How Does Shakespeare Present Relationships In Romeo And Juliet

Examine Shakespeare's treatment of relationships in Romeo and Juliet.

In this essay I will be examining William Shakespeare's treatment of relationships in Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire and was alive during the Elizabethan era. He was an English poet and playwright widely regarded as the greatest writer of the English language. He wrote at least thirty seven plays and also wrote poems. His plays were comedies, histories and tragedies and some of his most famous ones were Hamlet, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. Relationships form the main theme in Shakespeare's tragedy ‘Romeo and Juliet and there are many different ones, such as infatuation (Rosaline and Romeo), destiny (Romeo and Juliet), parental love (Lord Capulet and Juliet) and arranged
marriages (Paris and Juliet). The action of the play Romeo and Juliet is instigated by two warring families who are brought together.

The first relationship I am going to analyse is that of Romeo and Rosaline. I have found that their relationship together is based on infatuation as Romeo is besotted with Rosaline but she is not returning the feelings. Romeo is in despair because Rosaline has sworn not to get married and in the days of Shakespeare you could not live with someone unless married, so their relationship is going no-where. Romeo's unrequited love for Rosaline is reflected by the use of oxymorons in the script. Oxymorons are words that contradict each other and generally show confusion, such as, ‘O heavy lightness,' and ‘feather of lead,' in the script. These are oxymorons because it is not possible to have something heavy and light and it is also not possible to have a feather that weighs as much as lead. This shows that Romeo is confused about his feelings for Rosaline and why Rosaline is not returning them. Another effect of writing Shakespeare uses in the script is the repetition of ‘O.' This is immature dramatics. The effect of this is to show Romeo's frustration at the fact that Rosaline is not returning his feelings and that he is self pitying and feeling sorry for himself. Shakespeare also makes sure that Romeo has many lines in the script. An example of this is on page 13 to 15 where Romeo has 26 lines whereas Benvoli only has 2. This makes Romeo come across as dramatic and desperate and he is also taking centre stage. The scene is all about Romeo and how he feels whereas Benvoli does not get much of a look in and so when Benvoli speaks he is very precise and to the point. Benvoli may also not talk much because he is listening to what Romeo has to say.

The second relationship, which can generally be seen as the main one in this play is between Romeo and Juliet. This relationship is completely different to the relationship between Romeo and Rosaline because with Juliet Romeo feels as if it's destiny and as if they belong together, whereas with Rosaline, Romeo was just infatuated. Also, Juliet returns the feelings Romeo has and Rosaline did not. The quote, ‘O she doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night,' shows that when Romeo first saw Juliet he thought it was love at first sight. Also when Romeo first meets Juliet he starts to speak in rhyming couplets such as bright/night and ears/dears. The rhyming couplets show that Romeo is sincere and he is sure of what he is saying because his speech is balanced whereas when talking about Rosaline, Romeo uses oxymorons which show he is confused and uncertain about her. It shows a change in Romeo's behaviour. Shakespeare uses positive connotations to describe Juliet, such as, ‘rich jewel,' and ‘snowy dove.' The effects of these words are to show that Romeo thinks highly of Juliet. Romeo also uses religious words when talking to Juliet, such as ‘holy shrine,' ‘saint,' and ‘palmer.' When Romeo refers to Juliet as a palmer he is saying that he thinks she is a committed person because pilgrims show their faith by making long journeys to the shrines of the Holy Land and they brought back palm leaves as proof of their visits so they were known as palmers. Romeo uses these religious words because in Elizabethan England religion was respected and had a high status in society so using these words to describe Juliet is saying that Romeo thinks highly of Juliet as a person and that Romeo thinks God approves of their relationship together. This makes their relationship stronger.

The third relationship I am going to analyse is the relationship between Lord Capulet and Juliet, who are father and daughter. In act 1 scene 2 Paris comes to Lord Capulet asking for permission to marry Juliet but Lord Capulet suggests that Paris, ‘woo her,' firstly getting Juliet to love him and then he will consent to the marriage. This is showing that Lord Capulet cares for his daughter, Juliet, and wants the best for her. Usually in the times of Shakespeare, fathers wanted their daughters to marry for prestige, money and power so Lord Capulet is very different to most fathers. However, as the play progresses the relationship between Juliet and Lord Capulet starts to disintegrate as Lord Capulet decides that following Tybalt's death the marriage between Paris and Juliet is to be brought forward and so he arranges it for them. However, Juliet rejects the idea and Lord Capulet is less than pleased. This is the cause of the downfall of their relationship. Lord Capulet's anger and confusion aimed at Juliet is shown by the use of the question marks Capulet uses in act 3 scene 5, showing that he is questioning Juliet's motives. He expects Juliet to be grateful and she is not, ‘doth she not give us thanks?' He also uses words of offence towards her, such as ‘young baggage,' and ‘disobedient wretch.' This shows he is angry at her choices. He even goes as far as threatening to disown Juliet if she does not obey him, saying, ‘get thee to the church a'Thursday, or never after look me in the face.' It shows he is being rash and if he does this to Juliet then he knows she will have nothing.

