Allusions In Romeo And Juliet

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William Shakespeare is one of the most quoted authors to ever live. He has crafted masterpieces such as Hamlet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, and most relevantly, Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy following two young people’s forbidden love story created by an ancient family feud. Due to the rebirth of culture during Shakespeare's time, the play Romeo and Juliet is full of allusions to the Bible and Roman gods, as well as other culturally significant ideals of the Renaissance. Act one of the play starts with an allusion to the Bible. Capulet servants Sampson and Gregory are insulting the Montague house. Sampson states, “Tis true; and therefore women, being the / weaker vessels, are ever thrust to the wall. Therefore / push I will the Montague's men from the wall and thrust / his maids to the wall.”(I i 17-20) These views of women being the “weaker vessel” originate from the book of First Peter in the New Testament. The quote embodies the importance of the Bible …show more content…
First, Lord Montague says, “The shady curtains from Aurora’s bed, / Away from light steals home my heavy son… ”(I i 144-145) when describing that Romeo is wasting his days in bed mourning. Aurora is the goddess of dawn concluding that Romeo is blocking out daylight. He is causing his friends and family concern for well being.
Later, when crashing a Capulet party, Romeo sees Rosaline (the girl he is after) and states, “...She’ll not be hit / With Cupid's arrow. She hath Dian’s wit, / And, in strong proof of chastity well armed, / From Love’s weak childish bow she live unharmed.”(I i 222-225) Two allusions are made in this quote, one to Cupid, the Roman god of attraction and affection, as well as Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt and nature. Romeo used Cupid's arrow to represent his love, and Diana to represent Rosline, who much like Diana in mythology avoided Cupid’s arrows. This reference sums up Romeo’s relationship with
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