Youth vs. Age in Romeo and Juliet: Rebellion, Tragedy, and the Failure of Authority

1. Honors 9 Essay Topics

2. "Youth in this play is a separate nation," scholar Frank Kermode writes of Romeo and Juliet. How is the world of the young people in the play – Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio, Benvolio, and Tybalt – different from the world of their parents and mentors? In what ways do the young adopt the beliefs of the old, and in what ways do they ignore them or fight against them? Should Romeo and Juliet’s relationship be viewed as a rebellion of the young against the old? Should the world of the young, and its values, or the world of the old, and its values, bear more of the blame for their tragedy?

3. The motifs of light and darkness run through the play. How do these references to day and night, sun, moon and stars, torches and lightning provide metaphors for what happens in the play? What kind of feelings do these images arouse in the reader?

4. Why do the Nurse and the Friar ultimately fail in their attempts to help Romeo and Juliet? Scholar Marjorie Garber writes, "The Friar is all authority and no experience, the Nurse all experience and no authority. Once again the older generation…is inadequate to the tragic world of reality, of love and circumstance." Do you agree with this assessment?

5. Discuss "motherhood" as it exists in Romeo and Juliet. As you explore this topic, consider the relationship between Juliet and the nurse and Juliet and her mother. According to your personal understanding of the term "motherhood," in what ways has the nurse fulfilled the role of "mother?" In what ways has Juliet’s mother not? In your essay, provide a solid thesis statement and support your assertion with specific evidence from the text.

6. For this topic, you should consider yourself a feminist critic. Discuss the ways in which the patriarchal society of Verona—that is, a society dominated by men—has controlled Juliet’s tragic fate. You may want to draw on examples, including Juliet’s relationship with her father and the precipitous marriage arrangement. In your essay, provide a solid thesis statement and support your assertion with specific evidence from the text.

7. Friar Laurence is described as a holy man. Is there any evidence in the text that may suggest otherwise? Discuss your understanding of the phrase "holy man" and decide whether or not Friar Laurence fits into this definition. Why or why not? In your essay, provide a solid thesis statement and support your assertion with specific evidence from the text.

8. Regular 9 Essay Topics

9. What responsibility should the Nurse and the Friar bear for the play’s tragic ending? The Prince announces that "some shall be pardoned and some punished." Do either the Nurse or the Friar deserve punishment? Who else, in your opinion, might bear some responsibility for the two lovers’ deaths? Thesis-

10. “What is life without the radiance of love?” Explain the meaning of this quote and describe how one of the characters from Romeo and Juliet would respond to it. Make sure that the response is in keeping with the character’s personality and experiences (before their deaths). Thesis-

11. Many plays deal with failures of communication and their effect on human relationships. Identify three scenes in which such a failure plays a part. For each situation, explain the causes and results of the problem. Specify how or whether the problem is eventually corrected. • Thesis-