The fourth relationship is between Lady Capulet and Juliet, who are mother and daughter. Their relationship is completely different to that between Lord Capulet and Juliet. It is a cold, distant relationship and this is shown in many ways throughout the script. Such as the use of madam when Juliet refers to Lady Capulet, ‘Madam, I am here, what is your will?' This is a very formal way to refer to your mother and is not something you would usually see. The distance is also shown by the fact that Lady Capulet is unsure of Juliet's age, ‘a fortnight and odd days.' This is not typically something a mother would admit too. Lady Capulet also has a harsh nature and this is reflected in the words she uses in act 3 scene 5 and also how she talks to her daughter, Juliet, such as calling her stupid, ‘Fie, fie, what, are you mad?' Additionally she is quick in her rejection of Juliet, ‘talk not to me, for I'll not speak a word. Do as thou wilt, for I have done with thee.' This represents and shows the coldness in their relationship because usually you would not be so quick as to reject your daughter. Lady Capulet does not care for Juliet as much as she should do.

The relationship between Lord Capulet and Lady Capulet is a distant, cold relationship. In the Elizabethan Era people generally married not for love but for prestige, power and money and this may be why their relationship does not work well. Additionally the distant attitude towards their daughter is reflected in their relationship. Such as Lady Capulet in act 3 scene 5 referring to Lord Capulet as ‘sir.' By doing so, Lady Capulet is showing that they are very impersonal with each other but it may also show that she has slight respect for Lord Capulet as he controls everything and she does not want to disrespect him. Although towards the end of act 3 scene 5 Lady Capulet criticizes Lord Capulet, saying ‘you are too hot,' meaning she thinks he is being far too hasty in wanting Juliet to get married so soon. Eventually though she agrees with him by saying to Juliet, ‘do as thou wilt, for I have done with thee,' showing that he has all the power in the relationship.

In the times of Shakespeare parents usually hired a nurse to look after their children, but in this instance the nurse became closer to the child than the parent. This is the relationship between Juliet and the nurse. It is very different to the relationship between Juliet and her biological family. It is a very close and loving one and although the nurse is just an employee she is the person in the household that Juliet feels she can trust and turn to in time of need. They use endearing terms when referring to each other, such as ‘sweetness,' and the nurse refers to Juliet as ‘the lamb.' This is implying that Juliet is very innocent and young. The nurse also reminisces about when Juliet was younger. Her biggest speech in the entire play on Act 1 Scene 3 focuses on this, showing that she thinks a lot of Juliet, more than anyone else. The nurse even breastfed Juliet instead of her own mother, shown by the quote, ‘when it did taste the wormwood on the nipple.' I think this is because Lady Capulet did not want too become to close to her own daughter and therefore the nurse had to take on this very motherly role, therefore making them much closer. Although during all this the nurse did have a husband, but despite this she still breastfed Juliet. The husband of the nurse may have not been completely happy about this situation but it just shows the devotion that the nurse has to Juliet. During this speech Lady Capulet tells the nurse to stop, ‘enough of this, I pray thee hold thy peace,' thinking is it not appropriate but the nurse is so passionate about Juliet that she is willing to go against Lady Capulet's orders and carry on talking about her. It is only when Juliet tells her to stop that nurse does. Additionally the nurse is the only one in the household who is showing any sign that she is upset about Juliet getting married and leaving the house. Therefore the nurse was the only person who Juliet felt she could talk to about Romeo, showing that she trusts her and also thinks the nurse is the best person to give her advice. Juliet respects the nurse opinion and how honest she is. She even allows the nurse to see Friar Lawrence to arrange a date for her and Romeo's wedding. When she returns Juliet wants to hear the news but the nurse teases her, saying she is tired and makes Juliet wait to hear the news. The nurse instead gives her opinion on Romeo, irrespective that Juliet did not ask for it. This shows the boldness in their relationship and how close they are. Juliet does not get angry or annoyed at the nurse; she accepts it as part of their relationship. Later on in the script, when Lord and Lady Capulet announce that she is married to Paris she turns to the nurse for support. Although the nurse isn't very helpful and Juliet says, ‘well thou has comforted me marvellous much.' This is her being sarcastic and the nurse has not made her feel any better about what is going on. She would not dare say this to her own mother; she is very much more open with the nurse. Although the nurse does admit that she has concerns about her own job and eventually agrees that Juliet should do as her parents wish and marry Paris. She even refers to Romeo as a ‘dish clout,' despite her early opinions on him. This is so she can remain living the comfy life she lives. They seem to have a very open relationship and are not afraid of telling each other what they think.

The death of Romeo and Juliet unite the Capulet and Montague families.
Lord Capulet says to Lord Montague ‘o brother Montague, give me thy hand,' this would not have happened at the start of the play. In other words Lord Capulet is asking to put everything in the past. Montague replies just as positively, saying ‘I will raise her statue in pure gold,' showing he thinks a lot of the family. The play contains many moral messages, one being that love is a powerful thing and it can lead to extremes, and in this instance death. It should not have to get to that for disagreements to be resolved. Despite Romeo and Juliet being written over 500 years ago it is still very much relevant in today's society. It shows struggles against society and having to go against the people who are closest to you and what they may think. This is still going on today in such things as arranged marriages, etc. There are people being forced into situations even though they do not a choice all over the world. It is also relevant because there are still things such as wars going on in the world and even thought that is to a much bigger extent it still represents the disagreements shown in the
play.