Patriarchal Values Revealed In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

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Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet, a beautiful but tragic tale of two ‘star crossed lovers’, struggling to go against the adults in their lives and the patriarchal values surrounding them. Their love at first sight, drastically transforming their very lives and creating intense, forbidden feelings. Their life had other plans though, adults, friends and others forced them to accept things they didn’t want, the immense pressure and standards of a patriarchal society setting them on their paths toward tragedy. Through life Romeo and Juliet could never be with each other but only in death could they be reunited. Friar Laurence is deeply responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. He was hasty with his plans and didn’t take the time to think things through carefully. Friar was also guilty for giving Romeo the idea that it was okay for him to …show more content…

From the scenes when Romeo fell in love with her, kissed and exchanged their love, they quickly moved onto their promises of marriage. Now Juliet was originally 13 and Romeo 16 in the play. They were really young and not fully developed in their thinking and decision making, which was why they made impulsive choices based only on their feelings. Back in Verona’s society, teenagers as young as Juliet were commonly married off but the fact that Romeo and Juliet were from two rival families was a huge problem. ‘Thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow.’ (Act 2, Scene 2) Juliet shows her desire for marriage with Romeo and she hints that she would accept it, even if this was only the second time they had met. They shouldn’t have acted so quickly on their love, to blind by the attraction and love, hoping unrealistically that they would be together. Romeo and Juliet should have realised how dangerous their relationship was, endangering both of them but also the tension between their families. Their impulsive actions and tragic love led them to their ultimate