The Historical Context of Romeo and Juliet
The Historical Context of Romeo and Juliet
Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet was written sometime between 1595 and 1596 at a time when the poet was experimenting with a wide range of poetic and dramatic styles. Before Shakespeare, the story of Romeo and Juliet existed in folklore, although its origin is ambiguous and varied. The story of Romeo and Juliet familiar to Elizabethan audiences developed in 15th-century Italy in the genre of the novel or short tale. Famous writers of the Italian Renaissance who created their own versions of the popular legend include Masuccio Salernitano, who included most of the plot in a collection of short stories, Novellino, in 1476, and Luigi da Porto, author of Historia Novel lament ritrovata di Due Nobili Amanti .
He relied on various mythological sources, as well as on Boccaccio's Decameron. However, Shakespeare's immediate sources were a poem by Arthur Brooke, entitled The Tragic History of Romeus and Juliet (1562), which Shakespeare clearly knew by 1591, and a prose work by William Pinter, called The Palace of Pleasure (1567).which was based on old stories. Both Brooke and Pinter depict a violent society, sympathize with the lovers, and emphasize the essential role of fate in the development of events. However, of the two English works, Arthur Brooke's is the more innovative. While Brooke expressed his admiration for the two young lovers in his poem, Brooke's introductory speech to the reader shows stark contradictions regarding his position on the story of Romeo and Juliet. In fact, Brooke's speech becomes a scathing editorial about the deceptive and covert relationship they have despite all rules of decorum towards their elders. Furthermore, Brooke clearly States in this introduction that justice will eventually be done, as Romeo and Juliet move toward their demise( Bloom,37).
Religious History
Romeo and Juliet is Shakespeare's most explicitly religious play, being set in Italy at a time when Catholicism was largely the dominant religion. The two feuding families are Catholic and the lovers' mentor was a Catholic priest. Therefore, faith is supposed to play a pivotal role in the daily lives of these characters if they practice their religion sincerely, as they should. Readers are then forced to wonder why Romeo, a young man raised in a Catholic family all his life, puts aside faith so quickly ( Porterfield , 3).
Reference
1-Bloom ,Harold. Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet New Edition . Sterling Professor of the Humanities Yale University, USA, 2009.
2-Porterfield, Kitty . A Moral Interpretation of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Proceedings of Student Research and Creative Inquiry, OJS/PKP, 2020.
