Death in Romeo and Juliet

Alternative transcript:

view Romeo and Juliet's tragic death as inescapable. Fate is stronger than love The feud creates a relentless cycle of death "Civil blood makes civil hands unclean" Prologue Setting - death is a constant threat ● Paradoxical statement highlights how pervasive the feud is corrupting even the innocent ("Civil" vs "unclean") "Turn thee Benvolio, look upon thy death" Tybalt A1S1 • Tybalt is a symbol of institutionalised hatred ● Feud has dehumanised him Refers to himself as death personified ● "For blood of ours, shed blood of Montague" Lady Cap A3S1 • Imperative, ordering for a Montague to die • Reveals the endless cycle of feuds fuelled by vengeance Context: ● • Dueling was intertwined with honour. If you were a noble, you would be expected to constantly protect your honour against challenges to it. • You would lose your honour if you were a coward. The best way to avoid being considered a coward was to outwardly challenge others and to always accept any challenges offered to you. A force against love "love devouring death do what he dare" Romeo A2S6 ● ● ● "Death is my son-in-law, Death is my heir; My daughter he hath wedded" Lord Cap A4S5 Fights made up the majority of violent deaths during the time: 90% of homicides had a male defendant and 80% a male victim. Male on male crime was high. ● • Death is depicted as a groom who has taken everything away from Juliet emphasising his loss • Personification of death and capitalisation of 'Death' Anaphora of 'death' draws attention to the passing of Juliet "the lean abhorred monster keeps thee here in dark" Romeo A5S3 Personifies death to be a starving monster who has stolen Juliet Horrific imagery reflects fear of death Death's predatory nature highlights the fragility of love and life ● Verb "devouring" personifies death like a predator hunting love Emphasises vulnerability of R+J Romeo's challenge to death is naïve; he thinks marrying Juliet is enough Context - untimely deaths due to catastrophes such as plagues were seen as signs of God's displeasure Death is a catalyst "A plague on both your houses" Mercutio A3S1 • Repeated curse foreshadows the ill fate of R+J The death of Mercutio prompts Romeo to kill Tybalt and marks the change of genre in the play from comedy to tragedy. Death as a consequence of extreme love "My grave is like to be my wedding bed" Juliet A1S5 Hyperbolic claim reveals extreme tendencies • Prophetic of the ending scene Juxtaposition between "grave" and "wedding bed" shows how awful it would be if Juliet can't marry Romeo "These violent delights have violent ends" Friar Lawrence A2S5 ● ● ---- ● Foreshadows rashness of suicides • Anaphora of "violent" and juxtaposition between 'violent' and 'delights' creates a sense of unease and foreshadows the couple's tragic ends "O happy dagger!" Juliet A5S3 • Oxymoronic exclamation emphasises willingness to die • Life is not worth living without Romeo Context- There was a common proverb at the time that 'hot love is soon cold'. Passionate love was an unsafe basis for marriage Shakespeare's message • A cautionary tale about extreme love A commentary on good citizenship A reminder of the inevitability of death