00:00:00
hello everybody and welcome to today's
00:00:02
video one of the major themes in Romeo
00:00:04
and Juliet is fate fate is the idea that
00:00:07
the events in our lives are
00:00:09
predetermined and set that there is
00:00:11
nothing we can do to escape them now in
00:00:13
Romeo and Juliet we can pick out
00:00:15
examples of this from the plot like when
00:00:17
Romeo predicts his own death before
00:00:19
going to the Capulet ball or when Friar
00:00:22
John fails to deliver the important
00:00:24
letter to Romeo but we can also look at
00:00:26
some of the more sophisticated ways
00:00:28
Shakespeare presents this key theme
00:00:30
in a 2010 Oxford University lecture Dr
00:00:33
Emma Smith explored how Shakespeare's
00:00:35
use of a prologue at the start of the
00:00:37
play fits into the theme of Fate Dr
00:00:40
Smith points out that there are a
00:00:41
handful of Shakespeare plays that
00:00:43
contain a prologue but those prologues
00:00:45
usually establish the scene so for
00:00:48
example the prologue in troilus and
00:00:49
Cressida tells us about the Trojan Wars
00:00:52
and that's an important backdrop to the
00:00:54
play what's unique to Romeo and Juliet
00:00:57
is that it contains a prologue which
00:00:59
summarizes the entire plot in the
00:01:01
biggest spoiler ever Smith asks what
00:01:04
does it do to our experience of the play
00:01:06
to have this clear statement of what
00:01:08
will happen before it begins well for
00:01:11
one it reminds us of the theme of Fate
00:01:13
that no matter what the characters do to
00:01:15
try and avoid it Romeo and Juliet are
00:01:18
star-crossed lovers are fated to die so
00:01:21
for example we can watch Friar Lawrence
00:01:23
come up with his bizarre plans to try
00:01:24
and make it all turn out okay but we
00:01:27
know because the prologue told us that
00:01:29
they will not work Romeo on Juliet's
00:01:31
Fate has already been decided so by
00:01:34
telling us right away what will happen
00:01:35
in the play it's reinforcing the idea
00:01:37
that these things are inevitable and
00:01:39
that inevitability is a key element of
00:01:42
Fate even the use of the sonnet form for
00:01:44
the prologue reinforces the idea of Fate
00:01:47
the sonnet form has a sense of what
00:01:49
Smith calls syntactical inevitability we
00:01:53
know the rules of a sonnet 14 lines are
00:01:55
a bit pentameter a b a b c d c d e f e f
00:01:59
g g rhyme scheme so again there is a
00:02:02
sense that we know structurally what is
00:02:03
coming next in a sonnet before it even
00:02:05
happens when we read the prologue with
00:02:07
an understanding of the sonnet form
00:02:09
again this reinforces the idea of
00:02:11
inevitability and with it fate finally
00:02:15
Smith points out how inevitability is
00:02:17
also presented in Shakespeare's use of
00:02:19
genre Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy we
00:02:22
know the generic conventions of a
00:02:24
tragedy which include the death of the
00:02:26
tragic hero so again there is a sense of
00:02:28
inescapability to the whole thing just
00:02:31
by the fact the play is a tragedy
00:02:32
Benvolio can tell Romeo to flee after
00:02:35
the killing of tibolt to escape the
00:02:37
punishment of death threatened by the
00:02:39
prince but the audience knows that it's
00:02:41
fated to happen Romeo might Escape for a
00:02:43
moment here but it will catch up with
00:02:45
him another way and so Smith points out
00:02:48
how the prologue its sonnet form and the
00:02:51
genre of the play itself all highlight
00:02:53
the theme of fate and there are other
00:02:55
things we can add to that analysis too
00:02:57
in his 1975 essay the visual Artistry of
00:03:00
Romeo and Juliet James Black points out
00:03:02
how the entire play is filled with
