I do approve of Friar Lawrence's and Nurse's actions in helping with the secret wedding. Because of their understanding that the marriage would end the feud by bringing the two families together, their actions seem reasonable. The Friar says, "In one respect I'll thy assistant be; For this alliance may so happy prove to turn your households' rancour to pure love." He and Nurse both believe that the feud will cease because of this alliance. Otherwise, I think they would have been inclined to say no to helping them get married. Also, I believe that you should have a say in who you marry. Juliet wants to marry Romeo, not Paris so by Nurse and Friar Lawrence helping them get married in secret they get to pick their spouse. Eventually, the marriage does result in the ending of the feud, but both Romeo and Juliet end of dead.
The doves represent Romeo and Juliet "flying" away to get married in secret. The wedding bands represent them being joined together in marriage. The doves also represent the peace that this marriage alliance might bring between their two feuding families, the Capulets and the Montagues.
VOCABULARY:
chided: to express disapproval of; scorn; reproach
confounds: to perplex or amaze, especially by a sudden disturbance or surprise; bewilder; confuse
driveling: childish, silly, or meaningless talk or thinking; nonsense; twaddle
exposition: the act of presenting to view; display
idolatry: excessive or blind adoration, reverence, devotion, etc.
lamentable: wretched or distressing
perjuries: the willful giving of a false testimony under oath before a competent tribunal upon a point material to a legal inquiry
Great post, Katherine Drew! Your claims are very clear and insightful, and your evidence reflects your understanding of the text. I really like the symbolism that your image provides and how you've connected it to the text. Keep up the great blogging!
ReplyDelete