1.1.2

Relationships

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Relationships and Marriage

During the Elizabethan era, people thought about love and relationships differently from how we do today.

Arranged marriages

Arranged marriages

  • Generally, parents arranged marriages in the Jacobean era.
    • Children did not always have the freedom to choose who they would spend their lives with, who they would marry, or who they would have children with.
Marriage age

Marriage age

  • People got married at much younger ages than they do nowadays – girls could get married at 12 years old and could have children soon afterwards.
Parents and children

Parents and children

  • Adults chaperoned (accompanied and supervised) children at all times.

Family Relationships

Many Shakespearean plays show conflict between parents and children. This is what family dynamics were like when Shakespeare was writing:

Fathers

Fathers

  • Fathers were the undisputed (not questioned) head of the household. All family members had to do as their father (or husband) said.
Women

Women

  • Women had no rights or authority in the many laws.
  • Women could not own property or money.
Children

Children

  • Children were seen as their father’s property. Fathers could marry their children off to any partner they thought suitable.
  • Fathers often chose partners for political or financial reasons, or to make sure that the family retained (kept) its wealth.
  • It was not unusual for fathers to promise their children in marriage at a young age, or for children to marry at a young age.
Nurses

Nurses

  • In upper-class families, ‘nurses’ often raised children. Nurses were women who breastfed the children and raised them from babies to adolescents.
  • This meant that these children often didn't have strong bonds with their own parents.
Betraying family

Betraying family

  • People in the Jacobean era generally thought that going against your family was like betraying God.
Jump to other topics
1

Context

1.1

Context

1.1.1Tragedy & Setting1.1.2Relationships1.1.3Religion & Fate1.1.4End of Topic Test - Context1.1.5Diagnostic Misconceptions - Era1.1.6Diagnostic Misconceptions - Location
2

Plot Summary

2.1

Prologue

2.1.1Prologue
2.2

Act 1

2.2.1Scene 12.2.2Scene 1 Quotes2.2.3Scene 22.2.4Scene 32.2.5Scene 42.2.6Scene 52.2.7End of Topic Test - Prologue & Act 1
2.3

Act 2

2.3.1Scenes 1-22.3.2Scene 32.3.3Scene 42.3.4Scenes 5-62.3.5End of Topic Test - Act 2
2.4

Act 3

2.4.1Scene 12.4.2Scene 22.4.3Scenes 3-42.4.4Scene 52.4.5End of Topic Test - Act 3
2.5

Act 4

2.5.1Scene 12.5.2Scenes 2-32.5.3Scenes 4-5
2.6

Act 5

2.6.1Scene 12.6.2Scene 22.6.3Scene 32.6.4Scene 3 - Quotes2.6.5End of Topic Test - Acts 4 & 52.6.6Diagnostic Misconceptions - Drugs2.6.7Diagnostic Misconceptions - Knowing about the Wed2.6.8Diagnostic Misconceptions - Order of Deaths
3

Key Characters

3.1

Romeo

3.1.1First Impressions & Juliet's Effect3.1.2Character Development3.1.3Reactions & Key Quotes3.1.4Diagnostic Misconceptions - Age3.1.5Diagnostic Misconceptions - Banishment3.1.6Diagnostic Misconceptions - Naivety
3.2

Juliet

3.2.1First Impressions & Character Development3.2.2Tragic Character3.2.3Key Quotes3.2.4End of Topic Test - Romeo & Juliet3.2.5Diagnostic Misconceptions - Real People?3.2.6Diagnostic Misconceptions - Montagues vs Capulets
3.3

Mercutio

3.3.1Characterisation3.3.2Key Quotes
3.4

The Nurse, Benvolio & Tybalt

3.4.1The Nurse3.4.2Benvolio3.4.3Tybalt
3.5

Friar Laurence

3.5.1Characterisation3.5.2Key Quotes3.5.3End of Topic Test- Mercutio, Nurse & Benvolio3.5.4End of Topic Test - Tybalt & Friar Laurence3.5.5Diagnostic Misconceptions - What is a Friar?
3.6

Grade 9 - Key Characters

3.6.1Grade 9 - Key Characters3.6.2Grade 9 - Key Characters: Extract Analysis
4

Key Themes & Concepts

4.1

Power & Danger of Love

4.1.1Romeo's Loves4.1.2Friendship & Family4.1.3Violent Love4.1.4End of Topic Test - Love
4.2

Violence, Fate & Gender

4.2.1Violence, Conflict & Suicide4.2.2Exam-Style Questions - Violence & Death4.2.3Fate & Destiny4.2.4Gender4.2.5End of Topic Test - Violence, Fate & Gender4.2.6Grade 9 - Key Themes4.2.7Diagnostic Misconceptions - Type of Play
5

Writing Techniques

5.1

Writing Techniques

5.1.1Language, Rhythm & Rhyme5.1.2Symbolism & Imagery5.1.3Dramatic Irony & Soliloquys5.1.4End of Topic Test - Writing Techniques5.1.5Diagnostic Misconceptions - Wherefore
6

Recap: Main Quotes

6.1

Main Quotes by Act

6.1.1Act 16.1.2Act 26.1.3Act 36.1.4Act 46.1.5Act 5
6.2

Main Quotes by Character

6.2.1Romeo6.2.2Juliet6.2.3Mercutio6.2.4Friar Laurence6.2.5Nurse6.2.6Benvolio6.2.7Tybalt

Practice questions on Relationships

Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

  1. 1
    Features of Elizabethan relationships and marriage:True / false
  2. 2
    At what age could girls get married in Elizabethan times?Multiple choice
  3. 3
    During the Elizabethan era, children did not have the freedom to choose:Fill in the list
  4. 4
    Which of these are true of women in Elizabethan England?True / false
  5. 5
    Complete these facts about children in Elizabethan England: Fill in the list
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Tragedy & Setting

Religion & Fate