talk about the possibility of Juliet being married to Paris. Lady Capulet encourages Juliet to consider him as a potential husband when she sees him at the banquet. The Nurse is completely taken with the idea, but Juliet is not especially enthusiastic. Commentary These two scenes introduce Paris as Capulet's pick for Juliet's husband and, more broadly, establish the theme of parental influence over a child's happiness. In the last scene, it was shown how the hatred Capulet and Montague bear for each other flows down to affect the rest of their households and results in violent conflict, but here the influence is more subtle and mundane. Paris is a nobleman and a worthy choice to be Juliet's husband; there is no reason why she should not want to marry him. Capulet himself defers to her ability to choose for herself ("My will to her consent is but a part"), but his power to force her into a marriage if he feels it necessary is implicitly present. It is significant that Paris speaks to Juliet's father before he ever shows her any indication of his feelings, and apparently before he even gets to know her particularly well. Lady Capulet, for her part, offers her entire support to her husband's plan for their daughter, and begins to put pressure on Juliet to think about Paris as a husband before Juliet begins to think about marriage at all on her own. Juliet even says to Lady Capulet in scene 3 how important her influence is to her in this matter: "I'll look to like, looking liking move; / But no more deep will I endart mine eye / Than your consent gives strength to make it fly.
Who would be willing to die for their loved ones? Romeo and Juliet would and did. Romeo and Juliet’s love and death brought two families together who could not even remember the origin of their hate. When the parents saw what their children's love for each other, they realized that their fighting had only led to suffering and insoluble conflict. Romeo and Juliet loved each other to an extent that they killed themselves rather than live apart. They did it with no hiatus. Juliet says before she kills herself, “O happy dagger, This is thy sheath. There rust and let me die.”( 5, 3, 182-183) demonstrating how she would rather die than not be with him.
Act I, Prologue: The prologue to Act I is written in the form of a
“O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name;” (Shakespeare, 536). In the book, ‘Romeo and Juliet”, by William Shakespeare there is a deeper meaning that Shakespeare is trying to portray other than parents cannot control their children’s hearts. He is trying to portray that a name is only a name and it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things and that even with a different name that person will still be the same person they have always been. Shakespeare is using the characters: Juliet, Romeo, Lord Capulet, Friar Lawrence, and the Nurse to get this message across to the reader or the viewer.
of a book a person may want to know what’s the basic outline of the
What are we made of? I mean humans of course, but what are we made of. We know what our bodies are composed of but what is in our souls or spirits. Are humans really superior to other living things. Yes we can talk, but what are we made of? We are made of our feelings. Our standards, our way of life, our way of thinking and everyone is different. Some may be straight A students with a normal life while some have had a rough journey and less than perfect grades. But there are some things that I think most people have in them. It’s a positive spirit. Now, everyones is triggered by different stuff but we all have one. But, of course where there is a positive spirit there is a negative spirit which is much, much easier to catch. Even though The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet doesn’t scream positive messages about human spirit there are still some in it such as, love can make you do crazy things, in hard times people can unite, and that even when everyone is against you, you can still do what’s right.
Lord Capulet, a short tempered man, is the father of young Juliet. Lord Capulet has always been nurturing towards Juliet, since she is his only child. In the beginning of the book he believes Juliet is not ready for marriage, and she should wait until she is at least fifteen or sixteen. Multiple times Paris, a prince, has approached Lord Capulet asking Juliet’s hand in marriage. Lord Capulet has always pushed it off because Juliet is only thirteen. For instance, when Lord Capulet says to Paris “But saying o’er what I have said before. My child is yet a stranger in the world; She hath not seen the change of fourteen years, Let two more summers wither in their pride, Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride.” (1.2.7-11). Lord Capulet seems to have made up his mind, but he has not. Near the end of the book, Lord Capulet arranges the marriage between Paris and Juliet. Lord Capulet and Paris shook hands, meaning it is a done deal. When Juliet finds out about the arranged marriage, she is deeply upset. Lord Capulet did not expect Juliet to react in such a manner, so he gives her an ultimatum. To become a beggar in the streets or marry Paris, she had to make a decision quickly. For example, Lord Capulet says a cruel line to Juliet “But fettle your fine joints 'gainst Thursday next To go ...
In scene two, Capulet and Paris are discussing Paris' desire to marry Juliet, Capulet's daughter. Capulet invites Paris to a masquerade dinner that he is hosting that night to give him a chance to get to know Juliet. Capulet gives his servant, Peter, a list of names to invite to the feast. However, he cannot read and thus gives Romeo and Benvolio invitations when he sees them on the street.