00:03:05
parallel scenes that mirror each other
00:03:07
black refers to what he labels stage
00:03:09
pictures which are shown twice or more
00:03:12
than twice in the play let's look at
00:03:14
some examples in Acts 2 scene 2 Romeo is
00:03:17
in the orchard talking to Juliet who
00:03:19
appears Aloft at the window in act 3
00:03:22
scene 5 the scene starts with Romeo and
00:03:24
Juliet's room but he soon descends and
00:03:27
is once again in the orchard talking to
00:03:29
Juliet above at the the window the two
00:03:32
scenes then are mirror images of each
00:03:34
other as I've explored in my character
00:03:36
analysis video Paris and Romeo are often
00:03:39
seen in parallel moments at the end of
00:03:41
act 1 scene one Benvolio tells Romeo to
00:03:44
take his mind off Rosaline by looking at
00:03:46
other beautiful women in the very next
00:03:48
scene Capulet gives Paris similar advice
00:03:51
Shakespeare employs the same metaphors
00:03:53
for the two characters nurse calls Paris
00:03:56
a man of wax in act 1 scene 3 whilst
00:03:59
fire Lawrence tells Romeo thine Noble
00:04:01
shape is but a form of wax in act 3
00:04:03
scene 3. in act 2 scene 3 Romeo tells
00:04:06
Friar Lawrence how he has fallen in love
00:04:08
with Juliet and Friar Lawrence advises
00:04:10
Romeo to slow down telling him wisely
00:04:13
and slow they stumble that run fast in
00:04:16
act 3 scene 6 Paris tells Friar Lawrence
00:04:19
how the marriage with Juliet is to take
00:04:21
place on Thursday and the friar replies
00:04:23
on Thursday sir the time is very short
00:04:25
so Friar Lawrence cautions both Romeo
00:04:28
and Paris against their hasty deeper
00:04:31
shoot of Juliet in act 2 scene 6 Friar
00:04:34
Lawrence waits in his cell with Romeo
00:04:35
And as Juliet approaches fire Lawrence
00:04:38
says here comes the lady similarly in
00:04:40
Act 4 scene one Friar Lawrence waits in
00:04:42
his cell with Paris and when Juliet
00:04:44
enters fry Lawrence says here comes the
00:04:47
lady and in act 5 scene 3 Paris attends
00:04:50
with this page telling him give me those
00:04:52
flowers whilst Romeo attends with his
00:04:55
servant telling him give me that matuk
00:04:57
and the wrenching iron why might
00:04:59
Shakespeare want the audience to see
00:05:00
Paris and Romeo as similar well we're
00:05:03
once again reminded of the key theme of
00:05:05
fate in the play if it were not for the
00:05:07
fact that Romeo was from the enemy
00:05:09
Montague family the audience realizes
00:05:11
that Romeo could and almost certainly
00:05:13
would be the ones seeking out capulet's
00:05:15
blessing for the marriage he would be
00:05:17
pursuing Juliet in the socially accepted
00:05:20
mode of the day seeing Paris pursue
00:05:22
Juliet this way heightens the sense of
00:05:25
tragedy that the star-crossed lovers
00:05:27
cannot do the same but in a more complex
00:05:29
reading the parallel between Paris and
00:05:31
Romeo are just part of this bigger
00:05:33
picture of parallels in the entire play
00:05:35
and there are many more black points out
00:05:38
how the prince's three appearances are
00:05:40
all mirror images of each other in act 1
00:05:43
scene 1 act 3 scene one and at five
00:05:45
Scene Three we see the prince Lord
00:05:48
Montague and Lord Capulet on stage
00:05:50
together and on all three occasions
00:05:52
Prince stands to arbitrate between the
00:05:55
families another obvious example of
00:05:57
mirroring is seen when Juliet is found
00:05:59
having faked her death in Act 4 scene 5
00:06:01
and then Juliet is found to actually be
00:06:04
dead in act 5 scene 3 and finally as
00:06:07
I've already explored in the Benvolio
00:06:09
character analysis video there are a
00:06:11
number of occasions where a character on
00:06:13
