Solomon and Gaenor : a Welsh-Jewish Romeo and Juliet

White compares the play Solomon and Gaenor, a Welsh-Jewish version of Romeo and Juliet, from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is still a strong cultural reference point, even in contexts that are unexpectedly remote from the play itself, and somewhat allusive. However, it indicates an intertextual complexity. Recognition of Shakespearean parallels makes one aware where some conventions of contemporary ceremonies have come from: the "civil brawls", whose origin is long forgotten in popular memory but still carrying significance, and such recognitions can also momentarily illuminate Shakespeare's text (at the very least, textual editors should investigate the social origins of biting one's thumb). In the case of Solomon and Gaenor, however, Shakespeare's play is not just a reference point, but a clear artistic source, carrying a generic similarity.