How Does Shakespeare Use Allusions In Romeo And Juliet

“Love is the expansion of two natures in such fashion that each include the other, each is enriched by the other” (Felix Adler). True love contains many emotions that affect people in ways that nothing else can. These influences can create feelings that are revealed through expressions and actions. Shakespeare uses these aspects within his writing to create references to things outside of the work he has created in order to give the reader a deeper understanding of what the two “star crossed lovers” are feeling emotionally. He portrays the idea of love through the use of various allusions. An allusion is a brief reference to another piece of work, or literature. Within Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, he uses the allusions of

Unfortunately for Romeo, he cannot have her because she is never going to fall in love or have kids. This angers Romeo and sets him into a depression because he knows he will never be able to accomplish his desire to marry Rosaline and spend the rest of his life with her. “She’ll not be hit With Cupid’s arrow. She hath Dian’s wit, /And, in strong proof of chastity well armed, / From Love’s weak childish bow she lives unharmed. She will not stay the siege of loving terms, / Nor bide the encounter of assailing eyes, Nor ope her lap to saint-seducing gold. / O, she is rich in beauty; only poor That, when she dies, with beauty dies her store” (I.ii.222-230). Romeo compares Rosaline to Dian, goddess of chastity and the hunt, to show the reader a connection to how Rosaline is acting. Dian is a well known being and her traits are very similar to how Rosaline is acting with Romeo. He believes that she possesses the same characteristics of Dian, meaning that she is staying clear of Cupid’s love arrows. Rosaline is smart just like Dian. Romeo can see that she will never be harmed by the arrows because of her promise to never have kids and to never fall in love. He then realizes that her beauty will never be passed on to another generation which angers Romeo. Rosaline will be a nun and Romeo will have to learn to move on from her and find some other girl to love so that he can

“Gallop apace, you fiery-footed steeds, / Toward Phoebus’ lodging! Such a wagoner / As Phaëton would whip you to the West, / And bring in cloudy night immediately” (III.ii.1-4). Juliet is saying how she is praying for night to arrive soon so that she can see her true love Romeo. As she is impatiently waiting for night to come, the day feels very slow. Within this line, Juliet is using the allusion of Phaeton and Phoebus because Phoebus is the god of the sun so he is the one who pulls the sun across the sky with his chariot. Phaeton, his son, tries to convince his father to let him drive the chariot across the sky and when he does, he loses control of the chariot, causing the day to be super short. Juliet is asking that Phoebus will let Phaeton pull the sun across the sky so that the day will end sooner. That way, it will take less time for her to get to be with Romeo. This allusion gives the reader something to relate her situation to and how it should all play out for