stage retells events that the audience
00:06:16
has already just witnessed in Acts 1
00:06:19
scene one after the brawl Benvolio tells
00:06:21
Montague what has happened then in act 3
00:06:23
scene 1 after the deaths of Mercutio and
00:06:25
tibolt Benvolio tells the prince what
00:06:27
has happened in act 5 scene 3 the fryer
00:06:30
does the same retelling pretty much the
00:06:32
whole plot in these examples the
00:06:35
audience sees something happen and then
00:06:37
immediately after he is a retelling of
00:06:39
the same events so why does the audience
00:06:42
see or hear similar things time and time
00:06:44
again in terms of our key theme of Fate
00:06:46
we can say that the continual repetition
00:06:49
of events reflects how they are
00:06:51
inescapable everything seems to be
00:06:53
cyclical going round and round in
00:06:55
circles it's happened before it'll
00:06:57
happen again Romeo and Juliet's fate is
00:07:00
sealed it's inescapable black makes a
00:07:02
different point though to him things are
00:07:04
always more intense when they are
00:07:06
repeated so in the first balcony scene
00:07:08
Juliet warns Romeo that it's dangerous
00:07:11
for him to be found in the Orchard and
00:07:13
that's a warning Romeo dismisses but by
00:07:15
the second balcony scene all the Rona is
00:07:18
Mortal to him as Romeo has been banished
00:07:21
following the murder of tibolt black
00:07:23
explains the parallels emphasize the
00:07:25
differences things look the same but are
00:07:28
painfully altered and black call this
00:07:31
the process of intensification through
00:07:33
parallel think again about the parallels
00:07:35
of the meetings at Friar Lawrence's cell
00:07:37
yes there are lots of similarities but
00:07:40
Juliet and Romeo met rapturously at
00:07:42
Lawrence's cell whilst the meeting with
00:07:44
Paris is at a time when things have
00:07:46
become much more terrible the friar and
00:07:48
audience know that julieta's secretly
00:07:50
married Romeo that's the Romeo who's
00:07:52
just killed tibolt and been banished and
00:07:55
that she now has been ordered by her
00:07:57
father to marry Paris and how about the
00:08:00
three appearances of the prince in act 1
00:08:02
scene 1 he arrives after a fight but
00:08:04
everyone's still alive in that three
00:08:06
scene one things have intensified and he
00:08:08
arrives shortly after the deaths of
00:08:10
tibolt and Mercutio in act 5 scene 3
00:08:13
things have intensified even further and
00:08:15
he arrives after the deaths of Romeo
00:08:17
Juliet and Paris so here is the key yes
00:08:21
we see the same kind of things happening
00:08:23
time and time again but each time things
00:08:25
are more intense the tension is greater
00:08:28
and of course the conflict is building
00:08:30
up and and up to the final tragic ending
00:08:32
that we all know is coming now in Romeo
00:08:35
and Juliet it's often revealing to
00:08:37
explore the first time an audience meets
00:08:39
a character also sometimes something
00:08:41
happens in the play that doesn't seem to
00:08:43
make sense in terms of what we've come
00:08:45
to expect let's look at some examples
00:08:47
firstly why does the nurse speak in
00:08:50
blank verse when the audience first
00:08:52
meets her in act 1 scene 3. Shakespeare
00:08:55
essentially uses three different types
00:08:57
of speech for characters blank first
00:08:59
prose and rhymed verse blank verse is
00:09:02
iambic pentameter that does not rhyme it
00:09:05
has lines of 10 syllables with
00:09:07
alternating unstressed and stressed
00:09:09
syllables in your copy of the play blank
00:09:11
verse looks like poetry written out on
00:09:13
the page and blank verse is typically
00:09:15
used by upper class characters and the
00:09:18
