Romeo and Juliet As a Reflection Of Shakespeare's Love Life

Categories: Romeo And Juliet William Shakespeare

Reflection, Pages 7 (1700 words)

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During Shakespeare's time only men were allowed to act, as a result, the relationships that he created onstage may have affected his love life at home. This situation has caused people to consider the fact that Shakespeare could have possibly been gay although he was already married. This relates to Romeo and Juliet because he is falls in love with his second person of interest. Therefore, Romeo and Juliet is a reflection of Shakespeare's love life because it addresses almost the same situation, and he uses similar characters properties.

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The background of William Shakespeare is an elaborate story of a man that will always be remembered and his actions will forever have an effect on our lives. His background will also in any ways relate to Romeo's in the story of Rome and Juliet. 'William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright and actor, widely regarded as both the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the 'Bard of Avon'.

His extant works, including collaborations, consist of approximately 39 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. This evidences provides a detailed background of Shakespeare's life therefore we understand a little more about him. The passage also says, ' Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England he was an important member of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men company of theatrical players from roughly 1594 onward.

Written records give little indication of the way in which Shakespeare’s professional life molded his artistry. All that can be deduced is that, in his 20 years as a playwright, Shakespeare wrote plays that capture the complete range of human emotion and conflict'. This piece elaborates on what his situation was and what could have led to him cheating on his wife with another man. To conclude, the evidence provided in the text helps getting a better understanding of Shakespeare's background.

In addition, it is important that the issue is addressed therefore the comparison will make sense. The rumor goes like this, apparently Shakespeare was not entirely satisfied with his wife, Anne Hathaway, at home. For the time being, everyday he would be at theatre acting and rehearsing. During the time in which Shakespeare acted, only men were allowed to act. Therefore, men were required to play the roles of females too in all types of genres which include tragedy, romance, and comedy. This may have led to Shakespeare creating strong relationships with the ones he acted each day with. The attention he was being given at the theatre may have been more than what he was being given at home with his wife. This may have lead to Shakespeare cheating on his wife with another man. 'The sexuality of William Shakespeare has been the subject of recurring debate. It is known from public records that he married Anne Hathaway and that they had three children; scholars have analysed Shakespeare's sonnets are cited as evidence of his bisexuality. The poems were initially published, perhaps without his approval, in 1609. One hundred twenty-six of them appear to be love poems addressed to a young man known as the 'Fair Lord' or 'Fair Youth'; this is often assumed to be the same person as the 'Mr W.H.' to whom the sonnets are dedicated. The identity of this figure (if he is indeed based on a real person) is unclear; the most popular candidates are Shakespeare's patrons, Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton and William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, both of whom were considered handsome in their youth. The only explicit references to sexual acts or physical lust occur in the Dark Lady sonnets, which unambiguously state that the poet and the Lady are lovers. Nevertheless, there are numerous passages in the sonnets addressed to the Fair Lord that have been read as expressing desire for a younger man. In Sonnet 13, he is called 'dear my love', and Sonnet 15 announces that the poet is at 'war with Time for love of you.' Sonnet 18 asks 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? / Thou art more lovely and more temperate', and in Sonnet 20 the narrator calls the younger man the 'master-mistress of my passion. This piece shows support to the idea that he may be gay and writing for another man. He expressed a lot of his emotions through his writing. In summary, William Shakespeare expressed man of his feelings through his writing which hints at him being possibly gay.

