Romeo and Juliet Trigger Warning List

Hi, everyone! I finished the trigger warning for Romeo and Juliet last week and I'm finally getting around to actually sharing it. As a note, I trigger warned for the entire book, not just the play. And I'm aware that not everyone will have that version, so you can just disregard anything that isn't the play itself. The version that I am using is the Bantam Classic version, with IBSN 9780553213058.

[Important: Please note that trigger warnings are not necessarily to make it so that you can just avoid the content. There is a fairly popular mistaken belief that trigger warnings are censorship. That is not true. Trigger warnings exist so that, if you are sensitive to the content, you are made aware of it before it occurs and surprises you. This gives you a chance to prepare yourself mentally before reading it so that it does not affect you as negatively as it might if you didn’t know that it was going to happen. Also, please note that if you rely on triggers for the shock-value or plot twists (aka, “Well I can’t use trigger warnings because they’re spoilers!”), you aren’t a very good writer and you definitely aren’t taking into consideration the potential sensitivity of your audience.]

Triggers, listed in order of the number of occurrences: death, suicide, violence, sexual content, sexism, ableist language, alcohol, drugs, eating disorders, slurs, and sexual assault.

The play itself (as well as the poem The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet and the section “Memorable Lines”) will be done by line and page, whereas the other portions of the book, including the introduction, will be done by paragraph and page as usual. For reference, the italicized numbers in the parenthesis are the page numbers in my book, and the total number of paragraphs (or lines) in each section are listed below:

Introduction - 14 Romeo and Juliet on Stage - 13 Romeo and Juliet on Screen - 14 The Playhouse - 5 The Prologue - 14 1.1 - 238 1.2 - 103 1.3 - 106 1.4 - 114 1.5 - 145 2.0 - 14 2.1 - 44 2.2 - 190 2.3 - 94 2.4 - 212 2.5 - 78 2.6 - 37 3.1 - 196 3.2 - 143 3.3 - 175 3.4 - 36 3.5 - 243

4.1 - 126 4.2 - 47 4.3 - 58 4.4 - 28 4.5 - 145 5.1 - 86 5.2 - 30 5.3 - 310 Date and Text - 6 Textual Notes - 26 (After the first two paragraphs, I split up the rest of the text of this section by act and scene, so there’s one “paragraph” for each.) Shakespeare’s Sources - 5 The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet - 2790 (This narrative poem is within the Textual Notes section, but as it is denoted by lines instead of paragraphs, I chose to give it its own section for ease of understanding.) Further Reading - 21 Memorable Lines - 66

Death

Most of the death in the play is not very detailed and as such, doesn’t require extra warning beyond labeling the paragraphs or lines, but those scenes where it was more detailed, I did summarize.