nobility prose is ordinary written
00:09:20
language there's no rhyme scheme or
00:09:23
specific metrical structure in your copy
00:09:25
of the play prose looks like ordinary
00:09:27
written sentences and paragraphs usually
00:09:30
the prose is given to characters of low
00:09:32
social status or those engaged in comic
00:09:35
scenes rhymed verse is unsurprisingly
00:09:38
lines of verse which rhyme Shakespeare
00:09:40
also uses rhyming couplets two lines
00:09:42
that rhyme often in iambit pentameter to
00:09:45
Signal the end of a scene again it looks
00:09:48
like poetry on the page so in what is a
00:09:50
definite break from the norm Shakespeare
00:09:53
uses blank verse for the Nurse's
00:09:55
dialogue in act 1 scene 3. there are
00:09:57
times later in the play when she drops
00:09:59
into prose like when she jokes with
00:10:01
Juliet but it's significant that the
00:10:03
first time we meet her she's speaking in
00:10:05
blank verse and of course the question
00:10:07
is why why would Shakespeare use blank
00:10:10
verse for a lower class character well
00:10:12
for one Shakespeare is highlighting how
00:10:14
the nurse's character is significant not
00:10:17
to be written off as simply a source of
00:10:19
comic relief the nurse or more
00:10:21
specifically what she symbolizes in the
00:10:23
play is important secondly perhaps
00:10:26
Shakespeare is showing us how nurse
00:10:27
transcends her status as a lower class
00:10:29
character due to the closeness of her
00:10:32
relationship with Juliet nurses
00:10:34
essentially a surrogate parent to Juliet
00:10:36
just like Friar Lawrence's to Romeo and
00:10:39
the blank verse symbolizes this so what
00:10:42
does the nurse symbolize crystal
00:10:44
bartolovic in her piece first as tragedy
00:10:46
then as gender genre history and Romeo
00:10:49
and Juliet explores how the nurse
00:10:51
represents nurturing and comedy
00:10:53
bartonovich points out how nurse not
00:10:55
only nurtures Juliet but also nurtures
00:10:58
the relationship between Romeo and
00:11:00
Juliet after meeting Romeo in act 1
00:11:02
scene 5 Juliet asks nurse to identify
00:11:05
him then an act 2 scene 4 Juliet
00:11:08
confides in her nurse and sent her to
00:11:10
meet Romeo it is the nurse who takes the
00:11:13
rope ladder needed for Romeo to ascend
00:11:15
into Juliet's chamber and the nurse who
00:11:17
sets it up in act 3 scene 2. it's the
00:11:20
nurse who's sent to deliver a message in
00:11:21
a ring to Romeo at Friar Lawrence's cell
00:11:23
in app 3 scene 3 snatching away a dagger
00:11:27
from Romeo who offers to stab himself in
00:11:29
the same scene it's the nurse who warns
00:11:32
Juliet in at 3 scene 5 that her mother's
00:11:34
about to walk into the room and find
00:11:35
Romeo with her and it's the nurse who
00:11:38
stands up to Capulet in the same scene
00:11:40
telling him you are to blame to rate her
00:11:42
so we therefore see very clearly that
00:11:45
the nurse has a nurturing role both
00:11:47
nurturing Juliet but also the
00:11:49
relationship between the two lovers in
00:11:51
terms of Comedy nurses arguably the
00:11:53
funniest character in the entire play
00:11:55
and I don't think I need to go into
00:11:56
examples here but you can see my
00:11:58
character analysis video for a number of
00:12:01
examples now if nurse represents
00:12:04
nurturing and comedy and Shakespeare's
00:12:06
use of blank first presents these as
00:12:08
significant the next question is why
00:12:11
doesn't she appear on stage at the end
00:12:13
of the play this is one of those things
00:12:15
that we would say it doesn't quite make
00:12:16
sense the prologue tells us that Romeo
00:12:19
and Juliet's death will bury their
00:12:21
parents strife and at first glance it
00:12:23
does seem that the play ends on a
