Hermetic Philosophy in Romeo and Juliet
Early Egyptians believed that the dead experienced a form of transformation:
They were transformed and elevated into eternity by becoming stars.
The Hermetic teachings imbued the Renaissance with a deep interest in ancient Egyptian religion,
so it is entirely possible that Shakespeare used this ancient religious imagery in Romeo and Juliet.
As Juliet waits alone in her bedroom for Romeo, she foreshadows a sublime cosmic transformation
after her death:
“Give me my Romeo, and when I shall die,/
Take him and cut him out in little stars,/
And he will make the face of heaven so fine/
That all the world will be in love with night”
(3.2.23-26).
These lines of Juliet are paralleled earlier by Romeo when he wonders what would happen if two stars were to trade places with Juliet’s eyes:
“…her eye in heaven/
Would through the airy region stream so bright/
That birds would sing and think it were not night”
(2.2.21-23).
Perhaps Shakespeare wanted us to believe not only that the golden statues represent a
transformation of the meaning of Romeo and Juliet’s deaths, but that the two lovers
themselves foresaw ultimate meaning, identity, and sublime beauty in the stars upon
“the face of heaven.”
Although Romeo and Juliet lends itself naturally to analysis using astrology and alchemy, this youthful tragedy is but one part of a whole Shakespearean canon with themes similar to those presented in this article.
Many of the Bard’s plays resonate deeply with the ideal of a cosmic, universal pattern, reaching from the stars
and planets down to the smallest human action.
The tragic violation of cosmic order lies at the heart of Romeo and Juliet:
“Two households, both alike in dignity”
have strewn bloody, violent death over the streets of an Italian community.
Shakespeare used the symbolism of alchemy and the language of the planets and stars to finally bring a
“glooming peace”
to a small town in a foreign land where golden statues glitter under a starry sky.
