sex

• How are the themes of love and sex related in Romeo and Juliet?

  They are closely linked but disputed.
• Who does Romeo express frustrated love for in Act I?

  Rosaline
• How does Romeo describe love in Act I?

  As a poetic abstraction
• What does Romeo imply about Rosaline's choice regarding love?

  She prefers to remain a virgin
• What does Mercutio suggest about Romeo's feelings for Juliet in Act II?

  They confuse love with sexual desire
• What metaphor does Mercutio use to describe Romeo's love?

  Like a natural hiding his bauble
• What sexual imagery is implied in Mercutio's words?

  “Bauble” and “hole” suggest sexual organs
• How does Mercutio view the concept of love?

  He believes it reduces to sexual desire
• What is Juliet's perspective on love and sex?

  She sees them as distinct and hierarchical
• How does Juliet's view align with Catholic doctrine?

  It privileges spiritual union through marriage
• What does Juliet express in her speech in Act III, scene ii?

  Longing for the consummation of marriage
• What do the terms "purchase" and "possession" signify in Juliet's speech?

  Love/marriage and sex, respectively
• What does Juliet mean by "Give me my Romeo"?

  She desires to consummate their marriage
• What does "die" refer to in the context of Juliet's speech?

  It was slang for orgasm
• What does the imagery of Romeo "cut . . . out in little stars" suggest?

  Anticipation of sexual ecstasy
• She’ll not be hitWith Cupid’s arrow. She hath Dian’s wit,And, in strong proof of chastity well armed,From love’s weak, childish bow she lives uncharmed. 
• Oh, I have bought the mansion of a loveBut not possessed it, and, though I am sold,Not yet enjoyed.
• "I will push Montague’s men from the wall and thrust his maids to the wall "(1.1.)

  Samson’s boast introduces the theme of sex in explicitly violent terms. He imagines attacking Montague men and assaulting Montague women. Sex is paired with violence throughout Romeo and Juliet. Even the sexual union of the lovers themselves is shadowed by the violence between their families: on the same night that Romeo comes to consummate his marriage to Juliet, he kills her cousin Tybalt.
• What does Mercutio think of love?

  He dismisses it as foolish.
• How does Mercutio describe a "natural"?

  A fool who is foolish in love.
• What does "bauble" refer to in Mercutio's speech?

  The stick a professional fool carries.
• What does the image of the fool hiding his bauble imply?


  It implies sexual intercourse.
• What is Mercutio's view on the root of love?

  He believes it is just sexual desire.
• How does Mercutio's perspective challenge Romeo's feelings?

  It contrasts with Romeo's idealistic romance.
• What does Mercutio mean by "drivelling" and "lolling"?

  They refer to sexual frustration.
• What does Mercutio's cynical view suggest about love?

  It suggests love is not serious or noble.
• What are the key themes in Mercutio's view of love?

  • Love as foolishness
  • Sexual desire as the root of love
  • Cynicism versus idealism in romance
• What does Juliet yearn for in her speech?

  Her wedding night with Romeo
• What does the repetition of the word "come" signify in Juliet's speech?

  It shows the strength of her desire
• What does the word "die" symbolize in the context of Juliet's speech?

  It refers to Elizabethan slang for orgasm
• How does the metaphor of Romeo being "cut...out in little stars" function in Juliet's speech?

  It symbolizes her anticipated sexual ecstasy
• What childhood element does the metaphor of "cut...out in little stars" evoke?

  It suggests childhood playfulness
• What do the words "die" and "cut" imply about the themes in the play?

  They suggest a connection between sex and violence
• How does Juliet's age relate to her desires expressed in the speech?

  It reminds us that she is very young