In Act 2, right after the lovers’ first meeting, the Chorus calls Romeo shallow and irrational, equates his two loves and says he would have "died" for Rosaline!
Appreciated this. I teach secondary English now, and am fond of encouraging GCSE students to look for where Shakespeare invites the audience to disapprove of R&J's hanky-panky, especially Romeo and his lusty hooks. The play as a whole seems strongly against what might be termed the sonnetteering urge - Romeo justifying his uncontrolled action with compulsive poetic framing... All of which is maybe a bit past GCSE, fair enough 😏... I'm looking forward to Part 2 anyway!
Thank you, AO! Hahaha RE Romeo's "lusty hooks" - indeed! Awesome to hear you encourage that approach in your class! Truly is the high school teachers who actually understand the play, while the profs haven't the first clue. The play is "strongly against the sonneteering urge" - yes! That's what I argued in my doctoral thesis, "Anti-Petrarchism in Early Shakespeare," ie. that there's a consistent, overlooked pattern of Shakespeare mocking Petrarchan love in a group of works from the 1590s, when Petrarchism was at its height in England. Thank you for the comment - and for subscribing! So great to have you on board
Brilliant reading, John. I admire your corrective readings of RJ. I am wondering about the equation of the Chorus with Shakespeare. The anti-Petrarchanism of the Chorus’ take on Romeo is definitely in debate with the young lovers’ Petrarchanism. (Cf. the Chorus in H5.) And you are completely persuasive that the Chorus’ POV is critical. But ambiguous tensions are WS’s signature. I hope you develop and defend the equation here more fully. Fascinating, compelling work arising from thorough, informed, and independent research and reflection.
Thank you, Scott! Really appreciate that. You're right to challenge me on equating the Chorus with Shakespeare, as I am indeed contending that here without really developing or defending it. I'll see if I can squeeze such a defense into Part 2. For now, what I'd say is there are countless ways in which the Chorus' points are corroborated both by the action and by the play's other commenters. For example, the Chorus calls Romeo "Love" embodied, implying he's a Cupid-driven lover. In the immediately following scene, Romeo attributes his leap of the Capulet wall to the same, telling Juliet, "With Love’s light wings did I o’erperch these walls." Similarly, the Chorus strongly implies Romeo suffers from a humoral imbalance. Less than a dozen lines later, Mercutio cries sarcastically, "Romeo! HUMORS! Madman! Passion! Lover!" As I say, I'll try to defend my claim more fully in the next essay. Thank you again for the support and engagement!
that was brilliant!! I was an English major in college and since I’ve been retired, I’ve been rereading some 19th & 20th C novels and I am absolutely awed and astonished, at how completely different they really are from the way I was taught!!!!!
Appreciated this. I teach secondary English now, and am fond of encouraging GCSE students to look for where Shakespeare invites the audience to disapprove of R&J's hanky-panky, especially Romeo and his lusty hooks. The play as a whole seems strongly against what might be termed the sonnetteering urge - Romeo justifying his uncontrolled action with compulsive poetic framing... All of which is maybe a bit past GCSE, fair enough 😏... I'm looking forward to Part 2 anyway!
Thank you, AO! Hahaha RE Romeo's "lusty hooks" - indeed! Awesome to hear you encourage that approach in your class! Truly is the high school teachers who actually understand the play, while the profs haven't the first clue. The play is "strongly against the sonneteering urge" - yes! That's what I argued in my doctoral thesis, "Anti-Petrarchism in Early Shakespeare," ie. that there's a consistent, overlooked pattern of Shakespeare mocking Petrarchan love in a group of works from the 1590s, when Petrarchism was at its height in England. Thank you for the comment - and for subscribing! So great to have you on board
Brilliant reading, John. I admire your corrective readings of RJ. I am wondering about the equation of the Chorus with Shakespeare. The anti-Petrarchanism of the Chorus’ take on Romeo is definitely in debate with the young lovers’ Petrarchanism. (Cf. the Chorus in H5.) And you are completely persuasive that the Chorus’ POV is critical. But ambiguous tensions are WS’s signature. I hope you develop and defend the equation here more fully. Fascinating, compelling work arising from thorough, informed, and independent research and reflection.
Thank you, Scott! Really appreciate that. You're right to challenge me on equating the Chorus with Shakespeare, as I am indeed contending that here without really developing or defending it. I'll see if I can squeeze such a defense into Part 2. For now, what I'd say is there are countless ways in which the Chorus' points are corroborated both by the action and by the play's other commenters. For example, the Chorus calls Romeo "Love" embodied, implying he's a Cupid-driven lover. In the immediately following scene, Romeo attributes his leap of the Capulet wall to the same, telling Juliet, "With Love’s light wings did I o’erperch these walls." Similarly, the Chorus strongly implies Romeo suffers from a humoral imbalance. Less than a dozen lines later, Mercutio cries sarcastically, "Romeo! HUMORS! Madman! Passion! Lover!" As I say, I'll try to defend my claim more fully in the next essay. Thank you again for the support and engagement!
that was brilliant!! I was an English major in college and since I’ve been retired, I’ve been rereading some 19th & 20th C novels and I am absolutely awed and astonished, at how completely different they really are from the way I was taught!!!!!
Thank you Topogeejo! Appreciate that
Agree with you up to this point of the play. Have not looked at it in years, does the Chorus sing again?
Thanks Michael. Nope, just these two times
Left a lengthy message which Substack ate. Will try again later
O no! Sorry to hear that! Would love to hear - please do try again