Considerable expectations are placed on Juliet due to her gender. As a female, Juliet was expected to marry the man of her family’s choosing, granting her no control over her future. Capulet and County Paris discuss whether Juliet is fit to be a bride. Although age plays a factor in this decision, Capulet is deciding his daughter’s fate based on the expected gender roles of her being the sole female daughter of the family, “ She hath not seen the change of fourteen years;/Let two more summers wither in their pride/
Lady Capulet is very materialistic and she wants Juliet to gain wealth and status by marrying Paris ‘’Share all that he doth possess’’. In addition, because she got married at a young age, therefore she thinks it’s right for Juliet to be married at a young age ‘’I was likely your mother at just about your age’’. Moreover, she constantly urges Juliet to marry Paris without any sense of consideration for Juliet’s opinions or feelings, about the alliance of the marriage. Furthermore, this illustrates her cold attitude towards love and marriage as she only talks about Paris Social position and wealth.
Romeo is the only son of Lord Montague, the head of a reputed and rich
This night I hold an old accustomed feast, Whereto I have invited many a guest Such as I love. And you among the store, One more, most welcome, makes my number more. At my poor house look to behold this night Earth-treading stars that make dark heaven light” (Shakespeare I.ii. 13-25). After reading this part of the play, readers can tell that Lord Capulet treasures his daughter. Since Juliet doesn’t like Paris, or have interest in him, so Lord Capulet is trying to buy as much time as he can for Juliet to find out her lover. This is exactly what a dad should do. However, not very long after this day, Lord Capulet changed his mind towards her marriage. In the play, it states, “LADY CAPULET Well, well, thou hast a careful father, child. One who, to put thee from thy heaviness, Hath sorted out a sudden day of joy That thou expect’st not, nor I looked not for” (Shakespeare III.v. 107-110). In addition, the play states, “CAPULET Soft, take me with you, take me with you, wife. How, will she none? Doth she not give us thanks? Is she not proud? Doth she not count her blessed, Unworthy as she is, that we have wrought So worthy a gentleman to be her bride?” (Shakespeare
Juliet’s arranged marriage with Paris, as well as the ancient feud between Capulets and Montagues, eventually contributed to the deaths of their children. In Act 1 Scene 2, Paris asks Capulet, ‘But now, my lord, what say you to my suit?’ which shows that Capulet and Paris are discussing Juliet’s possible marriage without consulting her, perhaps implying they think she is too nave to decide on her future. They are arranging her marriage for her, which implies that men are very controlling of women’s lives, especially those of their daughters. The scene establishes how Juliet is subject to parental influence, and how she is very constrained since her father can force her to marry whoever he wants. Juliet’s status as a woman leaves her with no power or choice in the decision of whom she should marry.
A letter, never meant to even graze the hand of a Montague, was indeed read by a Montague. As fate would have it, a servant gets tangled up on the addresses of the letters to be delivered, notifying recipients of Capulets’ masquerade party, and stops the first pedestrian that walks by, hoping that he would direct them to the correct address. Undoubtedly, the first pedestrian he ran across was Romeo, his kinsman Benvolio in tow. When Benvolio learns word of the party, he is eager to go, while Romeo is reluctant. With a little nagging, Benvolio and Mercutio convince Romeo to go. It takes one glance, one intense, meaningful glance, and Romeo is in like with Juliet Capulet, his loathed enemy. With one kiss, they are both in love with each other, without knowing, tragically seal both of their lives into a tomb of confinement, filled only with their love for each other.
The Nurse makes mistakes which not only confuse Juliet, but also make her lose trust. In the beginning of the play, she supports Juliet through her actions and behaviour; she helps deliver messages to Romeo in secrecy and even encourages them both to get married. However, when Juliet needs the Nurse’s support the most, she quickly abandons Juliet. She immediately switches from favouring Romeo to taking Paris’ side when asked her opinion. As Juliet is making decisions about Romeo, Nurse states, “Romeo is banish’d; and all the world to nothing, / that he dares ne’er come back to challenge you.” (3.5.214-215). She obviously does not truly understand the feelings of true love that Juliet is experiencing, and these harsh words spark Juliet’s decision to exclude Nurse from her plans. As Juliet starts to question the Nurse’s decisions, she asks, “Speakest thou from thy heart?” (3.5.226). This demonstrates that Juliet can no longer trust her Nurse with any of her secrets. Juliet feels betrayed by her Nurse, which is part of the reason she decides not to include the Nurse in her plan with Romeo and Friar Laurence. If Nurse had known what was going to unfold, she might have been able to intervene at some point, and the lives of Romeo and Juliet might have been saved. The Nurse is one of the key factors towards their death, however, the biggest factor is Juliet’s
6. Paris is the mayor’s son and so has allot of money as well as power