R + J

• Shakespeare wants us to know that romeo is immoral and obsessed by sex
• Romeo is trying to bribe rosaline with gold enough to get a saint to agree to have sex with him
• Rosaline is too smart for romeo and says no
• Shakespeare uses this to show how society is the problem if it weren't so patriarchal people would have sex consensually as now and perhaps the tragedy would never have happened
• The prince has just broken up a further feud and has said that if there's any further bloodshed he will execute the person starting the brawl. this displays escalus' character to be wise and to be balanced, keeping the peace.
• Romeo totally ignores the warning from fate and says he'll go to the capulet ball anyway
• In Greek tragedy the hero finds out about their fate and does absolutely everything in their power to avoid it, but in a Shakespearean tragedy the hero finds out about their fate and rushes towards it
• The imagery of juliet's beauty also serves as a warning to romeo's own unconscious mind that she is going to die as a result of his decision to meet her
• The language of the sonnet that romeo and juliet construct takes religious christian imagery and uses it to describe sexual passion, challenging god in a blasphemous way
• The staging of the balcony scene symbolizes the impenetrable barriers put up by the patriarchal society, forcing romeo and juliet to marry in order to have sex
• Juliet sees herself as the falconer controlling romeo, but romeo believes he can totally train this baby falcon, pointing to the problem of the patriarchal society where 13 year old girls were married off
• Marrying off daughters at 13 was not a common thing in Elizabethan England, the average age of marriage was still about 24, but Shakespeare put it in the play to criticize the patriarchal society
• Romeo sets up the marriage the next day after Juliet agrees, so although Romeo has started the tragedy, Juliet now controls him or at least Juliet believes she controls him
• Marrying off daughters at 13 was not a common thing in Elizabethan England, the average age of marriage was still about 24
• Shakespeare exaggerates the age of marriage to show how damaging the patriarchal control of women is
• Shakespeare is also attacking Catholics because Verona is a Catholic state and Elizabethans are Protestant
• The contrast of both lovers seeing themselves as the falconer and the person they love as the falcon


  Reveals there is conflict in this relationship
• The falcon is bred to kill, and killing and death is what this marriage is about
• When Tybalt challenges Romeo


  Romeo says he has love for Tybalt, which sounds like Romeo is telling Tybalt he is sexually attracted to him
• There was no concept of homosexuality in Shakespeare's time, but in Tybalt's hyper-masculine world it's treated as an insult
• Romeo says he loves Tybalt multiple times


  The only logical explanation is that Romeo is mocking Tybalt's sexuality
• When Romeo kills Tybalt

  He accuses Juliet of making him effeminate, showing he believes he has to prove his masculinity by killing Tybalt
• Romeo says "Oh I am fortune's fool", claiming the fates made him do it, but Shakespeare makes it clear it's all been Romeo's fault
• The use of fricative sounds like "f" symbolizes Romeo's aggression and masculinity being at fault
• When Romeo sees Juliet 'dead'

  He agrees to bury Paris next to Juliet, showing he sees himself as a tragic hero rather than an immature fool
• Shakespeare suggests the tragedy is more about sexual passion than true love, and that the patriarchal rules controlling sexuality are also to blame