Examples Of Allusions In Romeo And Juliet

“Never affirm, always allude: allusions are made to test the spirit and probe the heart.” Here, Umberto Eco speaks of the power of allusions. One simple reference can stimulate hundreds of ideas, relations, and images in a reader’s head. Allusions guide the reader on the journey to understanding a work as a whole. Shakespeare, inventor of over 1700 commonly used words, and one of the most quoted authors of all time, used allusions to enhance his works. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare frequently alludes to Cupid, the Roman god of love. This sustained allusion occurs in order to show how fate influences Romeo’s love. Since fate was a common belief in the Elizabethan era, Shakespeare used the allusion to Cupid in order to show how Romeo and Juliet were fated to fall in love, and this sustained allusion affects the work in many ways.
In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare alludes to Cupid, the Roman

Mercutio, who continually acts as the comedic relief in the play, conveys his hidden wisdom in the form of jokes. When he learns that Tybalt has challenged Romeo to a duel, he facetiously proclaims, “Alas, poor Romeo, he is already dead!...the very pin of his heart/cleft with the blind bow-boy’s butt-shaft; and is he a/ man to encounter Tybalt?”(II.iiii. 16-18) Mercutio wisely suggests that one so consumed with grief as Romeo cannot possibly duel Tybalt and win. But perhaps even more wisely, Mercutio suggests that Cupid only hit Romeo with the butt-shaft of his arrow, meaning that he had a limited influence on Romeo falling in love with Rosaline. But by this point, unbeknownst to Mercutio, Romeo has already fallen in love with Juliet. However, Mercutio’s words could also demonstrate how Romeo’s love for Juliet occurred without much persuasion on Cupid’s part. All in all, this final allusion in reference to Cupid introduces the fact that Romeo may have more control of his love than he