Religion

Question 1

Which of the following was not considered a sin in Shakespeare’s time?
A. being married to more than one person
B. sex before marriage
C. marrying a member of a rival family
D. suicide

Answer 1

C. The other answers were all considered to be sins in Shakespeare’s time.

Question 2

Give an example that suggests the Nurse isn’t concerned about religious morals.

Answer 2

The Nurse encourages Juliet to marry Paris, even though they both know it would be a sin, because Juliet is already married to Romeo/

Question 3

How does Shakespeare use the religious rules of 16th-century society to drive the play’s plot ?

Answer 3

• Sex outside marriage
  wasn’t allowed, which
  means that Romeo and
  Juliet have to get married
  to be together. This also
  motivates Friar Lawrence
  to marry them quickly —he
  doesn’t want the to be
  “alone” together while they
  are unmarried.
• Juliet threatens to kill
  herself rathe than marry
  Paris, partly because it was
  a sin to be married to more
  than one person. However,
  suicide was also
  considered a sin — this
  could be what leads Friar
  Lawrence to convince
  Juliet to fake her death
  instead.

Question 4

Does Friar Lawrence act as you would expect a member of the Church to act? Give reasons for your answer.

Answer 4

In general, Friar Lawrence acts as a religious man should — he tries to end the feud, which suggests he is motivated by Christian ideas of love and goodwill. He also follows the rules of his religion by stopping two suicide attempts and by helping Juliet to avoid marriage to Paris, since this would be bigamy, which is a sin. He gives advice in the manner of a spiritual leader, telling Romeo to “love moderately”.