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Religious Imagery In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

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Shakespeare’s’ Romeo and Juliet, religious imagery represents the romantic relationship of the two characters and to express the tragedy and inevitable calamity of this pair. Religious imagery is used by the characters in their discussions of each other, their relationship and it progression, and Shakespeare’s original audience would have understood the symbolism and its meaning. The Christian symbolism in Romeo and Juliet can appear to portray the relationship in a positive light, depicting young love as sacred and innocent, however this interpretation does not understand the deeper connotations and meaning behind these symbols and motifs. While Romeo and Juliet’s relationship can appear romantic, their first meeting, the infamous “balcony scene”, and the discussions of their deaths are laced with religious symbolism and discourse that allows for a more nuanced interpretation of their nefarious love. Religious motifs and symbols are usurped and corrupted to represent the couple’s relationship, indicating the corruption and negative aspects of the pair. Religious representation in the play brings contrary connotations to symbols of blasphemy, idolatry, zealous obsession and inherent sinfulness that are subtle clues as to the deeper meaning of this relationship and its inevitable fate. The religious symbolism in Romeo and Juliet, rather than exalting their relationship as sacred and condoned, grounding it as fundamentally flawed and marked for failure
The metaphor of their …show more content…

Throughout the work the characters use religious symbolism, and the corruption of those symbols to indicate foreboding and foreshadowing as to the tragic fate of the characters. The corruption and appropriation of religious symbols from their original meaning to be symbolic of Romeo and Juliet relationships is both a symptom and a causation of their inevitable

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