The summary of Romeo and Juliet is important to know therefore you can compare Shakespeare's situation to the conflict and change of events in Romeo and Juliet. A play, set in Verona, Italy, begins with a street brawl between Montague and Capulet servants who, like their masters, are sworn enemies. Prince Escalus of Verona intervenes and declares that further breach of the peace will be punishable by death. Later, Count Paris talks to Capulet about marrying his daughter Juliet, but Capulet asks Paris to wait another two years and invites him to attend a planned Capulet ball. Lady Capulet and Juliet's nurse try to persuade Juliet to accept Paris's courtship. Meanwhile, Benvolio talks with his cousin Romeo, Montague's son, about Romeo's recent depression. Benvolio discovers that it stems from unrequited infatuation for a girl named Rosaline, one of Capulet's nieces. Persuaded by Benvolio and Mercutio, Romeo attends the ball at the Capulet house in hopes of meeting Rosaline. However, Romeo instead meets and falls in love with Juliet. Juliet's cousin, Tybalt, is enraged at Romeo for sneaking into the ball but is only stopped from killing Romeo by Juliet's father, who does not wish to shed blood in his house. After the ball, in what is now called the 'balcony scene', Romeo sneaks into the Capulet orchard and overhears Juliet at her window vowing her love to him in spite of her family's hatred of the Montagues. Romeo makes himself known to her and they agree to be married. With the help of Friar Laurence, who hopes to reconcile the two families through their children's union, they are secretly married the next day. Tybalt, meanwhile, still incensed that Romeo had snuck into the Capulet ball, challenges him to a duel. Romeo, now considering Tybalt his kinsman, refuses to fight. Mercutio is offended by Tybalt's insolence, as well as Romeo's 'vile submission', and accepts the duel on Romeo's behalf. Mercutio is fatally wounded when Romeo attempts to break up the fight. Grief-stricken and wracked with guilt, Romeo confronts and slays Tybalt. Benvolio argues that Romeo has justly executed Tybalt for the murder of Mercutio. The Prince, now having lost a kinsman in the warring families' feud, exiles Romeo from Verona, under penalty of death if he ever returns. Romeo secretly spends the night in Juliet's chamber, where they consummate their marriage. Capulet, misinterpreting Juliet's grief, agrees to marry her to Count Paris and threatens to disown her when she refuses to become Paris's 'joyful bride'. When she then pleads for the marriage to be delayed, her mother rejects her. Juliet visits Friar Laurence for help, and he offers her a potion that will put her into a deathlike coma for 'two and forty hours'. The Friar promises to send a messenger to inform Romeo of the plan so that he can rejoin her when she awakens. On the night before the wedding, she takes the drug and, when discovered apparently dead, she is laid in the family crypt. The messenger, however, does not reach Romeo and, instead, Romeo learns of Juliet's apparent death from his servant, Balthasar. (Romeo and Juliet). To sum it up, the story of Romeo and Juliet relates to Shakespeare's situation and is important to know when drawing comparisons.

The love story of Romeo and Juliet relates to his situation in many ways. In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo starts off liking Roseline and is very attracted to her. This relates to how Shakespeare had a strong relationship with Anne Hathaway, his wife. Later in the story Romeo starts to loose feelings for Roseline as time goes on. He starts to see and be around Juliet a lot more and he starts to bulid intrest toward her. In a matter of time he had liked her and fell in love with her. This also compares to Shakespeare's affair because Shakespeare initially was in love with his wife, Anne Hathaway, and was not completely satisfied. Similar to Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare fell in love with someone else that he saw almost everyday. In final, the rumor of Shakespeare's 'gay affairs' similarly goes about how the story of Romeo and Juliet does.

Shakespeare may have made this story as representation of his life for multiple reasons. Firstly, Shakespeare could have written this play the way he wrote it to teach people a lesson. There are many things to learn from the story that could actually happen in today's society. Therefore, there is a high chance he made this story to teach a lesson. In addition, Shakespeare could have scripted and made the change of events the way he did because he did not know how to express his own feelings. There is a chance Shakespeare wanted to express his feelings but not face to face with one another. With that being said, he used the story of Romeo and Juliet to express what he was holding in. Briefly, Shakespeare could have used Romeo and Juliet as an indirect message to the people around him and an expression of his feelings and situation.

In the end, Romeo and Juliet is a reflection of Shakespeare's love life because it addresses almost the same situation as the story, and Romeo shares the same character traits. The plot structure and change of events is closely related to the situation that Shakespeare may have been part of. This could be a result of him not wanting to directly express his feelings to ones around him so he used Romeo and Juliet as an outlet. Therefore, this creates a high chance of cheating on his wife with another man.