Romeo And Juliet Summary Of Key Knowledge And

The SettingIt is generally believed that the play is based on a real Italian love story from the 3rd Century. The ‘real families’ are the Capeletti and the Montecci families. Shakespeare wrote his version in 1594 which was based on Arthur Brooke’s poem of 1562. This period was ‘The Elizabethan Era’ which was also known as ‘The Renaissance’: a time of significant change in the fields of religion, politics, science, language and the arts. Religion Romeo and Juliet were set during a time of religious and political turmoil. Europe was a traditional Catholic society with a strong belief in damnation for mortal sin. Suicide and bigamy (the offence of marrying someone while already married to another person)were both considered to be mortal sins. Shakespeare was writing following ‘The Reformation’ and this was when England became a Protestant nation, having broken away from the control of the Catholic Church. In this Protestant society, life became more open and less oppressed.FamilyThe father was the head of the household in this patriarchal society. Women had no rights or authority in law: they could not own property or money but could influence their husbands. Children were regarded as property and could