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Essay / How Shakespeare Presents Family Feuds and Relationships in Romeo and Juliet
In the context of human society, a family is a group of people related to each other by blood, marriage, or otherwise relationships. Since human society continues to exist, the concept of family will continue to exist. As Wanda Hope Carter said: “Family and friends are hidden treasures, seek them out and enjoy their riches. » In Romeo and Juliet, this concept is demonstrated several times throughout the novel and is one of the main reasons for Romeo and Juliet's tragic fate. The most striking effect of family relationships on Romeo and Juliet is the restriction of their will because they are incapable of action. This has been the plot of many stories about how a character is one with a man/woman but can't be with them because of their family. William Shakespeare makes good use of family relationships and conflicts between families, demonstrating how family ties can block love. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayRomeo and Juliet is a world-famous play written by William Shakespeare, based on a poem published two years before his birth. This play tells of an old rivalry between two families that erupted into bloodshed. A group of Montagues sneak into their rival family, the Capulet party. One of the Montagues, heir to the Montague family, Romeo sees a woman with whom he immediately falls in love. He later discovers that the woman he saw was Juliet, Juliet Capulet, Lord Capulet's only daughter who is to marry Count Paris. With the help of Juliet's nurse and a priest that Romeo knows, they marry. The next day Tybalt, Juliet's cousin, confronts Romeo and his friends in the street. Things turn into a fight and this leads to Mercutio, Romeo's friend being killed by Tybalt and Tybalt being killed by Romeo. This results in Romeo's banishment. In a desperate attempt to find Romeo, Juliet follows the brother's plot and fakes his death. The message that Juliet is faking her death does not reach Romeo, and believing Juliet dead, he commits suicide in her grave. Juliet wakes up to find Romeo's corpse next to her and commits suicide. The grieving family agrees to end their feud. Shakespeare first presents family relationships in a negative light by introducing the context of the play in the prologue. By telling the public about the conflict between the families as shown in the verses "two households", the Montagues and the Capulets "both alike in dignity" of the same social rank will be involved in a quarrel over installations and a bloody one at that as shown the phrase "civil blood makes civil hands unclean", the word civil implies that a fight between the two families can have a massive effect on the entire community. We are also told that Romeo and Juliet are both going to die because of the conflict between the two families before we even meet them. Shakespeare shows that the two families have a very similar status through the phrase “Two households, both alike in dignity”. Shakespeare first mentions the family in Act One, Scene Three, as the Nurse and Lady Capulet speak to Juliet about her marriage to Count Paris. This is the first time we, the audience, meet Juliette. Thematically, this scene shows the audience the influence that parents during this time have on their children, particularly the type of influence that parents have on their female offspring. Lady Capulet, a woman who was married to Lord Capulet at a young age, fully supports her plans.daughter to marry Count Paris and pressures her daughter to think of Count Paris before any idea of marriage comes to her mind. William Shakespeare shows how much influence parents have on their children through the phrase "I will look, I will seem to love to move But I will not sink my eye deeper than your consent gives strength to it make fly", which Juliette said that she obeys her parents and try to consider Count Paris as a husband. As the nurse remembers the time when Juliette was young, she says: “He was a happy man, he took the child. “Yes,” he said, “are you falling on your face?” You'll fall backwards when you're smarter, won't you, Jule? and, by my holy lady, the pretty wretch went away crying and said “yes.” Let's see now how a joke will turn out! The nurse's husband's comment that Juliet falls on her back when she grows up refers to Juliet having sex when she grows up, showing that Juliet has been seen as an object of sexuality and marriage since that she is young. This demonstrates the fact that the fate of Juliet, who will one day be given in marriage, has been determined since her birth. This suggests that a woman's role is solely to become a mother and that she has no control over her life. This scene also gives a good overview of the characters since Lady Capulet is not very close to her daughter while the nurse with her stories of Juliet as a child shows the audience that it is not Lady Capulet but she who raised Juliet and as a girl. the consequence is very close to Juliette. While Juliet is shown to be a naive young girl who obeys her mother, but there is a glimpse of strength when she forces the nurse to stop telling a story with just one word while Lady Capulet can't. make her stop everything with her story. shown in the line Lady Capulet: “Enough of this, please be quiet.” » Nurse “Yes, ma'am, yet I can only laugh