• Paragraphs 2 (vii), 4 (viii), 5 (x), 7, 8 (xi), 9 (xii), 10, 11 (xiii), 12 (xiv), and 14 (xv) of the introduction.
• Paragraphs 4 (xix), 5, 6 (xx), 7, 9 (xxii), and 12 (xxiv) of Romeo and Juliet on Stage.
• Paragraphs 6 (xxix), 8 (xxx), 12 (xxxiii), and 14 (xxxiv) of Romeo and Juliet on Screen.
• Lines 8 (5), 9, and 11 of The Prologue.
• Lines 4 (5), 67 (11), 97 (13), 103, 216 (23), and 224 of 1.1.
• In lines 23 (7) through 25 of 1.1, there are mentions of beheading women.
• Lines 50 (29) and 92 (31) of 1.2.
• Line 111 (49) of 1.4.
• Lines 60 (55) and 136 (61) of 1.5.
• Lines 1 (63) and 3 of 2.0.
• Lines 17 (65) of 2.1.
• Lines 4 (67), 64 (71), 70, 78 (73), 185 (81), and 189 of 2.2.
• Lines 9 (83), 10, 30, 45 (85), and 84 (87) of 2.3.
• In lines 13 (89) through 16, there is a description of being dead from unrequited love.
• Lines 16 (105) and 52 (107) of 2.5.  
• Lines 7 (111) and 10 of 2.6.
• Lines 16 (113), 56 (117), 97 (119), 100 (121), 115, 132 (123), 133, 136, 137, 143 (125), 144, 151, 161, 172 (127), 174, 178, 180, 181, 195, and 196 of 3.1.
• Lines 21 (129), 37 (131), 39, 44, 47, 50, 59 (133), 60, 63, 65, 70, 80, 96 (135), 100, 101, 105, 106, 108, 109, 112, 114 (137), 118, 121, 124, 126, 128, 135, and 137 of 3.2.
• In lines 52 (131) through 56 of 3.2, there is a description of a dead body with a sword wound.
• Lines 11 (139), 12, 14, 20, 21, 23 (141), 25, 27, 43 through 47, 66 (143), 70, 92 (145), 94, 103 (147) through 105, 116, 117, 129 (149), 137 through 139, and 145 of 3.3.
• In line 22 (141) of 3.3, there is a mention of decapitation.
• Lines 4 (151) and 24 (153) of 3.4
• Lines 11 (155), 17, 24, 56 (159), 70, 71, 78 (161), 79, 86, 94, 102 (163), 140 (165), 193 (169), 225 (171), and 243 (173) of 3.5.
• Lines 6 (173), 66 (179), 74, 75, 81 through 85, 101 (181), 103, 104, 108, and 112 of 4.1
• Lines 25 (189), 30, 35, 37, and 40 through 57 (191) of 4.3.
• Lines 14 (195), 20 (196), 23 (197) through 40, 48 (199), 56, 58 through 64, 69, 78 (201), 80, 87, 89, and 93  of 4.5.
• Lines 6 (205), 7, 18 (207) through 20, 51 (209), 62, 63, 65, 67, 69 (211), 79, 81, and 86 of 5.1.
• Line 30 (213) of 5.2.
• Act 5 Scene 3 (215-239) takes place in a graveyard or tomb.
• Lines 6 (215), 17, 28 (217), 30, 45 (219), 50 through 57, 60, 72 (221), 73, 122 (223), 133 (225), 139, 144, 152 (227), 155, 162, 174 (229) through 176, 195 (231) through 206, 210 (233), 211, 214, 215, 220, 225, 231, 232, 234, 246 (235), 248, 259, 272 (237), 276, 281, 283, 287, 293, and 303 (239) of 5.3.
• In lines 83 (221) through 120 (223) of 5.3, a character talks of dead bodies and death and then eventually drinks poison.
• Paragraph 6 (242) of Date and Text.
• Paragraphs 16 (246), 20, and 26 (247) of Textual Notes.
• Paragraphs 2 (248) through 4 (249) and 5 of Shakespeare’s Sources.
• Lines 38 (252), 204 (256), 209, 222 (257), 325 (262), 493 (265), 497, 506 (266), 508, 515, 524 (267), 593 (270), 626 (272), 2631 (276), 2644 (277), 2645, 2647, 2657, 2658, 2662 (278), 2663, 2668, 2669, 2676, 2682 (279), 2768, 2770, 2771, 2773, 2777 (280), 2778, 2783, 2784, and 2790 of The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet.
• In a summary of lines 705 through 2628 (276) of The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet, there is a mention of a character dying and another characters supposed death.
• Paragraphs 6 (283), 12 (284), 13, 18 (285), and 20 (286) of Further Reading.
• Lines 38 (288), 42, 49 (289), and 64 of Memorable Lines.

Suicide

Given the tragic nature of the play, the existence of suicide is rather unsurprising. I found mentions or scenes of suicide in the following paragraphs and lines.

