Allusions In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

William Shakespeare is one of, if not, the most quoted writers in English Literature history due to famous plays like Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Richard III, and the topic of this essay, Romeo and Juliet. Some of the most famous speeches from some of the most famous characters in Romeo and Juliet are based around historical and sometimes bizarre allusions. One of the most notable speeches in Romeo and Juliet is Mercutio’s Queen Mab speech in which he alludes to a fairy named Queen Mab. Other allusions, are used to represent the light and dark imagery shown between the two main characters Romeo and Juliet. All these allusions add layers of complexity and require some knowledge of Renaissance Era fables to understand. In total, they are genius and …show more content…
Her poor advertising of Lord Capulet’s agenda obviously didn’t work, but at least it had an allusion. Lady Capulet compares Juliet to the Virgin Mother Mary due to her chaste and then makes a pun when she uses the word marry again to ask Juliet about marrying Paris. This kind of witty remark probably didn’t help the situation much but it adds a biblical reference to the story which holds a lot of importance. Since this play was written and performed during the Renaissance Era, there was discontent and maybe some hatred towards the Catholic Church so the use of biblical references through characters like Lady Capulet could be Shakespeare’s way of showing his anger towards the church. The allusions aren’t just about Christianity though, they are also mythological allusions in the book like Juliet’s allusion to Phoebus and Phaeton; “Gallop apace, you fiery-footed steeds,/ Toward Phoebus’ Lodging! Such a wagoner / As Phaeton would whip you to the West,” (III.ii.1-3). This is only one of the many allusions that pertain to mythological characters and they all give off the desired effect of being a cool addition to the story that may have been more easily understable back when the play was written, but today they are kind of cryptic. Other mythological allusions include all the times Cupid was brought up in the play specifically to detail the love between Romeo and Juliet and when Venus, the Goddess of love and beauty, was briefly talked

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