Dogs have been considered symbols of loyalty for generations, even earning the epithet “Man’s Best Friend. ” The great amount of love and faithfulness that dogs display toward their families is so iconic that outlines of dogs have become common symbols of loyalty. In Romeo and Juliet, loyalty runs in families from the head of the household through to the lowest of servants. All Montagues, including their servants and friends, feel a unanimous hatred toward the Capulets, and vice versa. Not only do fights take place between direct members of the two families, but also between the servants and friends of the opposing sides.
For example, Gregory and Sampson, both Capulet servants, fight with Abram and Balthasar, Montague servants, in Act 1 Scene 1. Later in the same fight, Lord Montague and Lord Capulet both attempt to join in the violence In Act 3 Scene 1, Mercutio, a friend of Romeo’s, fights with Tybalt, a member of the Capulet family, after Romeo refuses to fight. Mercutio defends his friend’s family, although he is not directly related to the family itself, therefore demonstrating immense loyalty to his friend. In The Odyssey, the theme of loyalty was demonstrated by Penelope’s faithfulness to Odysseus during the years he was away.
Penelope and Odysseus had a pact that they would keep the secret of their bed, which meant that Penelope’s loyalty could be proved by the fact that no one else knew the secret of their bed. “But here and now, what sign could be so clear as this of our own bed? No other man has ever laid eyes on it – only my own slave, Actoris, that my father sent with me as a gift – she kept our door. ” (Book 23, lines 75-79) In this quote, Penelope proves to Odysseus that she has remained loyal by telling him that no other man has ever seen it besides her slave.
When Odysseus returned, his dog, Argos, still recognized him after being separated from him for numerous years. Argos was very old and had been very close to death, but had held out until Odysseus returned home twenty years after leaving due to his the great love and faithfulness he felt towards his owner. After seeing Odysseus and hearing him speak again, Argos died. (Book 17) Upon Odysseus’s homecoming, two of his servants are so happy to see him that they throw their arms around him and cry. Thus, they demonstrate extreme loyalty to him as their master even though has been gone for many years. (Book 21, lines 75-77) Theme of Perseverance
During World War II, Rosie the Riveter represented the women who took over men’s jobs in factories and shipyards. Posters, such as the one above, motivated women to persevere during this difficult time and gave them hope. The theme of perseverance is underlying in both The Odyssey and Romeo and Juliet. Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus and his men persevere through many hardships in order to return home to Ithaca. For example, they must face the Cyclops, which results in a curse that makes it impossible for Odysseus to return with his men and guarantees that Poseidon will make his sea travels extremely difficult.
Throughout the hardships they face, Odysseus and his men remain determined. After Aeolus helps Odysseus by giving him a fair west wind that will ensure that his ships will return to Ithaca and by capturing the rest of the winds in a bag, the men ruin his assistance by opening the bag while Odysseus is sleeping. Although angry and disappointed, Odysseus continues to look for other ways to return to Ithaca. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the main hardship Romeo and Juliet face is the hatred between their families that makes it impossible to have a normal, public relationship.
Regardless of this, they find ways to pursue their love with the help of Friar Laurence and the Nurse. With the help of these two friends, Romeo and Juliet find a way to be married, making their love eternal. When Romeo is banished and the Capulets are insisting on Juliet marrying Paris, Friar Laurence comes up with a plan to get Juliet out of Verona so that she can live the rest of her life with Romeo in Mantua. Juliet deals with great amounts of sadness as she waits for it to be time to put the plan in motion and when she finds out that Romeo is a Montague.
Throughout both of these setbacks, she finds ways to persevere and channel her strength into hope for the future. Theme of Night vs. Day The above photograph was taken by a drone at sunset in Phoenix, Arizona. Sunset is when the day meets the night and the sun meets the moon. The combination of the last rays of sunlight, the darkest of night, and the clouds can create a beautiful array of colors. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, day and night play large roles in the story.
While often times the lightness of day is associated with good things, and the darkness of night with evil, things are much more complex in this popular love story. For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring. ” (3. 1. 4) In this scene Benvolio warns Mercutio that they should go inside because the Capulets are in the streets and the hot weather makes the men irritable. Benvolio fears that if they were to encounter any Capulets they would be forced to fight. This would lead the reader to assume that it is dangerous for the Capulets and Montagues to be out in the daylight where they could easily come into contact with each other.
