One of the world’s most recognized tragedies and one of William Shakespeare’s most notable works is none other than the story of Romeo and Juliet. The couple unfortunately faced an inevitable death, foreshadowed early in the play as they were labeled as ‘star-crossed lovers’. Shakespeare reveals Romeo and Juliet’s identities through the establishment of their age, gender, family affiliation and social class. Romeo and Juliet’s identities are established through their family affiliation, gender, social class, and age. The lovers’ were doomed from the start with their immaturity that comes with their young age to Juliet’s arranged marriage set up by her parents, the family feud they were born into which includes, but is not limited to the families’ competition over social status. A main feature of Romeo and Juliet’s identities are their young ages, which is clearly reflected in the nature of their love. The …show more content…
As they both learn that they are the children of enemies, their spirits are dampened, the immaturity their young age bears leads them to continue on with their relationship. Therefore, Romeo and Juliet’s ages play a large role in the story since their young ages cause them to make foolish choices, eventually leading to their doom. The second aspect of Romeo and Juliet’s identities that is a core contributor to the story is their gender. During the time period Romeo and Juliet took place, gender often determined how much freedom a person had or how they were to live. For example, Juliet’s parents arrange her marriage and she isn’t given the chance for much input. However, when Juliet’s mother tells her that she is confirmed to marry Paris, Juliet stands up for herself saying that she does not want to marry yet