SORRY, THIS IS BAD. I ONLY HAVE TWO BODY PARAGRAPHS + SLIGHTLY RUSHED.
Shakespeare may have written this play to poke and ridicule the social standards of the time. The foolish decisions many of the characters make could be seen as commentary on how the institutions of the day forced those choices. For example, Friar Lawrence only marries Romeo and Juliet to prevent them from committing any sins, which the Catholic Church said included even lustful thoughts. Additionally, what Romeo and Juliet felt for each other was lust, not love - and they were in such a haste to get married only so that they could act upon those lustful thoughts. This whole play could be taken as a critique of the Catholic Church of the time and the lengths people went …show more content…
A student may decide to skip school because their friends are, even if under normal circumstances they wouldn’t. An tired introvert might go to to a party because their friends asked them to, even though they’d rather forgo social contact for the time being. In the past, societal norms were often even more stringent, and sometimes based on religious views. The Catholic Church, especially in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, had conservative views and was the main authority at the time. The Church declared that lustful thoughts and actions before marriage were mortal sins; the Church’s views were societal norms at the time, and so people followed them even when it wasn’t rational. Romeo and Juliet is set in Italy in the thirteenth or fourteenth century, and its characters follow societal norms, often to the point of ridiculousness and past rationality. Shakespeare likely had his characters do extremely unwise things in order to ridicule the pressure that caused them to do this. Romeo and Juliet was likely written by Shakespeare as a subtle criticism of the societal norms of the time, especially the institution of the Catholic …show more content…
When having a conversation with Romeo, Romeo mentions that “the sweeter rest was mine,” and Friar Lawrence, alarmed at what this insinuates, immediately exclaims “God pardon sin!” (2.3.44-45). Here, the Friar’s first reaction is not to advise Romeo like the mentor he is supposed to be, but rather to become aghast at a possible sin he might have committed. The fear that Romeo might commit a sin is one of the main factors behind the Friar’s decision to marry him and Juliet; this shouldn’t be a reason, but it was often a valid one, especially in the time in which both the play is set and Shakespeare lived. The exaggerated way in which Shakespeare presents being married so the participants can avoid sinning and breaking social norms, albeit in a very roundabout way, is a sign that he didn’t intend Romeo and Juliet’s marriage to be taken at face value. Friar Lawrence didn’t marry Romeo and Juliet because they loved each other, or trusted each other, or even knew each other. In fact, one of the reasons he did - other than to prevent sin - was because he viewed their marriage as a political tool to stop warring between their two families. He says as much when marrying them: “In one respect I’ll thy assistant be,/For this alliance may so happy prove/To turn your households' rancor to pure love” (2.3.90-92). Here, the
Shakespeare may have written this play to poke and ridicule the social standards of the time. The foolish decisions many of the characters make could be seen as commentary on how the institutions of the day forced those choices. For example, Friar Lawrence only marries Romeo and Juliet to prevent them from committing any sins, which the Catholic Church said included even lustful thoughts. Additionally, what Romeo and Juliet felt for each other was lust, not love - and they were in such a haste to get married only so that they could act upon those lustful thoughts. This whole play could be taken as a critique of the Catholic Church of the time and the lengths people went …show more content…
A student may decide to skip school because their friends are, even if under normal circumstances they wouldn’t. An tired introvert might go to to a party because their friends asked them to, even though they’d rather forgo social contact for the time being. In the past, societal norms were often even more stringent, and sometimes based on religious views. The Catholic Church, especially in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, had conservative views and was the main authority at the time. The Church declared that lustful thoughts and actions before marriage were mortal sins; the Church’s views were societal norms at the time, and so people followed them even when it wasn’t rational. Romeo and Juliet is set in Italy in the thirteenth or fourteenth century, and its characters follow societal norms, often to the point of ridiculousness and past rationality. Shakespeare likely had his characters do extremely unwise things in order to ridicule the pressure that caused them to do this. Romeo and Juliet was likely written by Shakespeare as a subtle criticism of the societal norms of the time, especially the institution of the Catholic …show more content…
When having a conversation with Romeo, Romeo mentions that “the sweeter rest was mine,” and Friar Lawrence, alarmed at what this insinuates, immediately exclaims “God pardon sin!” (2.3.44-45). Here, the Friar’s first reaction is not to advise Romeo like the mentor he is supposed to be, but rather to become aghast at a possible sin he might have committed. The fear that Romeo might commit a sin is one of the main factors behind the Friar’s decision to marry him and Juliet; this shouldn’t be a reason, but it was often a valid one, especially in the time in which both the play is set and Shakespeare lived. The exaggerated way in which Shakespeare presents being married so the participants can avoid sinning and breaking social norms, albeit in a very roundabout way, is a sign that he didn’t intend Romeo and Juliet’s marriage to be taken at face value. Friar Lawrence didn’t marry Romeo and Juliet because they loved each other, or trusted each other, or even knew each other. In fact, one of the reasons he did - other than to prevent sin - was because he viewed their marriage as a political tool to stop warring between their two families. He says as much when marrying them: “In one respect I’ll thy assistant be,/For this alliance may so happy prove/To turn your households' rancor to pure love” (2.3.90-92). Here, the