00:12:25
positive note with Montague pledging to
00:12:27
create Juliet's statue in pure gold but
00:12:30
is it really really a case of and they
00:12:31
all lived happily ever after Crystal
00:12:33
bartolovich explores the staging at the
00:12:35
end of the play in the final scene who
00:12:38
does the audience see on stage the act 5
00:12:41
scene three stage directions tell us
00:12:43
that there are over a dozen characters
00:12:44
there Paris Paige Romeo Balthazar Friar
00:12:48
Lawrence Juliet first Watchman second
00:12:50
Watchman third Watchman princess
00:12:52
attendance Montague Capulet Lady Capulet
00:12:55
and unnamed others so basically we see
00:12:58
almost everyone except the nurse in
00:13:01
Shakespeare's play Friar Lawrence
00:13:02
explains to the marriage her nurse is
00:13:05
privy but why isn't nurse there to
00:13:07
explain her side of the story her
00:13:09
absence at the end of the play is all
00:13:11
the more notable bartolovic points out
00:13:13
because the Arthur Brooke poem Romeos
00:13:15
and Juliet from 1562 and the text known
00:13:19
as the principal source for
00:13:21
Shakespeare's play does mention the
00:13:23
nurse at the end telling us the nurse of
00:13:25
Juliet is banished in her age so why
00:13:27
does Shakespeare leave the nurse out
00:13:29
well I I asked Crystal bartolovic about
00:13:32
this and I'm going to use her reply with
00:13:34
permission as it's so helpful to those
00:13:36
of us studying the play what I was
00:13:38
trying to suggest is that the ending of
00:13:39
the play presents us with tragic social
00:13:42
order from which the nurse is
00:13:43
specifically excluded because she
00:13:46
represents attributes that are also
00:13:48
absent from the unredeemed social order
00:13:50
we have at the end of the play nurturing
00:13:53
and comedy so the ending of the play
00:13:55
does contain some positive resolution as
00:13:57
the prologue told us it does bury their
00:13:59
parents Strife however the absence of
00:14:02
nurse on stage reminds us that this is
00:14:04
not the case for everyone the nurse and
00:14:07
the nurturing and comedy she represents
00:14:09
has disappeared forever another
00:14:11
interesting first character appearance
00:14:13
is that of Friar Lawrence Shakespeare
00:14:15
introduces fire Lawrence in act 2 scene
00:14:18
3 with the character giving a very long
00:14:20
speech about the power of plants when
00:14:22
Romeo arrives his speech is 30 lines
00:14:25
long about a topic which seems
00:14:27
inconsequential why does Shakespeare do
00:14:30
this the fire explains how within the
00:14:32
infant rind of this small flower poison
00:14:34
hath residents and Medicine power in
00:14:37
other words some plants have the
00:14:38
capacity for both good and evil
00:14:41
depending on how they are used this
00:14:43
speech foreshadows the apothecary's use
00:14:45
of poison later in the play but it can
00:14:47
also be seen as a significant part of
00:14:50
the Friar's character Jonathan Marx
00:14:52
writes Friar Lawrence reads Vice and
00:14:55
virtue Grace and Rebellion into nature
00:14:57
but he thinks that the virtual Vice of
00:15:00
things depends on their right or wrong
00:15:02
use and that he is capable of
00:15:04
distinguishing between right and wrong
00:15:05
use and even of transforming Vice into
00:15:08
virtue through his knowledge virtue and
00:15:11
vice Grace and Rebellion are objects to
00:15:13
be manipulated by the Noah of nature the
00:15:16
Friar's activities suggest that he
00:15:18
thinks he can use human beings just as
00:15:21
he uses herbs he attempts to use Romeo
00:15:24
and Juliet to make peace between the
00:15:26
montagues and capulets concerning
00:15:28
himself more with this objective than
00:15:30
and The Souls of the young lovers we
