Law In Romeo And Juliet Essay Research

Law In Romeo And Juliet Essay, Research Paper

The Legal System The legal system plays an important role in the play of Romeo and Juliet and in the world of Shakespeare. Shakespeare used a wide array of legal terminology in his plays. It is estimated Shakespeare possessed a vocabulary of about thirty thousand words. Legal terms appear in a good deal of Shakespearean literature (McCrum, Cran, MacNeil 102-103). That has led some to the conclusion that Shakespeare did indeed have some legal education. But Shakespeare has stated in some works that he wants to “Kill all the lawyers.” This plainly shows Shakespeare’s contempt for lawyers; he found them to be corrupt, dishonest people(Brucher, 168). The courts were used often by the people of this period . There were few Elizabethans or Jacobeans that stayed out of court. Writs, plaints, latitats, subpoenas, citation, and presentments were a part of all from the lives of the lowly countrymen to the nobility. Even the poor and those without land needed to know about the ways of collecting small debts and resolving quarrels amongst one another. It has been credibly suggested that this was the most litigious period in English history; therefore it is then evident why legal terms appear in his literature and many other Elizabethan works. It may be possible that Shakespeare targeted the elite class but it is doubtful the legal aspects in Shakespearean literature were presented to impress only the elite. The common man needed to possess some legal knowledge and therefore knew the legal terminology used in the plays. The legal system was part of the everyday life of people in the time period in which Romeo and Juliet was written (Baker, 41). Prince Escalus headed the legal system in the play: his title, prince, states he is a monarch ; therefore, Verona’s government and legal system is a monarchy. He was the main authority in the play – all respected him. He word was law (Shakespeare, 667). Monarchs of the time held the ultimate authority. They were responsible before God alone. This doctrine was known as the ” Divine right of kings.”(Halsall, Internet) Most European countries had a monarchy for a government. It was common to have a strong ruler to keep the country from having their nobles fight amongst themselves. The king kept countries unified as one nation under one ruler however many kings and queens became corrupt. This led to the many upheavals in European history where the majority of the kings and queens were overthrown in violent revolutions. New forms of government that kept the power out of the hands of one single man were instituted in most situations (Halsall, Internet). Shakespeare’s homeland, England, had a monarchy. This monarchy, however, was kept from having supreme power. The king had to follow the laws kept to keep him under control. The law was written where no one could be prosecuted in there own court. Since all the courts were the king’s courts, the king could do no wrong. However, if someone’s rights were violated, the law stated a man could file a petition of right. Then a group of judges reviewed the case and decided if someone’s rights were violated under the law. A Privy Council also restrained the king. They were technically a board of advisers appointed by the monarch. The Council had ruling power. However at this time his power was more noticeable than his restraints. England today still has a monarchy, but, the monarch is merely a figurehead, having no say over the governmental or legal systems (Elton, 1-2). The head of the legal system in Romeo and Juliet is the monarch, Prince Escalus. Juliet was betrothed to Paris in the play (Shakespeare, 672). It was common in this time when a man wanted to marry a woman he would not ask her, he would ask her father. This was also because women had little legal rights in this point in time. Sometimes a married couple would not meet until their wedding day. The morality of it was questioned in later years and this is why it is extremely rare in Western civilization. This still occurs in Middle Eastern and Asian societies (Halsall, Internet). Prince Escalus threatened to execute whoever fights again (Shakespeare, 667). When Tybalt confronts Mercutio and Benvolio he is looking for a fight. He wishes to battle Romeo, but Romeo has so much joy in his heart because he has just wed Juliet and he does not wish to fight Tybalt. Tybalt is now his brother-in-law. Mercutio is appalled by this and fights Tybalt. Romeo attempts to break it up by stepping between Mercutio and Tybalt and Tybalt thrusts his sword under Romeo’s arm, killing Mercutio. Romeo should let Prince Escalus punish Tybalt. The legal system would serve justice. Instead, in the heat of rage over Mercutio’s death, Romeo attacks Tybalt and kills him. The legal procedure that Prince Escalus has enacted was death unto whoever fought again. Tybalt would receive this punishment. Anger can blind us to the immorality and the illegality of an act. This should teach the audience who sees this play never to act when in a state of rage. They should always think before they act because otherwise they will act irrationally without reasoning their actions out. Romeo takes the legal system into his own hands and hands out justice as he wants it dealt (Shakespeare, 715-718). This is an example of people acting as a vigilante in the play. The ripple effect of the revenge murder of Tybalt is Romeo’s banishment from Verona. When Prince Escalus