English Romeo and Juliet

In this essay I will be comparing and contrasting the way different relationships are presented in Act 1 Scene 5 (in particular, the sonnet in that scene) and in two other Shakespearean sonnets, sonnet 18 and sonnet 130. William Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets, they were themed poems normally based on love and time. Sonnets were very popular with audiences in Elizabethan times so they knew what they meant and how there were used. All Sonnets have the same structure, each one has 14 lines with three quatrains with alternate rhyme and end with a rhyming couplet (Volta). The rhyme scheme of a sonnet is always “a b a b, c d c d, e f e f, g g”- also the lines of sonnet are written in iambic pentameter that is ten syllables across each line. This has the effect of internal rhythm within the poem which creates at tension between the two characters. Each of the sonnets have different language, are set in different places and have different speakers.
There are several types of relationships that are explored in “Romeo and Juliet”. One of them is the relationships between Paris and Juliet, this represents the relationship of courtly love which was very common in Shakespeare’s time amongst noble time. He asks Capulet for Juliet’s hand in marriage, this was the acceptable method of courtship in the era and culture. A girl like Juliet would have expected an arranged marriage in those days. However this type of love was based on what the man could offer to the girl’s father and Juliet’s view was deemed as very unimportant.
In contrast Romeo and Juliet’s relationship is one of love at first sight in which both people are in love with each other. Plus, their relationship is portrayed as pure and holy we know this because the language is bursting with religious imagery. Also Shakespeare uses a sonnet in Act 1 scene 5 to show the Elizabethan audience that Romeo and Juliet’s love is not just lust and sexual attraction but is based on holy, respectful, pure and unselfish love, “Dis