Romeo and Juliet: Courtship and Marriage in Shakespeare's Time

In today's episode, we will be diving into the culture of courtship and marriage in early modern England. We will take a look at how the cultural norms and concerns surrounding marriage were shifting and changing in Shakespeare's time and how we can see this represented in Romeo and Juliet. We will also discuss how, at least in some parts of England and for certain classes, young people were able to resist some of the societal structures around courtship and marriage. 

 

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

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Works referenced:

Hubbard, Eleanor. “A Room of Their Own: Young Women, Courtship, and the Night in Early Modern England.” The Youth of Early Modern Women, edited by Elizabeth S. Cohen and Margaret Reeves, Amsterdam University Press, 2018, pp. 297–314. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv8pzd5z.17. Accessed 25 Feb. 2024.   Peters, Christine. “Gender, Sacrament and Ritual: The Making and Meaning of Marriage in Late Medieval and Early Modern England.” Past & Present, no. 169, 2000, pp. 63–96. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/651264. Accessed 25 Feb. 2024.   Waddington, Raymond B. “Marriage in Early Modern Europe.” The Sixteenth Century Journal, vol. 34, no. 2, 2003, pp. 315–18. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/20061411. Accessed 25 Feb. 2024.