r+j

• Romeo and Juliet


  A tragic love story
• Themes explored in Romeo and Juliet


  • Family
  • Secret
  • Love
  • Hate
  • Conflict
  • Violence
• Shakespeare has deliberately chosen literary form of a tragedy as it effectively emphasises his portrayal of a practices Renaissance era
• As a literary work, Romeo and Juliet is a product of its time, however Shakespeare's exploration of human behaviour resonates greatly with a modern audience
• Women were seen as property and were objectified
• Marriage was looked at as an end and good and purpose for all women
• Shakespeare could have been inspired by Queen Elizabeth I as he wrote Juliet as a character which was atypical for him
• Shakespeare's depiction of Romeo and Juliet's love challenges the gender norms of the time
• Men had to be aggressive and violent as it was their role to protect their women, family, friend and their honour
• Shakespeare was able to critique society and the monarchy without being accused of treason
• The hot temperature of Verona is associated with increased poison
• Courtly love was a Medieval ideal imposed on the Middle Ages during the Renaissance
• Courtly love rules that a man was supposed to follow to show he was really in love


  • Cannot eat or sleep
  • Isolates himself
  • Writes sonnets
• Shakespeare's time saw a move of marriages per duty to marriages for love. The play may be seen as the epitome of this
• The play explores the power of fate and its consequences
• The play criticises the use of violence by making it only worsen a situation
• The play explores the impetuous nature of young love
• The play explores the complexity of love - Romeo's unrequited love for Rosaline, Paris' love for Juliet
• Love has the power to bring two families together (end feud) although tragically
• Types of love explored in the play


  • Love vs lust - physical desire
  • Familial love - maternal, paternal relationships
  • Friendships - Romeo driven to violence over Mercutio's death
• The play explores the duality of man
• The play is full of imagination and wit
• Mercutio is an optimistic, loyal and a good friend, but he is the first killed
• The play contrasts in tone, from comedy to tragedy
• Mercutio


  Represents masculinity (aggression), a comic character who likes to fight
• The Friar is blamed by Victorian Society as highly responsible for the tragedy
• The Friar is a firm believer in the duality of man
• The Friar thinks he is helping, but has a part that works against the lovers
• At the end, the Friar speaks in a more direct way as he recognises his part in the tragedy
• Benvolio is the opposite of the aggressive men in the play, he is seen as weak and cowardly to Elizabethan Society
• Benvolio spends the majority of the play trying to help Romeo get his mind off Rosaline
• Benvolio is the only one to live, as violence isn't the answer
• Benvolio


  A peacemaker character, mature and doesn't fight, a good friend to Romeo who supports him
• Tybalt is feisty, strong-willed, argumentative, passionate and likes to be in control
• Tybalt has a high hatred towards the Montague family and kills Mercutio, leading to his own death by Romeo
• Tybalt enjoys the conflict between the two rival families
• Tybalt


  A Capulet, extremely loyal to his family, quick to draw his sword when he feels his pride has been injured
• Juliet: 'O happy dagger!'
• Juliet: 'I have a faint gold fear thrills through my veins'
• Juliet: 'Methinks I see my cousin's ghost seeking out Romeo'