ROMEO AND JULIET

COMEDY OR Romeo and Juliet is characterised by elements both of comedy and tragedy.
TRAGEDY It is a comedy because it begins with the material for a comedy but in the
end knowledge is only for the protagonists.
It is a tragedy on account of the tragic role played by chance; the
protagonists must fight against external forces but they experience no inner
struggle.
SETTING The play is setting in the Italian city of Verona.
The social context of the play arises from the struggles between two
families, the Capulets and Montagues.

CHARACTER Romeo Montague is presented as a man belonging to the “courtly love

S convention”.
Juliet is presented as a lady who is chaste and impossible.
At the beginning she appears as an obedient child. Her first meeting with
Romeo causes her to move towards maturity. She belongs to no
characterisation, classification or idealisation.

THEMES  The power of love.

 Passion and violence.
 Individual against society.
 The power of fate.
STYLE The rhythm is regular, rhymes are common.
Imagery is all about oxymora.