English Language Arts 9

Answer ONE(1) of the following questions in a well-developed expository essay with specific quotes from the play to support your evidence. Behind each quote from the play, note the act, scene, and line. For example, "Yond light is not daylight" (3.5.12).

1. Classical (Greek) tragedy has the following elements:
(A) a hero (or heroine) with hubris,
(B) the involvement of the gods,
(C) a reversal or fall,
(D) acknowledgement of error and a period of suffering.
Prove that Shakespeare's play, "Romeo & Juliet", adheres to this classical formula.

2. How is Romeo and Juliet a criticism of organized religion? Examine the play's secularism to develop your answer.
While Romeo and Juliet does not present explicit attacks against religion, Shakespeare reveals his skepticism of Christianity in subtle ways. In many ways, Romeo and Juliet must reject the tenets of Christianity in order to be together. In their first meeting, they banter, using religious imagery to share their sexual feelings. In this exchange, the lovers acknowledge the omnipresence of Christianity, but cheekily use religious images in an unexpected context.