The age of Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and along with Hamlet, is one of his mos…
What is the age difference between Romeo and Juliet?
Romeo And Juliet Age. The age difference is about 3 years. Juliet-13 Romeo-16. Romeo was 18 and Juliet was 13. Here's the jist of it. My daughter lied to her fiance and told him she was 17. The boyfriend moved in to the house with my daughter, her sister and my ex-husband @ which time the boyfriend having doubts as to whether my daughter was 17 (due to the fact she was in the ninth grade) as the father was she truly 17 and he agreed yes she had repeated the 1st and ninth grade and of course ...
Was Romeo older than Juliet?
There is no hard evidence in the play to suggest how old Romeo is. It is generally assumed, however, that he and his friends are probably, while older than Juliet , not older to an enormous degree. Consider the way they behave: Romeo, in particular, is still afflicted with the...
How old were Romeo and Juliet in the original play?
William Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet in the 1590s. (Getty Images) Shakespeare is believed to have written the play some time between 1591 and 1595, although it wasn’t published as a text until 1597.
What is the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet?
“The doomed lovers attempt to find their way through the colour and action of Renaissance Verona, where a busy market all too quickly bursts into sword fighting and a family feud leads to tragedy for both the Montagues and the Capulets.
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What ages were Romeo and Juliet?
Because actors ostensibly need training and skill to navigate Shakespeare's words, most productions of Romeo and Juliet cast performers who are older than the characters as he wrote them: Juliet is 13 (“she hath not seen the change of fourteen years,” according to her father); Romeo's age is unspecified, but he's ...28-Oct-2021
Is Juliet almost 14?
Juliet is thirteen, but the word “thirteen” never appears in Romeo and Juliet . Instead we are repeatedly told that she is not yet fourteen. The fact that Juliet's father is looking forward to a birthday she will never reach emphasizes that Juliet's life is cut very short.
At what age Romeo and Juliet died?
The formation of this plan causes the final tragic moments of the play. Juliet is just shy of her fourteenth birthday. Romeo's age isn't implicitly stated in the play, but it's assumed he is just a bit older – perhaps fifteen years old. Their youthfulness may explain some of their hasty decision-making.02-Dec-2021
How old was Romeo and Juliet when they got married?
In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet is thirteen years old, just a few weeks away from her fourteenth birthday. Shakespeare does not specify Romeo's age, but...
What year is Juliet born?
She was born on "Lammas Eve at night" (1 August), so Juliet's birthday is 31 July (1.3. 19). Her birthday is "a fortnight hence", putting the action of the play in mid-July (1.3.
How old is Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet?
He is a fiery, impetuous youth of about seventeen or eighteen, full of physical and emotional energy.
Is Romeo and Juliet really in love?
Yet, while the two characters may have initially fallen for each other due to a mixture of convenience and lust, Romeo and Juliet's language shows their passion maturing into real love.
Is Romeo Juliet real story?
Shakespeare's principal source for the plot of Romeo and Juliet was The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet, a long narrative poem written in 1562 by the English poet Arthur Brooke, who had based his poem on a French translation of a tale by the Italian writer Matteo Bandello.
Did Romeo and Juliet really exist?
Did Romeo and Juliet really exist? The popular tradition says yes, but the Veronese chronicles of XIII century do not report any historical evidence of the sad story, which according to the literary sources took place in Verona in 1302, under the rule of Bartolomeo della Scala.18-Dec-2016
Did Romeo and Juliet have a child?
It is very difficult to control the young men. Montague has only one child, a teenage boy called Romeo. Capulet also has only one child, a beautiful 14-year-old daughter called Juliet. They do not know each other, because Juliet never goes anywhere without her nursemaid.16-Jul-2021
How old was Juliet when she fell in love with Romeo?
Juliet Capulet, on the cusp of 14 years old, falls in love with Romeo, the son of her family's enemy. She subsequently proposes marriage. With the help of Nurse, her guardian, they are secretly married.
Who died first in Romeo and Juliet?
The first character to die in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is Romeo's friend Mercutio. Tybalt is enraged that Romeo and his friends went to a...
How old is Romeo in Shakespeare?
Shakespeare never gives Romeo a specific age. Although his age could be anywhere between thirteen and twenty-one, he is typically portrayed as being around the age of sixteen.
What is the story of Romeo and Juliet?
Romeo and Juliet is the very famous story of the two "star-crossed lovers" ( Prologue to Act I, line 6) who are doomed to fail in their attempts to overcome the feud which has dominated the Montague and Capulet families for as long as anyone can remember .
What does Romeo and Juliet say about the change of fourteen years?
In act 1, scene 2 of William Shakespeare 's Romeo and Juliet, Lord Capulet, Juliet 's father, tells Paris, one of Juliet 's suitors, that Juliet "hath not seen the change of fourteen years" ( 1.2.9). In fact, according to Juliet's mother and Nurse in act 1, scene 3, Juliet is a little more than two weeks shy of her fourteenth birthday.
