What are some ideas for symbolism that relate to suicide prevention that I could use in a project about Romeo and Juliet?

Asked by DThorn (173) May 12th, 2011

For my honors English class we have a Romeo and Juliet project to do. We have to pick an underline message and support it using a shirt by drawing (putting) symbolism on it that supports it.

I picked Suicide Prevention as my underline message.

Along with it we had to choose a quote that shows this underline message in the play. I picked

Juliet:
“O happy dagger!
This is thy sheath; there rust, and let me die.”
Romeo and Juliet ( Act 5, Scene 3, Lines 169–170)

This quote showing Juliet committing suicide. Now I have to explain (with symbolism) why this quote is the BEST quote that could be used for my underline message (Suicide Prevention).

To do that I have to quote other parts of the play along with symbolism of some sort that relates to it in a creative way. (Essentially quote other suicide parts of the play and combine that with some symbol to convey it’s meaning while I explain the quote)

So far here’s what I have

Front of the shirt:

A big white chalkboard with numerous names on it and the words “1st love, 2nd love, 3rd love etc 100th love” all around it. In a big section of it I have the words “101th love Rosaline!...I must have her she’s my life I would die withou——-JULIET! (Her name taking up a giant portion of the chalkboard after cutting off the sentence)

To explain this I would say that in the beginning of the play Romeo was highly indecisive about his love for Rosaline, at first he was completely for it and just because she wouldn’t sleep with him…he wanted to die…until he saw Juliet. This would represent a suicidal person’s nature of constantly changing their view on things and being dangerous to themselves. (Problem here being I’m not sure which quotes EXACTLY I should use for this symbol, any help here would be appreciated)

Below him I have a river running across the bottom of the shirt leading to the back (looping around the entire thing). This would represent the constant flow of life and how it’s oblivious to a person’s woes and wishes etc. Such as what Romeo says and wants. (Once again don’t have exact quote to help explain this, could use help)

For the back of the shirt:

This is where I shall put my quote in a big box but the box itself will be a movie screen and there will be people watching it as if they were in a theater with popcorn/coke/ candy and such. They’ll be laughing and in speech bubbles saying “Hahah lies, bet you anything she’s….!” and one farther back saying “Wait..she…”, as well as others saying “But she joked all those times…she did…it”, along with random “hahas” that die out slowly.

This would represent how throughout the play no one would listen to Juliet when she said that she’d kill her self and that she would and the grave would be her wedding bed and such. Problem again being…I’m not sure where the quotes to support this are exactly, could use help finding them.

Along the bottom half of the shirt I will have a giant wall that is sprouting hands. On the outside will be Juliet looking into the drive in theater with a microphone saying “I WILL I WILL WIlegj09tg4” and other random jumble near the end because her microphone itself is broken.

I was thinking this would symbolism how she would always say she’d kill her self and die but no one ever heard her voice (thus the microphone being broken). The wall would be society holding her back in their disbelief. And again not sure which quotes exactly go with this.

On the sleeves of the shirt:

I’m thinking of putting the Coat of Arms of the Capulets and Montagues on either side of the shirt. They will be torn up and stiched together. There will be a ribbon connecting it to a dove at the top of the shirt flying over the theater/wall. The dove will be blood red and be carrying a scythe.

For this the Coat of Arms would symbolism the families and the stitching would represent that the death (suicide or cause of suicide) of someone dear is what fixed their problems, or mended. The ribbon would show that they are both connected in terms of the suicides affects on them (both causing wounds and some healing). The dove represents peace that is now between the families but it’s blood red and has a scythe to symbolize that it was only after someone’s life had to be give up. Only after someone gave their life would anyone listen and put aside differences and problems. And again the quotes for this I’ll need.

That’s what I have so far planned for this T-Shirt project, in general I’m asking you guys of this.

1. Help me find the quotes that I’m looking for to help support my symbolism ideas.

2. Provide advice on symbolism I could add along with quotes to the shirt that relate to the underline message of Suicide Prevention.

3. Advice me on what I have so far and if I should improve in some places/ change some things or if I should note something important from the story for Suicide Prevention.

Remember it has to support my central quote:

Juliet:
“O happy dagger!
This is thy sheath; there rust, and let me die.”
Romeo and Juliet ( Act 5, Scene 3, Lines 169–170)

and my theme/underline message of Suicide Prevention.

You guys would be helping me out incredibly if you could help me out with this. I’m great at symbolism ideas but not so much when it comes to supporting it with facts (in this case quotes). As always you may also talk about suicide prevention and it’s use in society and affects and such. This is a highly open topic as well as a highly open play after all.

Thank you in advance.