“It is the East, and Juliet is the sun Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon. ” (2. 2. -4) Romeo compares Juliet’s beauty to that of the sun during this scene. This statement could then contribute to the belief that the characters find the sun and the daylight to be desirable and beautiful, similar to the way Romeo finds Juliet. On the other hand, the readers and audience find out that most of the meetings between Romeo and Juliet take place at night. During the darkness of night, there is a smaller chance of them being caught and they are able to spend time with each other without having to fear others seeing them. In the play, night plays both positive and negative roles.
On the positive side, night provides protection for Romeo and Juliet’s secret relationship and allows them to spend time safely together. The night acts as a form of shelter from the feud and dangers of the day. In the end, night is also the time in which Romeo and Juliet commit suicide. Due to the safety that the night offered, their relationship was allowed to grow, which ultimately led to more conflict and danger. In the end, the darkness of night becomes full death and despair, rather than the joy and safety it first offered the couple. Theme of Fate
Above is a painting of the Moirae, or the three Greek Fates, who were believed to be the goddesses of destiny and fate. Clotho, who was also known as “the Spinner,” made the thread of life. Lachesis measured the thread for each person upon their birth and decided how long the person’s life would be. Atropos cut the thread, killing the person to which it belonged, and ending their life. These three women represented the way that the Greeks believed lives were controlled and were believed to be completely in control of the fate of each person.
Therefore, it was believed that no matter what choices were made, each person would still meet their destiny. Shakespeare makes numerous references to the idea of fate and destiny throughout Romeo and Juliet. Fate is defined as “the will or principle or determining cause by which things in general are believed to come to be as they are or events to happen as they do; an inevitable and often adverse outcome, condition, or end,” by Merriam-Webster Dictionary. In the prologue of this play, Romeo and Juliet are described as “star-crossed lovers” and it is said that their love is marked by death.
From the beginning, Juliet and Romeo are destined to be together and to die. “I fear, too early; for my mind misgives Some consequence, yet hanging in the stars Shall bitterly begin his fearful date With this night’s revels and expire the term of a despised life, closed in my breast, By some vile forfeit of untimely death. But he that hath the steerage of my course Direct my sail! ” (1. 4. 106-113) When Romeo is on his way to the Capulet party with Benvolio and Mercutio, he says that has had a dream and a feeling that the events that begin that night will end with his death.
He uses phrases, such as “hanging in the stars” and “he that hath the steerage of my course,” that imply that he believes that the events that will take place and his future lays in the hands of some greater power, or in fate. After killing Tybalt, Romeo says, “O, I am fortune’s fool! ” (3. 1. 129) This statement appears to say that Romeo believes Tybalt’s death to be caused by fate and that fortune, or fate, tricked him into killing Tybalt. “Is it e’en so? Then I defy you, star! ” (5. 1. 24) Upon hearing that Juliet has died, Romeo challenges fate out of anger for all the pain it has caused him.
Once again, Romeo believes more in fate than he does in a chain of events that is lead by the person whose life it involves. Theme of Death The above drawing is a depiction of a grave with a cross. From the very beginning of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the audience knows that the story will end with the death of the two children and lovers. “Do with their death bury their parents’ strife.
The fearful passage of their death-mark’d love, And the continuance of their parents’ rage, Which, but their children’s end, nought could remove… The chorus tells the audience in the prologue of the play that the deaths of Juliet and Romeo will end there families’ feud. Throughout the play, both families deal with many deaths of friends and relatives. “O Romeo, Romeo, brave Mercutio’s dead! ” (3. 1. 109) Benvolio announces Mercutio’s death after he is killed by Tybalt. Upon his death, Mercutio curses the Montague and Capulet houses because Tybalt stabbed him, since Romeo would not fight him, and, therefore, his death was the fault of the feud.
Later in that same scene, Romeo kills Tybalt in order to revenge his friend’s death. Three characters meet their ends during Act 5 Scene 3. The first of these is Paris, who Romeo kills in the Capulet tomb. The last two were Romeo and Juliet, who were so in love that they could not live without each other. “Well, Juliet, I will lie with thee tonight. ” (5. 1. 34) The moment Romeo finds out that Juliet is believed to be dead, he decides that he will die in order to be with her forever.
His deep love for her makes living without her unbearable. I will kiss thy lips Haply some poison yet doth hang on them to make me die with a restorative. ” (5. 3. 164-166) After finding Romeo dead, Juliet kills herself with a dagger after first kissing him in hopes that there would be poison left on his lips to kill her. Both of the young lovers wants to be with the other in death because they find the idea of living while the other is dead to be unbearable. Romeo and Juliet die out of the love they feel for each other in order to spend eternity together.