How old is Julietta in Shakespeare's play?
In the other major source for Shakespeare's play, the story of "Rhomeo and Julietta," novel 25, in William Painter's The Palace of Pleasure, published in 1567, Julietta is "a yong Gentlewoman of Verona," no age given, and Rhomeo, "of the family of Montesches," is "of the age of 20 or 21 Year es.". Shakespeare's Romeo seems younger ...
How old is Juliet in the first scene?
Juliet's age is, you're quite right, specified by the Nurse and Lady Capulet in Juliet's first scene as not-quite-fourteen. As for Romeo's age, Shakespeare never tells us! We know - from what Friar Laurence and the Nurse comment on various occasions - that he is a "young" man (2.4.119) but we don't know precisely how young.
Why does Romeo renounce everything for her?
Romeo is also willing to renounce everything for her because as he says, his "name is hateful to myself" (55). Romeo is not yet old enough to understand that he would be expected to uphold the resentment and loathing in honor of his family name.
Does Shakespeare mention Romeo's age?
It seems odd that Shakespeare makes an effort to clearly establish Juliet's age—an age which is notably younger than the average age for a woman to get married in Shakespeare's time—but Shakespeare never mentions Romeo's age. In one of two major sources for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Arthur Brooke's narrative poem "The Tragicall Historye ...
How old is Juliet in Romeo and Juliet?
How old was Juliet in Romeo and Juliet? In this work, Juliet is a young girl of 16 , while Romeo is somewhat older. Shakespeare cuts three years off Juliet's age to make her the tender age of 13: as Old Capulet says to Paris, 'she hath not seen the change of fourteen years'. Click to see full answer. Also know, what age is Romeo?
How old is Romeo in Shakespeare's play?
Also know, what age is Romeo? Quick Answer. Shakespeare never gives Romeo a specific age. Although his age could be anywhere between 13–21, he is typically portrayed as being around the age of 16. Furthermore, how old is Juliet at the beginning of the play? thirteen-year-old. Likewise, how old was Romeo compared to Juliet? ...
How old was Lady Capulet when she had Juliet?
This seems to say that Lady Capulet was thirteen when she had Juliet and since Juliet will be 14 years of age, at the conclusion of the ball, that would make Lady Capulet 27 years old.
When was Romeo and Juliet adapted?
In the 20th and into the 21st century, the play has been adapted in versions as diverse as George Cukor 's 1936 film Romeo and Juliet, Franco Zeffirelli 's 1968 version Romeo and Juliet, and Baz Luhrmann 's 1996 MTV-inspired Romeo + Juliet .
How old is Juliet Capulet?
Juliet Capulet is the 13-year-old daughter of Capulet, the play's female protagonist. Tybalt is a cousin of Juliet, the nephew of Lady Capulet. The Nurse is Juliet's personal attendant and confidante. Rosaline is Lord Capulet's niece, Romeo's love in the beginning of the story.
What does Lady Capulet and Juliet's Nurse try to persuade Juliet to accept?
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.
What does Romeo buy from the apothecary?
Heartbroken, Romeo buys poison from an apothecary and goes to the Capulet crypt. He encounters Paris who has come to mourn Juliet privately. Believing Romeo to be a vandal, Paris confronts him and, in the ensuing battle, Romeo kills Paris. Still believing Juliet to be dead, he drinks the poison.
How many operas are based on Romeo and Juliet?
At least 24 operas have been based on Romeo and Juliet. The earliest, Romeo und Julie in 1776, a Singspiel by Georg Benda, omits much of the action of the play and most of its characters and has a happy ending. It is occasionally revived. The best-known is Gounod 's 1867 Roméo et Juliette (libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré ), a critical triumph when first performed and frequently revived today. Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi is also revived from time to time, but has sometimes been judged unfavourably because of its perceived liberties with Shakespeare; however, Bellini and his librettist, Felice Romani, worked from Italian sources—principally Romani's libretto for Giulietta e Romeo by Nicola Vaccai —rather than directly adapting Shakespeare's play. Among later operas, there is Heinrich Sutermeister 's 1940 work Romeo und Julia.
Which Shakespeare play was the most filmed?
Romeo and Juliet may be the most-filmed play of all time. The most notable theatrical releases were George Cukor 's multi- Oscar -nominated 1936 production, Franco Zeffirelli 's 1968 version, and Baz Luhrmann 's 1996 MTV-inspired Romeo + Juliet. The latter two were both, in their time, the highest-grossing Shakespeare film ever. Romeo and Juliet was first filmed in the silent era, by Georges Méliès, although his film is now lost. The play was first heard on film in The Hollywood Revue of 1929, in which John Gilbert recited the balcony scene opposite Norma Shearer.
Where does Romeo spend the night?
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".
