Discussion Topic
The education of Romeo and Juliet in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
Summary:
In Romeo and Juliet, both characters come from noble families, implying they would have received an education suitable for their social status. Juliet would likely have been educated at home, focusing on household management and social graces, while Romeo might have had a broader education, including literature and fencing, typical for young men of his rank.
What type of education did Romeo and Juliet receive?
We know that Romeo could read and write. In the second scene of the play, when the illiterate Capulet servant approaches with the guest list to the party, he asks if Romeo can read:
PETER: Perhaps you have learned it without book. But I pray, can you read anything you see?
Romeo is a bit demeaning when he says:
ROMEO: Ay, if I know the letters and the language.
Though he is intending to be flippant (a result of his attitude over Rosaline), here Romeo suggests that he has been formally educated in reading and writing, and perhaps knows more than one language.
It is likely, then, that both Romeo and Juliet were formally schooled in the basic subjects of reading, writing, and mathematics. In addition, they are likely also privately tutored in the arts, things like painting or singing, as well as fencing, dancing and etiquette.
The...
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formal and personal education the two likely received would also contribute to the idea that both Romeo andJuliet were sheltered and spoiled. This helps to explain their lack of sound judgement in matters of love and relationships, as well as their hasty decisions leading them to getting what they think they want immediately.
What type of education might Romeo and Juliet from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet have received?
While Shakespeare wrote the play Romeo and Juliet in Elizabethan
times, the play actually refers to history that took place in Medieval times.
Therefore, the education Romeo and Juliet would have received
would have been the education noble class children received in the
Medieval ages.
For the most part, noble children were taught at home with
tutors. The noble classes were expected to fight in the kings' wars as
knights; therefore, a boy's education primarily focused on
preparing him for the knighthood. Training for the knighthood began at about
the age of six or seven. Boys were taught hunting, horsemanship, how to wear
armor, and how to handle swords and lances. Hence, the fact that Romeo was a
skilled swordsman shows that he had already received his training in the
knighthood ("Aristocratic
Education in Europe"). Some Medieval boys might have been educated in
grammar schools. Education was limited to the wealthy, though the higher up in
social rank the boys were, the more likely they were to be taught by private
tutors ("Aristocratic Education in Europe"). Whether they were taught in
grammar schools or by private tutors, a boy's education would have also focused
on Latin, religious studies, as well as grammar, rhetoric, logic, philosophy,
mathematics, and astronomy ("Medieval
Education").
It was not typical for girls in the Medieval ages to receive a formal
education. Only girls in the noble class, like Juliet,
would have been educated. Like the boys, they would have also
been taught at home by private tutors. However, since girls,
as women, would be expected to care for the home and provide entertainment,
their education focused on housekeeping, sewing, weaving, spinning, and
embroidery ("Aristocratic Education in Europe"). Also, like the boys, girls
were taught to ride horses, but not to fight. Girls would have also been taught
to read, write, speak foreign languages like French and Latin, and also how to
dance, play music, and sing.
References