Thinking that he should leave crying and say: “Yes. And yet, I guarantee you that he had a bump on his forehead as big as a cockerel stone... A perilous blow... and he cried bitterly. “Yes,” my husband replied, “are you falling on your face?” You'll fall backwards as you get older, won't you, Jule? He hesitated and said, “Yes.” » Juliette “And you too, please, nurse,” I said. Nurse 'Peace, I did it. God entrusts you to his grace! » In act two, scene two, family relationships are once again shown to the audience as the only thing stopping them from having a real relationship with the phrase "O Romeo, Romeo, why are you Romeo?" Deny your father and refuse your name; Or, if you do not want it, swear to yourself my love, and I will no longer be a Capulet. Juliet struggles between the love she feels for Romeo and her loyalty to her family. She tries to ignore the fact that Romeo is a Montague and considers leaving her family for him. She doesn't believe their families will allow them to reunite. In Act Three, Scene Four, Lord Capulet states: “I think she will be governed in all respects by me; much more, I have no doubt. Lord Capulet states that he is sure that his daughter will listen to him as he promises that the wedding between Juliet and Count Paris will take place on Thursday, which shows the audience once again the family relationships during the Renaissance era then that sons and daughters are more considered. comparable to property. The father is presented as the head of the family because his words sound more like orders. If Lord Capulet said the wedding would take place on Thursday, then the wedding will be moved to Thursday. Shakespeare uses dramatic irony in the line above. Since Elizabethan girlsare supposed to obey their father's will, the audience knows very well that Juliette has already disobeyed her father. It is suggested that Capulet's fear of embarrassment is greater than his concern for his daughter or perhaps he wishes to gain another ally since his feud with the Montagues heated up with Tybalt's death, as we see that he wants to present himself in a positive light to Count Paris since he repeatedly refers to Paris as a "friend". Paris is after all a “count” related to the prince. In act three, scene five, Lady Capulet tells Juliet about the decision made by Lord Capulet. She will marry Count Paris on Thursday. Juliet is shocked and refuses as shown in the sentence “Now, by the church of Saint-Pierre and Pierre too, he will not make me there a happy bride. I am surprised, in view of this haste, that I have to get married before the one who should be a husband comes to court. Please tell my lord and father, madam, that I will not marry yet, and when I do, I swear it will be Romeo, whom you know I hate, rather than Paris. This is really news! Lord Capulet then enters the room and learns of the situation. He is furious at Juliette's statement as shown by the sentence "Thursday is near, lay your hand on your heart, advice." And you are mine, I will give you to my friend; And don't be, hang, beg, starve, die in the streets", while he threatens to disown her if she refuses to obey with him by calling her names such as "young baggage" and " disobedient key”, he also said “hang in there”. you” and “my fingers itch,” this shows the audience that he may be ready to kill her if he doesn’t see her at church on Thursday. As shown in the lines “Hang yourself, young baggage!” You disobedient wretch! I tell you what: bring yourself to church on a Thursday or never look at me in the face again. Don't talk, don't answer, don't answer me! My fingers itch. » When Juliet begs her mother to help her, she refuses again, this shows the fact that Elizabethan girls are expected to obey their father's will. When they leave, Juliet asks the nurse for advice on this, as she is the only one who knows everything besides Romeo and the brother, which once again highlights her trust in the nurse and their closeness. When the nurse asks her to marry the Count, she is disgusted at the nurse's disloyalty and pretends to agree with her while considering asking the brother for advice. In this scene, Juliette appears much more mature than at the beginning of the play. She dominates the conversation with her mother as she proclaims her love for Romeo under the guise of saying the opposite. Her decision to lie to her nurse and not seek advice from the brother is another step in her character development. Juliette defies her father but thanks to this action, she learns the limit of her power. Juliette still lives in a world dominated by men. She cannot leave society by accepting her father's offer to disown her and go live with Romeo in Mantua, because her father has the right to make her do whatever he wants. But faced with this, she does not back down and decides that she would rather die than marry Count Capulet. This can be seen as a way of finally exercising control over one's own life for the first and last time. In the lines “And you will be mine, I will give you to my friend; And don’t bend over, don’t beg, don’t starve in the streets,” the audience sees that obedience to the head of the family is required to even stay in that family. Referring to Count Paris as a "friend" could be considered a euphemism as he supports politically or financially his efforts and he is afraid of offending him or he is afraid of losing face. After promising Count Paris.