Romeo And Juliet Dbq

One of the most famous love stories, Romeo and Juliet, set during the Elizabethan era, is the story of two star-crossed lovers and the great lengths that they go through to show their love for their each other. Contrary to Romeo and Juliet, love emerges in a different way during modern times. Due to evolving times, love is much different today than during the Elizabethan era. Couples today are happier, because couples truly know each other and there are other options if a relationship does not work out. Today, in most countries people marry after a period of dating and engagement. Usually marriage happens when individuals are at an older and more mature than in the Elizabethan era. Present today are opportunities to know someone before marriage

Throughout the Elizabethan era, in most cases, courtships were nonexistent; most individuals went immediately to marriage. Today, “couples usually spend some periods of time engaged before they actually marry” (Document A). Couples moving towards engagement establish a strong connection which is crucial to a relationship. Without a strong connection with someone, love may fizzle out, or there may even be a lack of love in the first place. Many times in the Elizabethan era, if any, a scarce amount of attraction occurred, let alone love. Imagine marrying someone undesirable and unfamiliar. Throughout Romeo and Juliet's time, no other choice presented itself and individuals would have to deal with an arranged marriage, especially younger women such as Juliet. Before marrying, Romeo and Juliet knew each other for less than a week, therefore, thus, they would most likely have trouble with intimacy because they did not have a ssignificant amount of knowledge about each other. When Friar Lawrence marries Romeo and Juliet secretly, he does it because he thinks their marriage will eventually calm the feuding between their families. Doubts of Romeo and Juliet's love arise to Friar Laurence, yet, he

When thinking of marriage, it is important to think of everything that marriage entails. "Marriage is the social institution under which a man and woman establish their decision to live as husband and wife by legal commitments, religious ceremonies and the accompiniment of social festivities" (Document B). The average age for marriage in the modern world is 27 versus the age of 14 during the Elizabethan era when Juliet got married. At the age of 14, during this time, girls had no job and virtually no time to focus on themselves before rushing into marriage. Nowadays, before getting marrried, women have careers and can provide for themselves before settling down and marrying. In addition, at the age of 14, the brain's development lacks maturity because of its young age. Decisions made at 14, like Juliet marrying Romeo, do not always reflect what an individual may desire in the future such as who they decide to marry. The decision making at such young ages happened increasingly often in the Elizabethean era. However, legally in today's society, most legal decisions are not even made until the age of eighteen, which is four years older than Juliet. Things unacceptable in society during the 1500's have become more and more acceptable such as divorce. Throughout the Elizabethean era, people viewed divorce