00:15:32
therefore see a friar who mistakenly
00:15:34
thinks his skill with plants can be
00:15:36
applied to the world of humans and the
00:15:38
results of his thinking are of course
00:15:40
tragic
00:15:42
it's also interesting to think about the
00:15:44
first time we meet Benvolio let's look
00:15:46
at benvolio's first lines partfuls put
00:15:49
up your swords you know not what you do
00:15:51
the phrase you know not what you do
00:15:53
would remind the Contemporary audience
00:15:54
of the words of Jesus in the Bible in
00:15:56
which he says father forgive them for
00:15:58
they know not what they do this biblical
00:16:00
Echo is all the more impactful when we
00:16:03
consider Shakespeare's use of structure
00:16:04
Sampson and Gregory's sexual innuendo
00:16:07
and puns from just moments before
00:16:09
contrast greatly with benvolio's
00:16:11
religious language when we add the fact
00:16:13
that the name Benvolio translates
00:16:15
roughly to Peacekeeper the audience
00:16:17
might assume that he will fulfill a
00:16:19
christ-like religious role in the play
00:16:21
and there is some truth to this although
00:16:23
it's not clear-cut and I explore that in
00:16:26
my Benvolio character analysis video but
00:16:28
even if we take Benvolio at his best and
00:16:31
see him as a peacekeeper and
00:16:33
semi-religious figure he's still unable
00:16:36
to stop things that are fated to happen
00:16:38
if Romeo and Juliet are star crossed as
00:16:41
the prologue suggests then nothing is
00:16:43
unable to prevent their deaths even the
00:16:45
christ-like Benvolio fits into this
00:16:48
despite his best efforts he cannot
00:16:50
prevent the tragedy from unfolding
00:16:52
despite trying to stop the fight in act
00:16:54
1 scene 1 the fighting continues despite
00:16:57
trying to prevent a fight in act 1 scene
00:16:59
3 there is a fight despite bending the
00:17:01
truth in his report to the prince in act
00:17:03
3 scene 1 in order to prevent Romeo's
00:17:06
death Romeo dies anyway we therefore see
00:17:09
that despite his best efforts and
00:17:11
semi-religious Status Benvolio is unable
00:17:13
to prevent things from happening and his
00:17:16
character reminds the audience that fate
00:17:18
determines what takes place in life
00:17:20
something else that doesn't make a whole
00:17:22
lot of sense is the sudden change in
00:17:24
paris's characterization up until act
00:17:27
five Shakespeare presents Paris in an
00:17:29
overly negative manner interestingly in
00:17:31
act 5 Paris suddenly comes to life as a
00:17:34
character in his own right for a start
00:17:36
we get the sense that Paris truly cares
00:17:38
about Juliet as he goes to cover her
00:17:40
tomb with flowers thinking Romeo has
00:17:43
come to the tomb to do some villainous
00:17:44
shame to the dead bodies he ends up
00:17:46
fighting him and Romeo kills Paris as he
00:17:49
dies Paris asks Romeo to lay me with
00:17:52
Juliet to which Romeo agrees paris's
00:17:55
actions here are not those of a villain
00:17:57
or a bumbling idiot as we've seen in the
00:17:59
first four acts they are heroic and More
00:18:02
in line with what we've come to know of
00:18:04
Romeo even Romeo sees how similar he is
00:18:07
to Paris saying oh give me thy hand one
00:18:09
writ with me in sour misfortune's book
00:18:12
so why does Shakespeare present Paris so
00:18:15
valiantly in this Final Act well in
00:18:18
Shakespearean tragedy and it's double
00:18:19
Kent Cartwright States paris's very
00:18:22
position as Romeo's antagonist makes him
00:18:25
of course the reprise of tibult an
00:18:27
antagonist is a character or sometimes a
00:18:29
group of characters who acts in
00:18:31
opposition to the protagonist the main
00:18:33
character the protagonist Romeo wants to
00:18:35
