Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare

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Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet was written around 1595 when William Shakespeare was

about 26 years old and at the high in his writing career. Romeo and

Juliet has turned out to be one of Shakespeares most famous plays with

many modern day films based on the play.

Romeo and Juliet was written in the Elizabethan period where women had

a very basic role in society which was to simply become a wife and

mother. Any kind of profession was out of the question and extremely

frowned upon. Women were however educated but only to the stage where

they could become a reasonable companion for their husbands. The role

of the father was to ensure that he gained as much from his daughter’s

marriage as possible. He would want to make sure that he gained a

son-in-law who was influential, well–born, and who could be of

assistance to him and would also look after his daughter well.

Although dowries were not required, any property owned by the young

woman or due to be inherited by her, would automatically pass from her

to her husband. No married woman was allowed by law to own property in

her own right. This meant that a young woman who was due in the course

of time to inherit a great deal from her father would be pursued by

impoverished young men who would see her as a meal ticket. Remember

that she could do nothing about this seizure of her property – once

she was married all she owned and might own in the future belonged to

her husband

Romeo and Juliet is a romantic tragedy where two star crossed lovers

in the middle of a family feud couldn’t find a way to be together so

they planned to run away together. However Romeo found Juliet ‘dead’

and killed himself, shortly after Juliet awakens to find her lover

dead and kills herself with his dagger. Their deaths were down to, not

just one, but many of the characters in the play.

The deaths of Romeo and Juliet were not solely down to one person but

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