Romeo and Juliet (context)

Question 1

What is the form of Romeo and Juliet?

Answer 1

• A tragedy

Question 2

What do tragedies typically include?

Answer 2

• serious subject matter or themes
• sometimes the downfall or death of one or more characters

Question 3

What are the 4 traits of a tragic hero?

Answer 3

• high status
• hamartia
• internal conflict
• tragic waste

Question 4

What was the divine right of kings?

Answer 4

An accepted belief, stating that kings are chosen by God and rebelling against them is a sin

Question 5

State the context for Elizabethan England?

Answer 5

• Religion was very important in people’s lives, and the Church of England went through several changes
• Hierarchy and order were highly valued in society
• There was a clear social class system and patriarchy present

Question 6

State context for Italian culture?

Answer 6

• Italian culture was seen as more passionate and romantic

Question 7

What was masculine honour?

Answer 7

When men would resort to violence when they were challenged by any men,
this was in order to defend their reputation and masculinity

Question 8

What is the idea of ‘wooing’?

Answer 8

Impressing a woman so that she wants to be with you

Question 9

Who believed in predestination?

Answer 9

Calvinists

Question 10

What was Predestination?

Answer 10

the idea that the events in one’s life have already been determined by God

Question 11

What might the play be seen as an epitome (a summary of) of?

Answer 11

A move towards marriages formed from love rather than out of duty to one’s family

Question 12

What is a foil?

Answer 12

A character that contrasts to the main character, or protagonist

Question 13

What is courtly love?

Answer 13

• Courtly love incorporates ideas such as love at first sight and dying for one’s true love

Question 14

What is a petrarchan lover?

Answer 14

A man who falls in love with a woman but is either resisted or rejected. Petrarchan love is unrequited

Question 15

When and where was Romeo and Juliet set?

Answer 15

Verona, Italy during the 1300-1400s

Question 16

Why did Shakespeare set the play in Italy and during the 1300-1400s?

Answer 16

• To place temporal and geographical distance from the controversial themes explored in the play
• The distance gives the audience a sense of safety
• To be able to critique society and the monarchy without being accused of treason

Question 17

Explore context of Gender norms in the play

Answer 17

• In marriage, women were expected to be passive and take on their domestic role, contrasting to men who were active creatures and meant to make money
• Shakespeare’s exploration of R+J’s love affair challenges these gender norms as both characters are portrayed as active
• Romeo’s feminine tendencies subverts the typical masculine traits men were supposed to have

Question 18

Explore context of Gender in the play

Answer 18

• Women were seen as lesser than men, due to their increased propensity towards sin (in the Bible, Eve is seen as the mother of sin)
• women were seen as property and were therefore objectified
• Women belonged to the closest male relative, their father when they were born and their husband when they became married
• Men could do whatever they wanted with their wives, free of judgement and condemnation
• Women were seen as sexual objects there to satisfy the needs of their husbands who were their ‘lords’ and masters’

Question 19

Explore context of marriage in the play

Answer 19

• women were seen as objects within marriage
• marriage was looked at as an end goal and purpose for all women
• marriage was often seen as a way to further a family’s status. Love wasn’t always the main concern in marriage
• if a woman didn’t marry, she was thought of as deviant

Question 20

Explore the context of violence

Answer 20

• Explicit violence was a much more public affair in Elizabethan times than it is today, so violent fights between the Capulets and Montagues wouldn’t have been too surprising
• Violence treated with paradoxical revulsion (suicide condemned as sinful)
• People in Elizabethan England were attracted by instances of violence in plays and in the public sphere

Question 21

Explore the context of fate in the play

Answer 21

• Fate, a form of superstition, was a central concept in Elizabethan society
• Most believed that some greater force (God/stars) would or has already controlled their destiny

Question 22

What are the conventions of a tragedy?

Answer 22

• Fate
• Fortune
• Tragic flaw/ending
• Common qualities of a tragic hero