The Bubonic Plague In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

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Thesis: In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the bubonic plague was common in Elizabethan time, especially common to Friar John when he was quarantined for the bubonic plague. Topic Sentence: The bubonic plague took a toll on Friar John when he was not able to reach Romeo for important news that could have saved many lives. Claim: Many people had to be quarantined for sake of other people’s lives. Data: In Jan Tomecek’s article “The Black Death” it reports that “bodies of the dead should be avoided, that their houses should be shut up, (or quarantined) and that garbage should be burned. Their orders were mostly ignored” (Tomecek). Because: Like most Elizabethan people, their normal daily routine was slowed down by the bubonic plague. The people had to be aware of everyone and everything around them even though most people were not. When Friar John was quarantined he could not leave the house he was staying in –…show more content…
Data: In the same article, it reports “It may enter the bloodstream directly as the flea bites the human or indirectly through contact between the fleas’ excrement, and scratches or lesions on the skin. (The Deadly Cycle) When the bacteria invade the lymph nodes, the nodes swell and are called Buboes. Blood vessels break and cause internal bleeding. The dried blood under the skin turns black, hence the name “Black Death”. Symptoms include high fevers and aching limbs and vomiting of blood. The swellings continue to expand until the eventually burst, with death following soon after” (Tomecek). Because: There is a possible chance that Friar John was scared to keep the journey moving because of the Bubonic Plague and all of its symptoms. He probably did not want to take any chances. From the facts in the data, it shows the illness is very severe and scary, so it impaired the way he thought about the journey. He hit a road block and had to turn around, because it is common

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