be with Juliet but the antagonist Paris
00:18:38
gets in his way resulting in a fight to
00:18:40
the death what's so clever ever is that
00:18:43
now the previous antagonist tibolt is
00:18:45
dead Shakespeare needed someone else to
00:18:47
take on the role to keep the dramatic
00:18:49
tension high and for this reason the
00:18:52
previously one-dimensional idiotic Paris
00:18:55
now transforms into a brave and heroic
00:18:57
character willing to fight to the death
00:19:00
to defend the honor of Juliet and so
00:19:03
whilst at first glance Paris seems
00:19:05
little more than a one-dimensional
00:19:06
villain Shakespeare draws parallels
00:19:08
between him and Romeo transforming his
00:19:10
character into something much more
00:19:12
significant as the play comes to a close
00:19:14
another interesting point is how it
00:19:17
doesn't make sense how quickly Lord
00:19:18
Capulet changes his mind about Paris
00:19:21
marrying Juliet in act 1 scene 2 Capulet
00:19:24
told Paris to woo Juliet for himself but
00:19:27
in act 3 scene 4 the very next day
00:19:30
Capulet suddenly decides the marriage
00:19:32
will go ahead in a couple of days time I
00:19:34
think she will be ruled in all respects
00:19:36
by me Namor I doubt it not so what has
00:19:40
changed we know for certain and that
00:19:42
Paris has not had a chance to woo Juliet
00:19:44
she gave her attention to Romeo at the
00:19:47
ball why is Capulet changed his mind
00:19:49
today we instinctively know that
00:19:51
capulet's actions are wrong we know that
00:19:53
Juliet should be making her own choices
00:19:55
about whom she marries but in
00:19:57
Elizabethan England an audience would
00:19:59
not necessarily feel the same way
00:20:01
arranged marriages were common for
00:20:03
upper-class families so what does
00:20:05
Shakespeare want his audience to think
00:20:06
about Capulet and his patriarchal
00:20:09
control whilst an Elizabethan audience
00:20:11
would have been familiar with capulet's
00:20:13
position to choose his daughter's
00:20:14
husband what no audience would be able
00:20:17
to understand is his Sudden Change of
00:20:19
Mind Shakespeare is implying very
00:20:21
clearly that Capulet and what he
00:20:24
symbolizes is wrong it's similar to Mr
00:20:26
Burling in An Inspector Calls the
00:20:29
dramatic irony of him saying the Germans
00:20:31
don't want war and the Titanic is
00:20:32
Unsinkable is used to ridicule the
00:20:35
character and by extension what he
00:20:37
stands for and it's the same with
00:20:39
Capulet his complete change of mind
00:20:41
ridicules him as a character and
00:20:43
therefore ridicules what he stands for
00:20:45
which is the patriarchy patriarchy is a
00:20:48
system in which men possess power and
00:20:50
women are excluded from it patriarchy
00:20:52
also refers specifically to a family
00:20:54
where the father is in control and we
00:20:57
see both in Romeo and Juliet Juliet's
00:20:59
father decides whom she marries and when
00:21:01
Paris discusses his marriage proposal
00:21:04
with Lord Capulet not with Juliet so is
00:21:07
Shakespeare endorsing patriarchy or
00:21:09
criticizing it in one way we can see the
00:21:12
play as an endorsement of patriarchal
00:21:14
control the two lovers who break the
00:21:16
rules end up dead after all but
00:21:18
capulet's sudden change of mind
00:21:20
undermines his character by extension
00:21:22
this undermines what he represents about
00:21:25
patriarchal control let's finish with an
00:21:28
idea about the parallels between Romeo
00:21:30
and Juliet Romeo and Juliet are both
00:21:32
young Juliet is 13 we know this from act
00:21:35
1 scene 2 where capuleta explains she
00:21:38
hath not seen the change of 14 years in
00:21:41
other words she hasn't yet had her 14th
00:21:43
