K PANDOHE MERLEWOOD SECONDARY SCHOOL THEMES Power of love - Love is important to the story. It is the reason why all of the events in the play take place. - The love between R&J is so powerful, it is more important to them than their families, loyalties or lives Passion & Violence - Violent passion leads to violence (and death) (Example: Tybalt’s death and their suicides) - As strong as the love is, the families’ hate and anger is equally forceful Individual against society - In the play what R&J want as individuals is in direct conflict with what their families (and society) want. - Juliet does not want to marry Paris. Her father tells her she has to and society would back him up. - Romeo cannot just change his name and never have to deal with his family again - The Capulet’s and Montagues (and townspeople) do not want to stop feuding. They will not be dishonoured just because two teenagers like each other. - It takes a horrible tragedy to make them to change Can you fight fate - “star-crossed” lovers - It is already decided their love will end badly - R&J have bad feelings about what is going to happen - When Romeo thinks Juliet is dead he cries, “I defy you stars!” - He was challenging fate and planning to kill himself so he can be with Juliet, who is not dead There are many near-misses & points where things could have easily ended differently or happily but they didn’t. It seems like their fate or destiny has already been decided. No matter what R&J try, they cannot change their fate. K PANDOHE MERLEWOOD SECONDARY SCHOOL SYMBOLS Poison - The hate that is tearing two families apart - The poisons and potions Friar Lawrence makes and gives to Juliet - The poison Romeo bought from the apothecary - Money which corrupts the families Rose - Love & sweetness - Gentleness - Youth, beauty and femininity - Associated with Juliet and Paris - Associated with death - “The bud of love may prove a beauteous flow” Fire - Consuming passion (love and hate) - Destruction - Anger - Associated with R&J Stars - Fate - “I defy you stars” - “Pair of star-crossed lovers” - Fear of what will happen - Beauty and purity of the love between R&J Masks - Insincerity - Hidden love - Helps people break the rules - Reason R&J could meet K PANDOHE MERLEWOOD SECONDARY SCHOOL MOTIFS All about opposites - Life and death - Love and hate - Dark and light - Young and old - Capulet’s vs Montagues Imagery of darkness and light - Throughout the play there is reference to night and day (dark and light) - In the balcony scene Juliet stands at a lighted window while Romeo is in a dark garden - Romeo compares Juliet to the sun Youth and age - R&J have a passionate teenage love (not very mature) - Fall in love at first sight - R&J won’t live without each other - They feel that adults do not understand them - Adults are in large part, to blame for the tragic ending K PANDOHE MERLEWOOD SECONDARY SCHOOL CHARACTERS Romeo - 16 year old (young male) - Son of Montague and Lady Montague - Handsome, intelligent, sensitive - Impulsive, immature - His idealism (belief that he can change the world; positivity) and passion make him a likeable character - There is a violent feud between his family and the Capulet’s - Romeo is not at all interested in the violence - Romeo is interested in love and goes to extremes to prove the seriousness of his feelings - He secretly married Juliet; the daughter of his father’s worst enemy - He would rather die than live without his beloved Juliet and he happily takes abuse from Tybalt - He is an affectionate and devoted friend and relative (Benvolio, Mercutio and Friar Lawrence) Friar Lawrence - A Franciscan Friar (a holy man; Roman Catholic; Pastor) - Friend to both R&J - Kind, civic-minded - Proponent of moderation (no extremes) - Always ready with a plan - He secretly marries R&J in the hope that the union would bring peace to Verona - Expert in the use of mystical potions and herbs K PANDOHE MERLEWOOD SECONDARY SCHOOL Juliet - 13 year old (young female; turning 14) - Daughter of Capulet and Lady Capulet - Beautiful - She began the play as a naïve child who has thought little about love and marriage but grows up quickly upon falling in love with Romeo. - Romeo is the son of Juliet’s families’ great enemy - She does not have the freedom to roam around the city because she is a girl in an aristocratic family - Juliet shows courage in entrusting her entire future and life to Romeo - She refuses to believe the worst reports about him after he gets in a fight with her cousin - Juliet’s closest friend and confidante is the Nurse - Juliet is willing to shut the Nurse out of her life the moment the Nurse turns against Romeo The Nurse - Cared for Juliet her whole life - Vulgar, long-winded, sentimental character - Often provides comic relief with inappropriate remarks - She is Juliet’s faithful and loyal confidante until a disagreement near the plays end - She views love in an earthy, sexual way - Juliet views love in an intense & idealistic way - The Nurse wants Juliet to have love but the idea of Juliet sacrificing herself for love is incomprehensible to the Nurse K PANDOHE MERLEWOOD SECONDARY SCHOOL Mercutio - Kinsman to the Prince - Romeo’s close fried - Overflows with imagination - Witty, strange at times, biting satire - Brooding fervour - Loves wordplay and innuendo - Can be hot-headed (temper) - Hates people who are pretentious - He find Romeo’s romanticized ideas about love tiresome - Mercutio tries to convince Romeo to view love as a matter of sexual gratification Montague - Romeo’s father - Bitter enemy of Capulet - He is concerned about Romeo’s melancholy Lady Montague - Romeo’s mother - Bitter enemy of Capulet - He is concerned about Romeo’s melancholy Benvolio - Montague’s nephew - Romeo’s cousin and thoughtful friend - Benvolio defuses violent scenes in public places - Mercutio accuses him of having a nasty temper in private K PANDOHE MERLEWOOD SECONDARY SCHOOL Capulet - Patriarch of the Capulet family - Father of Juliet - He is not in touch with Juliet’s deepest thoughts and feelings - He sincerely loves Juliet - He genuinely believes Paris is a “good” match for Juliet - Capulet commands respect and will likely get angry if not shown respect Lady Capulet - Juliet’s mother, Capulet’s wife - Married young (gave birth to Juliet around 14) - Eager to see her daughter marry Paris - Not an effective mother - She relies on the Nurse for moral & pragmatic support Paris - Kinsman of the Prince - The suitor Capulet prefers - He behaves presumptuously once he is told he can marry Juliet - Related to Prince Escalus K PANDOHE MERLEWOOD SECONDARY SCHOOL ACT 1 PROLOGUE - Summary of the play - Set in Verona, Italy - Imagine a rivalry between 2 Italian mafia families - Ancient grudge (old arguments between two families cause fights) - The cause of the grudge is never disclosed - “star-crossed lovers” (ill-fated, not meant to be together) - Only the deaths of R&J end the argument - “Both alike in dignity” (The same in terms of status) - “Take their life” (we know they will die) - “End their parent’s strife (they end their parent’s rivalry) - According to Aristotle: a tragic hero is a person of high estate who possesses one fatal flaw. - In Romeo and Juliet the tragic hero and heroine experience tragedy according to an unrelated twist of fate and not the logical consequences of their character failings - We watch the story of their doomed love and their parents anger which nothing but the children’s deaths could stop
