Chris Liu 3381

Romeo and Juliet: Individual vs. Society

Much of the play Romeo and Juliet shows the lovers struggles against the society. Their love often disagrees or doesnt go well with many of the societys requirements, such disagreements range from religious ones all the way to disagreements that are caused by masculine honour and family pride. In the play, Romeo and Juliet are constantly trying to escape the society around them. They attempt to give up their family names and social identities so they can be together and be free of their public responsibilities. In the short term, they successfully manage to meet each other in secret, by speaking in puns in order to hide their love for each other in double meanings and constantly meeting when it is dark. The lovers take this one step further by making the morning feel like night on the day of their secret marriage. This is because the darkness gives them privacy and comfort because they feel safe and isolated from the outside world. When in doubt or in need of help, the two of them dont ask their own parents, but confide their problems with the Nurse and Friar Lawrence. This is because their parents are very important figures in the society and they worry that because they are so important, they will have the same opinion as the society. Despite their efforts to stay in secrecy and prolong the night, dawn is inevitable. In the end, Romeo and Juliet must separate eventually and cannot escape their public responsibilities of the public world. Romeo tries to deny his father and refuse his name, and tries to avoid his fight with Tybalt, but ends up fighting Tybalt as the result of his masculine honour. Juliet tries to prevent herself being married to Paris because she is already married to Romeo. Despite her standing up against her father, she is abandoned by her mother and Romeo, thus unable to convince Capulet. Romeo, as punishment for killing Tybalt, is banished from Verona by Prince Escalus, who represents the law. Finally, as a last resort, the lovers commit the act of eternal privacy and darkness by committing suicide. In Romeo and Juliet, there are many religious and Christian references, but the couple also commit some very non-Christian acts. For example, in most situations, lovers uphold the traditions of Christianity by completing their love after marrying, but because their love is so powerful, they begin to think of each other in un-religious terms right after their first encounter. For example, Juliet calls Romeo god of my idolatry, which puts Romeo at the level of God, which is breaking the rule of the Second Commandment (2.1.156). The couples final act of suicide can be seen likewise as un-Christian which is considered a grave or serious sin according to the theology of the Catholic Church. Because Romeo is the only male child of the Montagues, he must maintain his masculine honour, to protect his familys pride and so that his father doesnt lose face. The emphasis of honour that has been placed on Romeo is so important that not even Romeo can simply ignore them. It is because of honour, that Romeo is saddened and decides to avenge Mercutios death by killing Tybalt. This act of defending his honour had cost him dearly, as he is exiled from the city. This then creates a chain effect, which then eventually leads to the tragic end of the two lovers.

Chris Liu 3381 In essence, Romeo and Juliets relationship is constantly obstructed and dashed by the society and the feud between the Capulets and the Montagues. This is the best example of individual vs society. In Verona, social rights are shown to be more important than individual rights. The role of women in Romeo and Juliet is to be married to other men, and the father in each family acts as the leader, or dictator. Friar Lawrence believed that social beliefs were more important than social beliefs, which caused problems in communication. It is because of all these obstacles and mistakes that the play had to end this way.

Sources: http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/romeojuliet/themes.html http://www.slideshare.net/katstrelow/romeo-juliet-themes-lesson http://prezi.com/xnfvmjw9z4rx/individuals-vs-society-in-romeo-and-juliet/ http://www.humanities360.com/index.php/the-individual-versus-society-in-romeo-and-julietby-william-shakespeare-51314/ https://sites.google.com/site/romeoandjulietvwo4/individual-vs-society http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110523152327AANewAe