birthday and we don't have a clear
00:21:45
indication of Romeo's age but we can be
00:21:48
certain he is still an adolescent like
00:21:49
Juliet one piece of evidence for this is
00:21:52
that he still lives with his parents
00:21:54
seen when they tell Benvolio in act 1
00:21:56
scene one how Romeo private in his
00:21:58
chamber pens himself meaning he locks
00:22:01
himself in his bedroom secondly as Susan
00:22:03
Snyder points out in Shakespeare a
00:22:05
wayward journey in the same scene
00:22:07
Montague says that Romeo is like the bud
00:22:10
bit with an envious worm here he can
00:22:12
spread his sweet leaves to the air this
00:22:15
imagery suggests Romeo has not yet
00:22:17
arrived at maturity he's still a bud a
00:22:19
bud is a part of a plant which is not
00:22:21
yet developed into a leaf or flower
00:22:23
Shakespeare also uses structure to draw
00:22:26
parallels between the Youth of Romeo and
00:22:28
Juliet before we meet Romeo himself his
00:22:32
parents talk about him with concern and
00:22:34
the same can be said with Juliet Snyder
00:22:37
notes how each of the two protagonists
00:22:39
is introduced to us first as the
00:22:41
objective parental concern before we
00:22:44
meet Romeo we learn that his parents are
00:22:46
worried about his sadness in act 1 scene
00:22:48
1 and in the very next scene Capulet is
00:22:51
working on his daughter's future through
00:22:52
negotiating her marriage to Paris
00:22:54
Shakespeare's used to structure is key
00:22:56
here not only are these two scenes
00:22:59
consecutive to highlight the
00:23:00
similarities between the two but the way
00:23:02
in which both are spoken about by their
00:23:04
parents before we as an audience meet
00:23:06
them highlights how they are both
00:23:08
adolescents now just like with James
00:23:10
Black's work when we consider the
00:23:12
similarities between the two characters
00:23:14
it makes the differences all the more
00:23:16
noticeable let's look at one of those
00:23:19
differences in terms of setting here is
00:23:21
a list of every setting in the play
00:23:24
let's look at where we see Romeo
00:23:27
and where we see Juliet in the play
00:23:30
there are two things to note here
00:23:32
firstly Juliet rarely leaves her parents
00:23:35
property in fact she only does so when
00:23:37
she heads to fry Lawrence's cell she's
00:23:39
Beer's use of setting reminds us of the
00:23:41
patriarchal society in which Juliet
00:23:43
lives the use of satin for Juliet
00:23:45
reinforces this apart from a brief visit
00:23:48
to the friar in Act 4 scene 1 Juliet is
00:23:51
always seen in her father's property in
00:23:53
stark contrast to this not only is Romeo
00:23:56
never seen at home the Montague
00:23:59
household doesn't even feature as a
00:24:00
setting in the play but as arati kanikia
00:24:04
points out in architecture's pre-tax
00:24:06
spaces of translation Romeo's presence
00:24:09
can be traced at every location that is
00:24:11
mentioned in the play so Romeo
00:24:14
essentially appears everywhere at some
00:24:15
point or another whilst Juliet remains
00:24:18
at home Romeo is free to roam the
00:24:20
streets is bold enough to enter the
00:24:21
property of his sworn enemy juniat is in
00:24:24
bondage whilst Romeo is not the
00:24:26
differing expectations of a young man
00:24:28
and a young woman in Elizabeth Eastern
00:24:30
England are evident through the
00:24:32
locations in which the characters appear
00:24:34
Juliet is cautious because she has to be
00:24:37
she doesn't have the same Freedom as
00:24:38
Romeo not because of any age difference
00:24:41
but because of patriarchal society and
00:24:43
its treatment of women if you found this
00:24:46
video useful please do give it a thumbs
00:24:48
up and subscribe to the channel