• In paragraphs 9 (xii) of the introduction, there is a mention of several people killing themselves.
• In line 6 (5) of The Prologue, there is a brief mention of two people killing themselves.
• In line 45 (131) of 3.2, there is a brief mention of suicide.  
• In lines 116 (147) and 136 (149) of 3.3, there are brief mentions of suicide.
• In lines 59 (179), 72, and 77 through 87 (181) of 4.1, there are mentions of killing yourself in a variety of ways.
• In lines 65 (219) and 290 (237) of 5.3, someone mentions the intent to kill themselves.
• In lines 119 (223) and 120 of 5.3, a character kills themselves by drinking poison.
• In lines 164 (227) through 170 of 5.3, a character talks about wanting to kill themselves and then eventually stabs themselves and dies.
• In line 242 (235) of 5.3, a character mentions another character wanting to, and then actually, killing themselves.
• In paragraph 2 (248) of Shakespeare’s Sources, there is a mention of suicide in the context of another story.
• In paragraphs 3 (249) and 4 of Shakespeare’s Sources, people kill themselves in summaries of other stories that inspired “Romeo and Juliet.”
• In line 496 (265) of The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet, someone mentions that they would kill themselves if someone else dies.
• In lines 2641 (277) through 2686 (279) of The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet, a character poisons themselves.
• In line 2789 (280) of the Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet, a character stabs themselves through the heart.
• In paragraph 2 (282) of Further Reading, there is a brief mention of suicide.

Violence

• In paragraph 11 (xiii) of the introduction, there is a mention of brawling.
• In paragraph 11 (xxiv) of Romeo and Juliet on Stage, there is a mention of a duel.
• In paragraph 13 (xxv) of Romeo and Juliet on Stage, there is a mention of a battle.
• In paragraph 6 (xxix) of Romeo and Juliet on Screen, there is a mention of a duel.
• In paragraph 9 (xxxi) of Romeo and Juliet on Screen, there is a mention of blowing up a gas station.
• In line 4 (5) of The Prologue, there is a brief mention of strife and harming other citizens.
• In lines 62 (9) through 80 (13) of 1.1, there is a swordfight.
• In lines 106 (15) through 115 of 1.1, there is a description of the fighting.
• In lines 54 (29) and 55 of 1.2, a character likens being denied by a woman to being bound in prison and tortured.
• In lines 83 (47) and 84 of 1.4, there is a mention of ambushes and cutting people’s throats.
• In lines 3 (113) and 15 through 29 (115), there are mentions of brawling and quarreling.
• In lines 84 (119) through 88 of 3.1, there is a sword fight and someone gets stabbed.
• In lines 141 (125) through 196 (127) of 3.1, there is a description of the first fight and then a second one.
• In lines 18 (139) and 29 (141) of 3.3, there are brief mentions of torture.
• In lines 35 (217) through 39 of 5.3, there is a mention of tearing a man limb from limb.
• In lines 70 (221) through 73 of 5.3, there is a fight and a man is killed.
• In line 38 (252) of The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet, there is a brief mention of wounds and blood.
• In line 494 (265) of The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet, there is a brief mention of being torn apart.
• In lines 613 (271) and 625 (272) of The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet, there is a mention of being wounded by love’s arrow.

Sexual Content

The sexual content in the play is mostly veiled by the difference in language or just alluded to, but I felt that I should warn for it anyways.

• In paragraph 13 (xv) of the introduction, there is a brief mention of underage sex.
• In paragraph 7 (xxx) of Romeo and Juliet on Screen, there is a brief mention of underage sex.
• In paragraph 14 (xxxv) of Romeo and Juliet on Screen, there are brief mentions of pornography and masturbation.
• In lines 28 (7) through 33 of 1.1, there are some veiled suggestions about sex and manhood.
• In lines 23 (43), 28, and 94 (47) of 1.4, there are veiled mentions of sex.
• In lines 21 (65) through 39 (67) of 2.1, there are veiled sexual suggestions.
• In lines 51 (93), 52, and 91 (95) through 99  of 2.4, there are veiled sexual suggestions.
• In lines 74 (107) through 76 of 2.5, there are veiled sexual suggestions.
• In lines 5 (129) through 16, there are veiled suggestions about losing your virginity.
• In lines 135 (137) through 137 of 3.2, there is a mention of dying a virgin and having death take your virginity.
• In line 90 (145) of 3.3, there is a veiled sexual suggestion.
• In lines 5 (195) through 7, 10, 11, and 37 (197) of 4.5, there is a veiled sexual suggestion.
• In line 198 (255) of The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet, there is a veiled sexual suggestion.
• In lines 542 (268), 697 (275), and 698 of The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet, there is a veiled sexual suggestion that mentions the loss of virginity.
• In a summary of lines 705 through 2628 (276) of The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet, there is a mention of people consummating their marriage.

