This leads on to the Patriarchal society in which Shakespeare grew up in, this defines, men were the more dominate gender and were in higher status, women or girls were not worthy of doing many things in Shakespearean times they were stereotyped as the typical house wife, They did not have many privileges . Also arranged marriages were perfectly normal at that time, for a 14 or 15 year old to get married was perfectly common in society and you did not have a choice or no say in the matter. You could not rebel against your parents or it could have lead to disaster. Arranged marriages is due to parental possessiveness, in fact it was bizarre to get married in your 20’s and was known as a “late marriage” this was because people had a shorter life span. In contrast to the 21st, arranged marriages’ are mostly a thing of the past although in some countries they still do exist. Shakespeare sharpens this effect by making Capulet speak first as the role of the liberal father as we see in the beginning on the play in Act 1 Scene 2. Capulet cautions Paris that Juliet is not of age yet. “She hath not fourteen years, let two more summers wither in their pride.” Here we see calm, gentle and patient Capulet who displays a concern for Juliet’s welfare; Capulet is naturally keen that his daughter should find a husband and goes along with Paris’s proposal, provided that it meets with Juliet’s approval. In contrast to later on in the play his attitude/feelings have changed in Act 3 his anxiety overrides humanity. He substitutes his own desires for his daughters and we now see an altered Paris he believes she will agree to his “desperate tender” to marry Paris, however when she rejects the offer, he responds into anger and he says “get thee to church a Thursday, or never look me in the face.” Capulet is making a harsh decision to eject or disown Juliet if she refuses, which leaves her in a horrid position. As she is also married to Romeo. This is a pivotal point in the play and now she turns to the Friar and nurse for help. Who also unintentionally contributes some factors of the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
The Nurse is another adult in the tragedy that should take responsibility. The Nurse takes on a caring role in the play and is Juliet’s advisor and messenger in the play as an adult she should have confided in Juliet’s parents. However on the contrary lady Capulet doesn’t exactly play the most Dearing mother in the world, instead a rather pushy parent that only has her best interests at heart. The Nurse helps the two get their marriage to happen. She even goes to Romeo and says, "For the gentlewoman is young and therefore, if you should deal double with her, truly it were an ill thing to be offered to any gentlewoman, and very weak dealing," meaning that she makes sure that Romeo knows to that he better mean that he wants to marry Juliet. The Nurse helps Juliet to get to her wedding, as was the only person other than Friar Laurence to be there. After Romeo is banished to Mantua, the Nurse says, "Romeo is banish; and the entire world to nothing that he dares ne'er come back to challenge; or if he do, it needs must be by stealth. Then since the case so stands as now it doth, I think it best you marry with the county." The Nurse changes her mind and tells her to forget about Romeo and marry Paris. After this Juliet has no hope and then goes to the friar for help
Friar Laurence; as the confessor to both Romeo and Juliet and becomes the confident advisor and helper to both. The Friar plays an important role in the play, as he is responsible for organizing much of the plot. He made rash decisions and kept them a secret to the whole of Verona. The tragic ending may have been in avoided, only if he communicated or confided in one of the family members or tried harder to stop it. Romeo and Juliet’s’ problems would have been avoided. Also he constructed the plan that Juliet stooges her own death by taking a “death inducing drug” line 85-105 “hold then go home...thou shalt continue two and forty hours.” It will last 42 hours, it was Friar Laurence’s job to give Romeo the letter of the details of the plan and he would find Juliet the Capulet Mausoleum, this failed. Juliet killed committed suicide, because Romeo killed himself, never finding out that she was still alive. She would not have died if Friar Laurence had not fled the scene. However his intentions or motives were positive. He is a religious symbol in Verona, trust in religion was very important in society and monarchy were highly respected and had high status they set most of the rules and being a Friar was one below God. He knew the rights and wrongs; he was the voice of Christian Morality, in comparison today people have more liberal thoughts about religion and have more theories. Furthermore after this research I think that is why Romeo and Juliet confided in him.
As one of the central themes of the play, fate plays an important role in Romeo and Juliet’s death. Throughout the play, fate seems to control Romeo and Juliet’s lives and forces them together and apart. One example of how fate brings the two lovers together is in Act 1 Scene 2, where Capulet Servant invites people to the party, Romeo sees the invitation list with Rosaline’s name on it and decides to attend the party which results in the first meeting between Romeo and Juliet. Another example of why fate is to blame for this tragedy is in Act 5 Scene 1, where Friar’s letter does not reach Romeo due to a random incident. To a large extent, fate is not the only cause of the lovers’ misfortunes; Romeo and Juliet are responsible for their own death as well, due to their impulsiveness. In the very beginning of the Prologue it states “star crossed lovers will take their life.” It’s almost like destiny; you cannot change your own destiny.
There is a variety of different language techniques used in “Romeo and Juliet.” During the course of the festivities at Capulet’s Ball Romeo see’s Juliet for the first time and instantly falls in love with her then the language changes into a sonnet A sonnet is a fourteen-line lyric poem, usually written in rhymed iambic pentameter. The English, or Shakespearean, sonnet consists of three quatrains (four-line stanzas) and a couplet (two lines), usually rhyming abab cdcd efef gg. The couplet usually comments on the ideas contained in the preceding twelve lines. Which creates an intimate atmosphere when they first meet, suggesting this is perfect love. Shakespeare also uses a soliloquy; is a long speech expressing the thoughts of a character alone or on stage. In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo gives a soliloquy after the servant has fled and Paris has died (Act 5 scene iii). A monologue is a speech by one character in a play, story, or poem. An example from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is the speech in which the Prince of Verona commands the Capulet’s and Montague’s to cease feuding (Act I, Scene i). An oxymoron is a phrase consisting of words that seem the opposite in meaning. Shakespeare cleverly illustrates this when Romeo is weeping over Rosaline like a love sick youth “Why then, O brawling love, O loving hate… O heavy lightness! Serious vanity.” Juliet also uses oxymorons after having found out about her cousins death is at the hands of Romeo she says: “O serpent heart, hid with a flow'ring face! ... A damned saint, an honorable villain.”(Act 3, Scene ii) however he has a momentary thought for her cousin but then goes on grieving about Romeo