Religious Imagery in “Romeo and Juliet”: Echoes of Shakespeare’s Outsider Status

Shakespeare was an outcast. To explain how he was a social outcast, Shakespeare uses nurture, nature, gender, and religion. Romeo and Juliet is a play about a rivalry between two families that leads to a death-defying love story. Shakespeare creates his autobiography through Romeo and Juliet because he uses multiple lenses, leading to the ultimate suicide.

Nurture and Parental Figures

To begin with, Shakespeare used nurture in Romeo and Juliet to explain his parental figures. In Romeo and Juliet, the nurse is a mother figure to Juliet, and Friar Lawrence is a father figure to Romeo.

The play exclaims: “On Lammas Eve at night shall she be fourteen. That shall she. Marry, I remember it well. ‘Tis since the earthquake now eleven years, and she was weaned (Shakespeare).” This quote explains how the nurse raised and nursed Juliet as a baby. The play also reads: “Good morrow, father.” Started by Romeo. “That is my good son. However, where hast thou been, then?” Started by Friar Lawrence (Shakespeare). This quote presents the relationship between Romeo and Friar as very father-son-like.

Nature and Familial Legacy

Shakespeare shows his relationship with his parents through the parenting of Romeo and Juliet. William Shakespeare’s parents had a successful start when they married, but as time passed, they had to pull their children out of school to help with finances. William, growing up, had to deal with working parents trying to get themselves out of debt, which caused the parents to have a weak bond with their children (The Parents of William Shakespeare). Shakespeare’s society was going through an epidemic, so most adults chose not to have children. William was born during this time, and because his parents did not cherish that, he was an outcast to other families. William Shakespeare used nurture in his play to display his relationship with his parents and how that made him an outcast.

Furthermore, Shakespeare used nature in Romeo and Juliet to outbring the environment he was in when he was born and how that made him an outcast. Shakespeare’s birth date was assumed on April 23, 1564, and the black death ended in 1665. He was born during the epidemic, while many others chose not to conceive. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare has Romeo and Juliet born and raised in wealthy and dominant households. The issue was that both families exceedingly hated each other because they competed. A passage quotes: “There is no real evidence of the events which lead to John’s downfall and how he descended from being a pillar of the community, and wealthy businessman, to a debtor whose only possession was a house on Henley Street (The Parents of William Shakespeare).”

This quote explains how William Shakespeare’s father went from a wealthy businessman to a man with nothing. This quote closely relates to how Romeo and Juliet grew up in wealthy households but eventually lost everything. The playwright: “The statue I will make of Romeo to lie beside his Juliet will be just as rich. They were poor sacrifices of our rivalry (William Shakespeare) .” This quote shows that the children grew up in wealthy houses with severe rivalry. As Williams’s dad lost everything to competition with work, the Capulets and Montagues lost everything to competition with each other. These relate to nature because Romeo and Juliet grew up in these households and were outcasts to each other, like Shakespeare was an outcast to the community because of his father’s sudden death. Shakespeare used nature in Romeo and Juliet to represent the household he was born in.

Gender Roles and Personal Relationships

To add, gender plays an enormous role in Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare showed women as a minority to men in the play. The play remarks, “‘Tis true; therefore women, being the weaker vessels, are ever thrust to the wall. Therefore, I will push Montague’s men from the wall and thrust his maids to the wall (William Shakespeare).” This quote shows how Shakespeare viewed women as weak. This relates to how Shakespeare was an outcast because he was gay. A quote from Shakespeare reads: “I give unto my wife my second best bed.” This quote shows how Shakespeare gave his wife one thing when he died: the second-best bed. When a woman became a widow, she became the “guest.”

While married, the couple has the second-best bed, also known as the marital bed. The best bed is for the guest, but when Shakespeare died, he gave his wife the second best. Shakespeare was viewed as an outcast for being gay and giving his wife only second best. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare shows women as insignificant because of his love for men.

Religion: An Emblem of Otherness

To continue, Shakespeare used religion in Romeo and Juliet to represent the religion he grew up in and how that made him an outcast. Shakespeare was raised a catholic in a country of protestants. A passage quotes, “This was significant as England, at the time, was fiercely protestant and Catholics were viewed with real suspicion and often sheer hatred (The Parents of William Shakespeare).” This quote shows how Shakespeare was in a religion that made his family outcasts. The play quotes: “His brave spirit has floated up to heaven, but it was too early for him to leave the life of earth (William Shakespeare).” This quote shows how Shakespeare used his religion in Romeo and Juliet, even when it was a disgrace to his community. To coincide with this statement, Shakespeare used the loved ones of Romeo and Juliet to be even more religious when they died. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare used religion to represent the religion he grew up in.

In contrast to Shakespeare being an outcast, people say William fits into society. Although he was highly successful, he still was considered different. Shakespeare took on the job of being a playwright and actor, which was unique at the time. A passage states: “Having gained recognition as an actor and playwright, Shakespeare had ruffled a few feathers along the way (William Shakespeare).” This quote explains how Shakespeare pursued an acting career but was judged by many. Furthermore, Shakespeare and his wife, Anne Hathaway, got pregnant before marriage.

A text writes: “The scandal to the family and his mother and father caused by the conception of a child, by a much older, outside of marriage must have caused immense gossip in the community and would have blackened the family name still further (The Parents of William Shakespeare).” This quote explains how Williams’s decisions as a young adult caused him to be an outcast. Although Shakespeare had a successful career, it came with prices to pay.

In conclusion, Shakespeare creates his autobiography through Romeo and Juliet through multiple lenses, leading to his ultimate suicide. Shakespeare uses nurture, nature, gender, and religion in Romeo and Juliet to explain how he is an outcast. He went through scandals and bumpy roads to be successful, but that made him different. Being an outcast is not always unacceptable, but it causes hardship.

Reference

1. Shakespeare, W. (1597). Romeo and Juliet. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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