ROMEO
AND
JULIET
T H E M E S , S Y M B O L S & I M A G E RY
THEMES
1.CIVIL STRIFE
2 . FAT E A N D D E S T I N Y
3 . C O U RT LY L OV E
4 . T H E G E N E R AT I O N G A P
5.ORDER AND DISORDER
6 . T H E RO L E O F WO M E N
CIVIL STRIVE
• This is the ancient grudge that has lasted for many years between the two
most prominent families in Verona.
• The arguments and fights make the play exciting, create action and increase
tension.
• The feud also creates inner conflict in both Romeo and Juliet, in contrast with
the tenderness and warmth the two lovers feel for each other.
• The conflict ultimately prevents Romeo and Juliet from being together.
• Although the feud is responsible for their deaths, it also finally unites their two
families.
FATE AND DESTINY
• The tragedy is a result of many factors, including fate.
• In Elizabethan times, people believed that fate controlled one’s life.
• Romeo and Juliet are star-crossed lovers.
• This means they were destined to meet, fall in love and die.
• The events are beyond their control.
• It may be argued that Romeo takes his fate into his own hands by
choosing his time of death, but perhaps this was his fate anyway.
COURTLY LOVE
• Many different types of love are presented in the play: family relations, romantic
love, sexual passion, marriage and courtly love.
• The tradition of courtly love was a set of codes governing the way lovers in the
aristocratic classes should behave.
• The pattern of courtly love include these elements:
1. A man falls in love with a woman who is unattainable (either because she is of
a higher class, or because she is already married
2. The woman rejects the man’s advances in order to preserve her honour and
chastity
3. Her coldness inflames his passion and desire
4. The man grows increasingly melancholic and lovesick
5. He tries to perform deeds to ease his despair and change his lady’s mind
COURTLY LOVE (CONTINUED)
• The notion of unrequited love is at the heart of the courtly love
tradition – a love that is not returned or reciprocated.
• At the beginning of the play, we see Romeo in the role of a courtly
lover (his love for Rosaline is not reciprocated). By the end of the
play his desires are fulfilled, and he is a mature lover.
• Paris is another example of a courtly lover.
THE GENERATION GAP
• Part of the tragedy is the lack of understanding between the
parents and their children.
• This may be considered a natural part of life, but it is also die to the
way in which parents raised their children in the past.
• Parents expected complete obedience and respect from their
children.
• Children were not permitted to question the authority of their
parents.
ORDER AND DISORDER
• The lack of order in Verona leads to violence and death.
• The opening scene is one of violence and disorder.
• The prince tries to maintain order, but he seems helpless in the
face of a pointless and vicious feud.
• His premonition is that unless the families stop fighting, the next
incident will be worse.
• Only when Romeo and Juliet kill themselves are peace and
harmony restored.
• This is a terrible price to pay for a foolish quarrel.
THE ROLE OF WOMEN
• The men in the play have greater freedom of
movement, decision making power and authority.
This is typical of the Elizabethan era. However,
Shakespeare allows his women to be emotionally
stronger.
SYMBOLISM & IMAGERY
1 . L I G H T A N D DA R K
2.RELIGION
3.DREAMS, VISIONS AND
PREMONITIONS
4 . T H E S TA R S
5.EYES AND SEEING
LIGHT AND DARK
• In Act 1, Scene 5 (lines 42-43), Romeo describes Juliet’s beauty saying:
It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night
As a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear…
• Romeo suggests that Juliet’s beauty is both rich and bright.
• He uses a simile to compare Juliet to a precious jewel hanging from an
Ethiopian’s ear.
• In other words, just as a jewel shines brightly against the skin of a dark person,
Juliet shines out from her surroundings, precious and noticeable.
RELIGION
• Romeo and Juliet refer to each other as saints and pilgrims.
• In their first meeting, their encounter is linked to a
pilgrimage.
• All these references highlight the spiritual quality of their
love.
• Through the use of these references, Romeo and Juliet’s
love contrasts with the violence and bawdiness that
surrounds them.
DREAMS, VISIONS AND PREMONITIONS
• Mercutio describes his dream in detail, while Romeo
refers on a number of occasions to dreams he has
had.
• This imagery links to the theme of fate and destiny.
• The characters often feel premonitions of impeding
doom, which highlights the dramatic irony and adds
to the tension.
THE STARS
•The imagery of stars and the heavens
provide continual reference to the theme
of fate and destiny.
EYES AND SEEING
• There are more than 20 references to eyes and eyesight,
and these are always associated with talks about love.
• Is Shakespeare suggesting that