Sexism

Most of the sexism in this play is sexist language like the term “wench.”

• In paragraph 6 (x) of the introduction, the word wench is used.
• In lines 15 (7) through 18 of 1.1, women are referred to as “the weaker vessels.”
• In lines 218 (23) and 219 of 1.1, a beautiful woman is referred to as a waste because she refuses to get with a male character.
• In lines 4 (89), 14, 40 (93) of 2.4, the word wench is used.
• In line 30 (91) of 2.4, the word whore is used.
• In line 42 (93) of 2.4, the word harlot is used.
• In lines 130 (99) through 137 and 151 of 2.4, there are various slang words and other sexist puns.  
• In line 44 (107) of 2.5, the word wench is used.
• In line 143 (149) of 3.3, the word wench is used.
• In lines 156 (167), 160, and 168 of 3.4, the words baggage and hilding is used to mean “hussy.”
• In line 693 (275) of The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet, the word wench is used.

Ableist Language

The ableist language in this play is mostly the word “mad.”

• In lines 53 (29), 54 of 1.2, the words mad and madness are used.
• In line 8 (65) of 2.1, the word madman is used.
• In line 4 (89) of 2.4, the word mad is used.  
• In line 4 (103) of 2.5, the word lame is used, probably to mean “slow.”
• In line 4 (113) of 3.1, the word mad is used.
• In lines 157 (125) and 191 (127) of 3.1, the term “deaf to” is used.
• In lines 52 (141) and 61 (143) of 3.3, the word madman is used.
• In lines 157 (167) and 176 (168) of 3.5, the word mad is used.
• In line 76 (201) of 4.5, the word mad is used.
• In line 67 (219) of 5.3, the word madman is used.
• In line 80 (221) of 5.3, the word mad is used.
• In paragraph 17 (246) of Textual Notes, the word madmen is used.

Alcohol

Alcohol or being drunk are mentioned in the following lines.

• Line 3 (81) of 2.3.
• Line 88 (135) of 3.2.
• Line 83 (145) of 3.3.
• Line 16 (195) of 4.5.

Drugs

• In paragraphs 8 (xxx), 9 (xxxii), 11, and 12 (xxxiii) of Romeo and Juliet on Screen, there are brief mentions of drugs in a film adaptation of the play.

Eating Disorders

In paragraph 11 (xxxii) of Romeo and Juliet on Screen, there is a brief mention of anorexia.

Slurs

In line 42 (93) of 2.4, the word gypsy, a slur against the Romani people,  is used.

Sexual Assault

In paragraph 14 (xxxv) of Romeo and Juliet on Screen, there is a brief mention of sexual abuse.

I don't actually have anything to list as "up next" because Romeo and Juliet was the last book that I had in my schedule. I'm going to be taking a break from creating the lists to focus on my mental health, but I will be back within the next few months with some new books, or at the very least, the updated versions of the last 6 books that I did (The Great Gatsby, The Scarlet Letter, Animal Farm, A Long Way Gone, Night, and Romeo and Juliet).

A Note for Teachers or Librarians: If you want to distribute these lists to your students or have them available to patrons, I can format the text into a singular sheet of paper--either as a flyer or a tri-fold brochure. Let me know if you want that; My rates are variable and low, as I don't want to create a paywall to accessibility.

Love Always,

Sam

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