Effects of Identity
In the land of Verona in the 1500s, there were two star-crossed lovers who believed they were destined to be together in the play Romeo and Juliet that was written by William Shakespeare. This would be seen as a simple romantic play except there was one problem in their way. The only problem was that they come from two families, the Capulets and the Montagues, who have been in a feud for several years With Juliet being the daughter of Lord and Lady Capulet and Romeo being the son of Lord and Lady Montague, there was no chance of them being together. Although, this did not stop them. They proved that they would stop at no costs to be together… even if it meant death. With this is mind, the choices they’ve made throughout the play have molded their personalities which then created their identity. Family affiliation and social class have been prominent roles in creating
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the identities of different characters within the play Romeo and Juliet. Family affiliation was a major factor to creating one's identity in the play Romeo and Juliet.
As mentioned before, the Capulets and Montagues have been in a feud for several years thus causing rivalries between the two families. Even under the circumstances, Romeo and Juliet believe that they are destined to be together. For example, Juliet says, “Deny thy father and refuse thy name./Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,/And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.” (2.2.34-36) In this excerpt, Juliet states that if Romeo does not deny being a Montague, she will no longer be a Capulet. Furthermore, it shows the reader how being a part of the Capulet family effects Juliet's mindset. Another example is when the Prince said that if the two families have another dispute on the streets, death would be the consequence. The statement alone shows how the Montagues and Capulets have developed their identity over time. This then creates an expectation in the way members in those families are supposed to act. On the other hand, family affiliation is not the only aspect into creating one’s
identity. Another aspect in creating one’s identity in the play Romeo and Juliet is social class. In the Elizabethan era, it was commonly known that wealthier families often arrange marriages for their children. This was shown when Lord Capulet arranges a marriage for Juliet. For example, Lord Capulet says, “Sir Paris, I will make a desperate tender/Of my child’s love../I think she will be ruled/In all respects by me.” (3.4.13-14). This can be interpreted as Lord Capulet agreeing to Paris’ offer in marriage to his daughter Juliet. Also, he mentions that she doesn’t have a choice in whether she wants to or not. This was elaborated upon when Juliet tells Lord Capulet that she does not want to get married. Within this excerpt, “Unworthy as she is, that we have wrought/So worthy a gentleman to be her bride?” (3.5.144-46) it shows how arranged marriages by parents were taken seriously. These lines show that Lord Capulet is very angry about Juliet's refusal to the marriage. Overall, factors such as family affiliation and social class significantly contribute into the identities of characters in the play Romeo and Juliet. As mentioned before, the Capulets and Montagues have been in a feud for several years that restricted the relationship between Romeo and Juliet. Which shows how the affiliation they have with their families, specifically their last name, affects the mindset of both Romeo and Juliet. Also affecting their identity is social class. This was shown when Lord Capulet got mad at Juliet for refusing to partake in the arranged marriage. In whole, throughout the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, identity has affected the mindset, behavior, and the relationships with those around them.
The main characters, Romeo and Juliet, from the play Romeo and Juliet, as well as Tony and Maria, from West Side Story, join together in astonishment of each other. In both stories the lovers are practically frozen in time, trying to take in their love for each other. Once they have gotten past the initial sight of each other they realized that their families would not approve of their love, but both sets of characters refused to end their love affairs. In both stories the lovers snuck around, hoping for a way for them to be together. The couples refused to let the things such as a last name or where they came from tear them apart, and were willing to go through anything to be
In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the audience witnesses a great amount of familial pride when Tybalt shouts to an opposing family member, “What, drawn, and talk of peace? I hate the word, as I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee. Have at thee, coward,” (Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act 1.1 pg 12). In the play Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare depicts two feuding families who once had a legitimate reason to be mad at one another, but now continuously fight each other fueled purely by family pride. This everlasting conflict between the Montagues and the Capulets illustrate to the audience how having too much family pride places a restriction on familial unity.
Romeo and Juliet are madly in love with each other and will go to any lengths to be together. To support my thesis that the conflict between the heads of the Montague and Capulet families is responsible for Romeo and Juliet's death, I quote from Romeo and Juliet (V, iii, 291-293) Prince: ". Capulet! Montague.
It is very evident that Romeo and Juliet’s relationship is reliant on lust, and not real love. The fact that Romeo replaces his original love, Rosaline, with Juliet in a matter of hours demonstrates how poor of a decision it was for Friar Laurence to marry them.( ) It is said by the Friar that he hopes the marriage will bring the feuding families together, but how effective would this be? The Montagues and Capulets rivalry has lasted for decades, and the thought that a marriage between children could end it would be ignorant. The petty actions of the families would eventually destroy the short lasted association to create the feud once
Both the Montagues and Capulets were upper-class families. Ultimately, the families’ hatred for each other rose from a strong aspiration to uphold their families pride, and neither family seems capable of overcoming the raging grudge that was amongst them. Within the patriarchal society, Juliet, as a young woman of the Capulet household, was ordered to marry Paris to attain their social status. The Capulets hosted a feast, arranging the official meeting of Juliet and
There are a variety of moments in Shakespeare’s sixteenth-century tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, illustrating the suffering that was experienced by Juliet alone and not shared with Romeo. One of the most important recurring examples of both Romeo and Juliet suffering is their families’ rivalry, as the main conflict is the “ancient grudge” present between the Montagues and the Capulets. Romeo and Juliet must keep their love a secret in fear of creating any more rift between the houses. Juliet describes this by saying, “O Romeo, Romeo. Wherefore art thou Romeo?// Deny thy father and refuse thy name.// Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,// And I’ll no longer be a Capulet” (II.ii. 36-9). Although Romeo and Juliet both suffer tremendously throughout the play, Juliet experiences more grief suffering than Romeo.