What is Romeo and Juliet law?
Romeo and Juliet laws are clauses built into statutory rape laws in some states. These laws address situations in which two individuals who are close in age, and one of whom is not yet of legal age, engage in consensual sexual relations. The age difference allowed by Romeo and Juliet laws varies by state, though it is generally not more ...
What happened in Romeo and Juliet?
Extreme Punishment in Romeo and Juliet Law Case. In February 2000, Matthew Limon, a boy who had been diagnosed with mild mental retardation, turned 18. A week after his birthday, he performed oral sex on another boy who was one month away from his 15th birthday.
How old do you have to be to have sex?
Each state has specific legal age of consent laws, which vary from 10 to 18 years of age.
What is the age of consent?
Age of consent is the age at which a person has the ability to legally consent to sexual intercourse. In the United States, the term age of consent typically refers to a person’s chronological age, but in some instances, it can refer to the individual’s mental age.
Juliet's age
As the story occurs, Juliet is approaching her fourteenth birthday. She was born on " Lammas Eve at night" (1 August), so Juliet's birthday is 31 July (1.3.19). Her birthday is "a fortnight hence", putting the action of the play in mid-July (1.3.17). Her father states that she "hath not seen the change of fourteen years" (1.2.9).
In modern-day Verona
Juliet's purported balcony, in Verona. Beneath it, on the walls, there are love letters.
Performers
A number of famous actresses and some actors have portrayed the role of Juliet:
What are Romeo and Juliet laws?
Some jurisdictions have passed so-called "Romeo and Juliet laws", which serve to reduce or eliminate the penalty of the crime in cases where the couple's age difference is minor and the sexual contact would not have been rape if both partners were legally able to give consent. Such laws vary, but can include:
What does "age of consent" mean?
Age of consent. Main article: Age of consent. In many jurisdictions, the age of consent is interpreted to mean mental or functional age. As a result, victims can be of any chronological age if their mental age makes them unable to consent to a sexual act.
What is the legal age for sexual contact in England?
For England and Wales, the legal framework of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 differentiates between sexual contact with children under 13, and sexual contact with those at least 13 but under 16.
What is sexual penetration of a child under 13?
Sexual penetration of a child under 13 is termed Rape of a child under 13, an offence created by section 5 of the Act, which reads: (1) Rape of a child under 13. A person commits an offence if—. (a) he intentionally penetrates the vagina, anus or mouth of another person with his penis, and.
What is rape under 16?
The term 'rape' therefore is used only with regard to children under 13; consensual sexual penetration of a child above 13 but under 16 is defined as 'Sexual activity with a child', and punished less severely (section 9, which requires the perpetrator to be 18 or over).
Overview
Legacy
Romeo and Juliet ranks with Hamlet as one of Shakespeare's most performed plays. Its many adaptations have made it one of his most enduring and famous stories. Even in Shakespeare's lifetime, it was extremely popular. Scholar Gary Taylor measures it as the sixth most popular of Shakespeare's plays, in the period after the death of Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Kyd but before the a…
Characters
• Prince Escalus is the ruling Prince of Verona.
• Count Paris is a kinsman of Escalus who wishes to marry Juliet.
• Mercutio is another kinsman of Escalus, a friend of Romeo.
• Capulet is the patriarch of the house of Capulet.
Synopsis
The play, set in Verona, Italy, begins with a street brawl between Montague and Capulet servants who, like the masters they serve, 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 hi…
Sources
Romeo and Juliet borrows from a tradition of tragic love stories dating back to antiquity. One of these is Pyramus and Thisbe, from Ovid's Metamorphoses, which contains parallels to Shakespeare's story: the lovers' parents despise each other, and Pyramus falsely believes his lover Thisbe is dead. The Ephesiaca of Xenophon of Ephesus, written in the 3rd century, also contains several similarities to the play, including the separation of the lovers, and a potion that induces …
Date and text
It is unknown when exactly Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet. Juliet's Nurse refers to an earthquake she says occurred 11 years ago. This may refer to the Dover Straits earthquake of 1580, which would date that particular line to 1591. Other earthquakes—both in England and in Verona—have been proposed in support of the different dates. But the play's stylistic similarities with A Midsu…
Themes and motifs
Scholars have found it extremely difficult to assign one specific, overarching theme to the play. Proposals for a main theme include a discovery by the characters that human beings are neither wholly good nor wholly evil, but instead are more or less alike, awaking out of a dream and into reality, the danger of hasty action, or the power of tragic fate. None of these have widespr…
Criticism and interpretation
The earliest known critic of the play was diarist Samuel Pepys, who wrote in 1662: "it is a play of itself the worst that I ever heard in my life." Poet John Dryden wrote 10 years later in praise of the play and its comic character Mercutio: "Shakespear show'd the best of his skill in his Mercutio, and he said himself, that he was forc'd to kill him in the third Act, to prevent being killed by …