Famous Love Story Allusions
in
Romeo and Juliet
A Few Cupid Allusions
“Well, in that hit you miss. She’ll not be hit
with Cupid’s arrow…From Love’s week
childish bow she lives uncharmed
(Romeo: I, i, 209-212).
 “You are a lover. Borrow Cupid’s wings
and soar with them…” (Mercutio: I, iv, 17
& 18).

Eros/Cupid--God of Love

Eros=Greek Root meaning
physical love
 Aphrodite’s son
 Greeks depicted him as a
young man; Romans depicted
as a young boy
 Sometimes considered blind
(Hence the saying, “Love is
blind.”)
 Shot special “love” arrows-gold = true love; lead = lust
 If shot with his arrow, you’d fall
in love with the first person you
saw
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
King Cophetua and the Beggar
Maid: (Mercutio: II, i, 14).
Ballad from the Middle Ages
 King Cophetua was a ruler in
Africa
 Was not interested in women
 Fell in love at first sight with a
beggar lady dressed in gray
(some say Cupid shot him)
 Said that if he couldn’t have her
as his wife he would die
 Married her despite the poverty
 Some stories say it ended happily
others say it didn’t

Echo and Narcissus





“Bondage is hoarse and may
not speak aloud, Else would
I tear the cave where Echo
lies” (Juliet: II, ii, 161 & 162 )
Echo--nymph who could
only repeat what others said
because of a curse from
Hera
Narcissus--beautiful selfish
nymph who vowed to never
fall in love; Echo loved him
Narcissus fell in love with
his own reflection was
dying; later turned into a
flower
Echo wasted away in a cave
for love of Narcissus
Allusions from Mercutio’s
Speech Act 2 Scene 4
Without his roe, like a dried herring: flesh, flesh,
how art thou fishified! Now is he for the numbers
that Petrarch flowed in: Laura to his lady was but a
kitchen-wench; marry, she had a better love to
be-rhyme her; Dido a dowdy; Cleopatra a gipsy;
Helen and Hero hildings and harlots; Thisbe a grey
eye or so, but not to the purpose. (Mercutio: Romeo and Juliet,
II, iv, 38-44.)
Petrarch and Laura



QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.



Franscico Petrarch lived in the 1300s
Father of Humanistic Philosophy and
his passion for reading and writing
helped end the Dark Ages
He supposedly fell in love with Laura
de Noves at first sight, but she was
already married.
For her, he wrote numerous poems
and is considered to have perfected
the sonnet (a poem form that
Shakespeare used frequently).
His love, Laura, possibly died from the
plague which also took most of his
family and friend’s lives.
When asked whether his poems were
about Laura De Noves, he denied it.
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Dido and Aeneas

Dido, also called Elissa, was
princess of Tyre in Phoenicia
 She left Tyre and founded.
her own city, Cathrage.
 Aeneas, a hero from the
Trojan war, landed on her
shores.
 She treated him well and fell
in love with him.
 He spurned her love and left
her.
 She is said to either have
burned herself alive, or
killed herself with Aeneas’
sword.
Dido preparing to kill herself
with Aeneas’ sword
Marc Antony and Cleopatra






Queen of Egypt (but was actually
Greek)
Married to Julius Caesar and had a
child with him
After Caesar’s death, Marc Antony
went to Egypt, fell in love with her
and divorced his wife to marry her
They made plans to conquer Rome
Hearing a false report that Cleopatra
was dead, Antony fell on his sword
Cleopatra had a asp (snake) bite her
when she received the news of
Antony’s death
Helen Who Launched a
1000 Ships: Cause of
Trojan War



Quic kTime™ and a
TIFF ( Unc ompres s ed) dec ompres s or
are needed to s ee this pic tur e.



Helen was the most beautiful
mortal woman
Married to King Menelaus of
Sparta
Paris, Prince of Troy, met her at
a party in Sparta and fell in love
with her
Paris kidnapped her or she went
willingly to Troy
The Greeks spent 10 years
during the Trojan War trying to
get her back
Finally they did and killed most of
the Trojans (Trojan War)
Hero and Leander





Hero lived as a priestess
of Aphrodite in a secluded
tower.
Leander, who lived
across the strait, saw her
and fell in love with her.
Every night he would
swim the strait to stay
with her.
One night there was a
horrible storm as he
swam, and he drowned.
When Hero found out
Leander died, she threw
herself from her tower
into the ocean and died.
Thisbe and Pyramus










Young neighbors who fell in love
Parents forbid the two of them from seeing each
other.
Would talk at night through the wall secretly
Decided to sneak off to meet each other near a
fountain
Thisbe got there first and a lioness returning
from a kill scared her off--she dropped her veil.
Pyramus, seeing her veil and the bloody tracks
of the lion, thought the lionness ate Thisbe.
Blaming himself for her death--he stabbed
himself.
Thisbe went back later, saw Pyramus just before
he died.
She then stabbed herself.
Their parents buried them in one tomb and
planted a mulberry tree outside to represent their
love and the blood that was spilt.
Bibliography
"Cophetua." Wikipedia. 02/25/08. Wikipedia. 14 Mar 2008
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Cophetua>.
"Echo and Narcissus in Greek Mythology." Mythography.
www.loggia.com. 14 Mar 2008
<http://www.loggia.com/myth/echo.html>.
"Hero and Leander." Wikipedia. 02/25/08. Wikipedia. 14
Mar 2008
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero_and_Leander>.
"Pyramus and Thisbe." Wikipedia. 02/26/08. Wikipedia. 14
Mar 2008
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramus_and_Thisbe>.
Sadlon, Peter. "Laura de Noves." Francesco Petrarch and
Laura De Noves. 09/10/07. 14 Mar 2008
<http://petrarch.petersadlon.com/>.