Renaissance Literature - Romeo and Juliet
Renaissance Essay
In what ways is ‘the other’ explored in two of the plays studied in Semester 1?
Shakespeare’s plays have always had a hard-hitting effect on their audiences as they are often used as a vehicle to explore fears or concerns of the time. In the two tragic plays, ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and ‘Anthony and Cleopatra’, Shakespeare uses mythology, issues of power and sexuality and in particular concentrates on the concept of ‘the other’. In this use of the term ‘the other’ we are referring to foreign elements, people or objects not from or associated with mainstream society, and in the context of the essay, the mainstream society of England in Shakespeare’s era.
‘Romeo and Juliet is set in Verona, so some of its cultural details might be a result of Shakespeare’s trying to make it seem different from the England he knew’ (http://www.shakespeare.org.uk/content/view/449/461/).
It is interesting to consider the above statement as both plays are set outside of England, which I believe is a deliberate ploy from Shakespeare to try and break the barriers of the concept of ‘the other’, giving an insight into other cultures and other races’ of people. This may, however, be opposite from the truth, as Shakespeare may be intentionally removing his audience from the comfort zone of familiar surroundings and forcing them to embark on his story through a foreign land, or you could say making them tackle ‘the other’ head on. I believe removing the audience from their comfort zone would result in the dramatic effects of the play being intensified, and by doing this the taboo subject and fear of ‘the other’ could be desensitised to the audience by its exposure in the play.
‘Romeo and Juliet’ is profoundly opposed to authority both in the political sense and the literary sense’ (Smith, Peter .J, Penguin 1995, Social Shakespeare, pg128). I find this to be true as the law, and what society deems the norm, is broken throughout the play, either intentionally or by accident.
In what ways is ‘the other’ explored in two of the plays studied in Semester 1?
Shakespeare’s plays have always had a hard-hitting effect on their audiences as they are often used as a vehicle to explore fears or concerns of the time. In the two tragic plays, ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and ‘Anthony and Cleopatra’, Shakespeare uses mythology, issues of power and sexuality and in particular concentrates on the concept of ‘the other’. In this use of the term ‘the other’ we are referring to foreign elements, people or objects not from or associated with mainstream society, and in the context of the essay, the mainstream society of England in Shakespeare’s era.
‘Romeo and Juliet is set in Verona, so some of its cultural details might be a result of Shakespeare’s trying to make it seem different from the England he knew’ (http://www.shakespeare.org.uk/content/view/449/461/).
It is interesting to consider the above statement as both plays are set outside of England, which I believe is a deliberate ploy from Shakespeare to try and break the barriers of the concept of ‘the other’, giving an insight into other cultures and other races’ of people. This may, however, be opposite from the truth, as Shakespeare may be intentionally removing his audience from the comfort zone of familiar surroundings and forcing them to embark on his story through a foreign land, or you could say making them tackle ‘the other’ head on. I believe removing the audience from their comfort zone would result in the dramatic effects of the play being intensified, and by doing this the taboo subject and fear of ‘the other’ could be desensitised to the audience by its exposure in the play.
‘Romeo and Juliet’ is profoundly opposed to authority both in the political sense and the literary sense’ (Smith, Peter .J, Penguin 1995, Social Shakespeare, pg128). I find this to be true as the law, and what society deems the norm, is broken throughout the play, either intentionally or by accident.