TSL650

INTRODUCTION TO SHAKESPEARE

Assignment 1
Romeo and Juliet
Name

: Afina Nazira Bt Afnizul

Student ID

: 2012819882

Class

: ED220/6B

Date of Submission : 8th May 2015

Question 2
Discuss the relationship between parents and children in Romeo
and Juliet. How do Romeo and Juliet interact with their parents?
Are they rebellious in modern sense? How do their parents feel
about them?
And with my child my joys are buried- Act 4, Scene 5, Lord Capulet
The epic love story called Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
has lasted in the mind of the readers throughout the years due to the
unconditional love between the two legendary figures in the play. Even
though the main theme of the play is love, it is undeniable that there are
some major themes in this play that contribute to the greatness of the
story. One of the significant themes depicted in the play is parenthood, as
in this play Romeo and Juliet is highly bounded with their parents and the
relationship between these characters have a great impact on the climax
and the resolution of the play.
The relationship between Romeo and the Montagues could be said
as the typical relationship between a teenage boy and his parents. In the
story, the Old Montague and his wife are portrayed as caring parents but
only on the wellbeing of their son. At the beginning of the play, when
Romeo is still in state of weeping remembering over Rosaline, Lady
Montague asks Romeos cousin Benvolio about her son as she says, "O,
where is Romeo? saw you him to-day? / Right glad I am he was not at this
fray". At this line, Lady Montague shows her motherly instinct and concern
about his son. However, the concern about his son is only at the surface
as she does not worry about the emotional state of Romeo which is more
necessary rather than just knowing where Romeo is. On the other hand,
Old Montague does show his concern his son when he says "the bud bit
with an envious worm, / Ere he can spread his sweet leaves to the air, / Or
dedicate his beauty to the sun". Through this line, it could be said that the
Old Montague

worries that Romeos future could be affected if he

continues crying and weeping over Rosaline.

Despite the love and care showed by Montague towards Romeo, the
feeling does not seem to be reciprocal. In Act 2, Scene 2, Romeo himself
states that he wants to give up his name for Juliet, when at this moment
they just met each other after the party. I take thee at thy word: Call me
but love, and I will be new baptisd;henceforth I never will be Romeo.
This famous line by Romeo shows how great his love is towards Juliet for
he gives up his name for Juliet. Their families are meant to be enemies
and they have had their history. However, the only child of the Montague
seems to be very ignorant about it and put his feelings before his familys
feelings. This shows Romeo does not have the respect towards his familys
name and history.
On the other hand, the Capulets seem to have different style of
parenting as compared to the Montagues. The Montagues are portrayed to
be more understanding while the Capulets could be said as more
authoritative towards Juliet. Old Capulet seems to have the absolute
power in determining his daughters future as Old Capulet mentions to
Paris, in Act 1 Scene 2 that "My will to her consent is but a part" which
shows that he is the one who is in-charged in making decision for Juliet.
And when Juliet says that she does not want to be married, Old Capulet
mentions vulgar words to his daughter which shows that he does not like
his power or decision to be questioned by Juliet. This relationship between
Old Capulet and Juliet is very alien in the modern society nowadays as
parents, especially in the Western seems to be more understanding and
lenient in rising up their children. This authoritarian parenting shows by
the Capulets is very orthodox and old-fashioned as the child is dictated to
do or to be prohibited in doing something.
Apart from the strict relationship between the Old Capulet and his
daughter, Lady Capulet and Juliet seem to have a different kind of
association. In the play, it could be said that Juliet has two mothers, which
are Lady Capulet, the woman who gave birth to her and the Nurse raises
and nurtures Juliet. Juliet seems to be way closer to Nurse rather than her
mother as she would always refers Lady Capulet by Madam. Not only that,

if we look closely to the text, Juliet uses more informal language with the
Nurse and she is very formal with Lady Capulet. This proves that Juliet has
more gaps to her mother as compared to the Nurse. People tend to use
formal language for serious matter or when conversing with someone who
they do not know that well. It is used to put some border and most of the
time, formal language shows little to no evidence of affection and feelings
and this is the signal that the relationship between Juliet and her mother is
very distant. In contrast, the bond between Juliet and the Nurse is more
informal and loving. Juliet is called by some nicknames by the Nurse as
she is referred as ladybird and lamb. These nicknames called by the
Nurse portrays that she as an intimate relationship with Juliet even though
she is actually Juliets subordinate. This type of relationship between a
mother and her daughter is normal in that era as it is not unusual for the
children to be closer to their caretakers rather than her mother, thus
Shakespeare has perfectly brought the readers by giving us the glimpse of
the norms in the era back then.
It could be assumed that one of the reasons why Romeo and Juliet
marry each other in secrecy is the distant relationship that they have with
their parents. The environment and the type of parenting that these two
families have do not welcome their children to open up about their
feelings let alone their marriage. Even though the major factor that
prohibits this couple to be together is the history of the families, I
personally think it could be solved if and only if the parents have more
tolerance and acceptance towards their childrens feelings. If the parents
are willing to put aside their past, the tragedy is less likely to happen. And
in order for it to happen, communication is the key which is obviously
lacking between the Montague and the Capulets. Romeo seems to be
more open to Friar Lawrence and Juliet only shares her feelings to the
Nurse. Even though Friar Lawrence and the Nurse could help these
lovebirds to be together, Old Capulet and Old Montague are the ones who
have to powers in manipulating the strings to the puppets which are
Romeo and Juliet.

It is undeniable that Romeo and Juliet are considered to be

rebellious in the traditional and modern sense. Even if the story is put in
this era, nothing could make Romeo and Juliet to have the right in killing
themselves and leave their families. Firstly, they are still minors which
mean that they still need guidance from their parents. They still need
advice from their parents as their parents are the mature figures in their
lives. Secondly, there must be reasons why these two families are
enemies and they, Romeo and Juliet must at least know about it first
before doing anything that could risk their life. Parents must have reason
in doing something for their children and no parents want to destroy the
children that they have raised. Romeo and Juliet must not be too selfcentered in making any decision and fully neglect their parents feelings
and decision.
The points aforementioned discussed about how selfish it is for
Romeo and Juliet to kill themselves for each other. However, in my
opinion, it takes two to tango as the Capulets and the Montagues should
also be blamed for the tragedy. At the end of play, it could be seen that
both Montagues and Capulets are sad about the loss of their children.
They finally put aside their past when Romeo and Juliet are gone. Despite
the cold and formal relationship that the Capulets have with Juliet, Old
Capulet still indeed weep when he lost Juliet and says, and with my child
my joys are buried. It shows that his happiness is very much dependent
to his daughter Juliet. As we have seen that parenthood in Romeo and
Juliet does play a major role in the turning point of the play it cannot be
immutable. Even though this play was written 400 years back, the values
are still relatable to the readers nowadays and it shows how great is
Shakespeare in working his magic through his legendary play, Romeo and
Juliet.