First of all, The Montague’s and Capulet’s hatred for one another shows another depth about how human errors create the setting of Romeo and Juliet’s death. If only both families had gotten along from the beginning, the two star-crossed lovers could have had a friendship from the very start. If the families were close when they were young, they could have grown up to realize that the two were in love. Juliet would have been able to tell her parents, and that way, they would have been ecstatic about the engagement. The reason this is their fault is because if they had been on civil terms with each other, the deaths wouldn’t have occurred. Shakespeare almost made it appear like the parents did it on purpose for them to have to go behind their backs. Romeo and Tybalt’s battle to the death was also fault of the families disliking each other, and if this conflict had not taken place, the wedding wouldn’t have been forced upon Juliet. In this case, she ...
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, a play written by William Shakespeare, is set in Verona where two families, Montague and Capulet, have a long feud between them. This conflict causes a dilemma for the two lovers, Romeo and Juliet that are secretly married, and they take their lives to be together. Romeo, a Montague, is a teenage boy that in the beginning of the play, loves Rosaline and he is depressed because she doesn’t love him back. After talking to Mercutio, Romeo’s friend, he goes to a Capulet’s party and falls in love with the daughter of Lord Capulet, Juliet, and they secretly get married. By the end of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo’s quality of being naïve and kills himself after him being heartbroken over Juliet’s supposed death. His quality
In the tremendous play of ‘Romeo & Juliet’, Shakespeare’s ways engages the audience straight away. The astounding methods he uses hooks the audience into the play and allows them to read on, wondering what will happen. The tragic love story of Romeo & Juliet, as mentioned in the prologue, sets a variety of themes throughout Act 1 Scene 5. Many of the recognisable themes are: youth and age, revenge, forbidden love, fate, action and hate. The main idea of the play is a feud that had been going on between two families, The ‘Montagues and Capulets’, the son of the Montagues and the daughter of the Capulets fall in love and the story tells us how tragic, death, happiness and revenge find them throughout the play.
Firstly, the Capulets and Montagues are at odds with each other. Members of each house and servants break into a sword fight, clashing with each other. Sampson says "Draw, if you be men. Gregory, remember thy swashing blow." (Act 1, Scene 1, Line 60). The feuding between the two families motivates Sampson to challenge the Capulets. Another example of how the two houses despise each other is what Romeo and his friends have to do to get into the Capulet feast. So they will not be recognized, Romeo, Mercutio, and Benvolio wear comic masks to hide their faces. Mercutio says, "Give me a case to put my visage in" (Act 1, Scene 4, Line 29). They do not want to be recognized because of the hatred between the two houses. Also, Romeo and Juliet are not supposed to be in love: "My only love sprung from my only hate! / Too early seen unknown, and known too late! / Prodigious birth of love it is to me, / That I must love a loathed enemy." says Juliet (Act 1, Scene 5, Lines 137-140). They are not supposed to love each other because it just so happens that each of their houses despise each other. It is unfortunate for Romeo and Juliet that their two families are against each other, because this means that they are not supposed to be married.
Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet’s love for each other causes them to sacrifice their family, although their families have always had great gravity over the lovers. After the party where the lovers first meet, Juliet stands on her balcony and promises herself to Romeo: “be but sworn my love, and I’ll no longer be a Capulet” [2.2.37-39]. In this case, “sworn my love” can be rearranged to mean “my sworn love,” which refers to Romeo as the one that she will always love. For Juliet to become a Montague-- her family’s rivals-- would mean that she would give up many things she and her family value. In their fight over her refusal to marry Paris, Juliet’s parents threaten to not “acknowledge [her]” as their daughter, even if “[she]...hang, beg, starve, die in the streets” [4.1.192-193]. “Hanging,” “begging,” “starving,” “dying” are all very extreme ramifications that Juliet’s parents will give to her if she does not
Who you are (age, gender, family affiliation, social class, et cetera) differentiates from who you make yourself to be. Romeo and Juliet, star-crossed lovers, defy their given identity throughout the play, rebelling against gender and social standards. The two star-crossed lovers faced many of these obstacles while they battled with a fatal secret marriage, betrayal, lies, and violent behavior, just to name a few. Shakespeare created identity as a major role in the play, Romeo and Juliet, by using age, gender, and family affiliation.
The matter of one's identity can be rather confusing and complex, as people are molded by many defining factors. The well-renowned text “Romeo and Juliet” written by William Shakespeare, is a prime example of this thought-provoking concept. The tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet explores this idea in great detail. The lives we lead and live daily have more influence on us as people than we may think. But have we ever really stopped to think how much social interactions, personal experiences, and even socioeconomic status truly impact our identities?
Romeo and Juliet, the tragic play by William Shakespeare, centers around the love story between Romeo, the young heir of the Montagues, and Juliet, the daughter of the house of Capulet. This story starts off with two opposing families of royalty, the Montagues and the Capulets. These families have a deep seeded hatred for one another that traces way back into their family’s history. Shakespeare takes his audience though a heart churning tale of two star crossed lovers. From the start Romeo and Juliet’s love seemed to be an uphill battle that they would never win even with help. The relationship of Romeo and Juliet is a tragic love story of two star crossed lovers trying to find a way to love each other.
“Is she a Capulet? O dear account! my life is my foe’s debt” (1.5.117-118). There are many factors that put pressure on Romeo’s and Juliet’s relationship throughout Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The young couple is effected in many ways by every instance that creates stress which Romeo’s and Juliet’s relationship is being forced to carry. The biggest factors that impact them are, their families ongoing feud, the broken relationships they both have in their families, and all the instances of miscommunication. Through the story of the couple who meet one another at a dance, sneak around at night to see one another, and fight for eachother, they face challenges many challenges, that add stress to their relationship.