Romeo and Juliet
The setting of Romeo and Juliet comes from an Italian background and it was set long before Shakespeare wrote it. The mixture of an Elizabethan and Italian society is given Marriage is very different to nowadays first of all it wouldn't be your choice who you marry; the husband would be chosen from an Allis to the family Capulet and Montague would never be put together, secondly, the bride was usually younger; in the play Juliet was 14 when she married Romeo. This I part of the historical setting of the play. The central theme and idea of the play is that of Courtly love, love had to be addressed, there were rules and expectations of how lovers should behave this is called aristocracy. Another thing with courtly love is that you could only marry in your social class. If you were in love with someone of a higher social class they would probably be already married therefore unobtainable. In courtly love woman had to be coy therefore a young mans desire would be inflamed. The man would try and please the woman. This is traditional Elizabethan love. Romeo fulfils these Elizabethan expectations as the audience expects. The dramatic irony in this scene is when Juliets father wants her to marry a fine man from a fine family but Juliet is already married to Romeo, a Montague who Juliets father hates. The cultural setting of the pay is shown through Juliet’s relationship with her mother. Children and parents have different relationships to what they do now. In the setting of this play you would never back answer, disobey or be rude to your parents or you would be exiled. Juliet didn't have a close relationship with her mother or father and her nanny probably brought her up. She probably would have had a special time arranged to see her mother and father too. The nurse probably would have breast fed Juliet these were called wet nurses. The nurse would have been more like a mother figure to Juliet, but at the end of the act she betrays Juliet. Juliet would call her mother Madame and Lady Capulet would call Juliet girl.
