William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet – popularly considered by many to be the quintessential love story of all time – is a play that we are all familiar with in one way or another. Whether it be through the plethora of portrayals, adaptations and performances that exist or through your own reading of the play, chances are you have been acquainted with this tale of “tragic love” at some point in your life. Through this universal familiarity an odd occurrence can be noted, one of almost canonical reverence for the themes commonly believed to be central to the plot. The most widely believed theme of Romeo and Juliet is that of the ideal love unable to exist under the harsh social and political strains of this world. Out of this idea emerge two

Romeo is portrayed as an emotional and reckless character. His friend Mercutio and Fr. Lawrence comment on Romeo’s fickle attitude when he immediately falls in love with Juliet completely forgetting about Rosaline, his first love. Romeo quotes,” Did my heart love until now? Foreswear it sight, for I never saw true beauty until this night”. His love for Rosaline was superficial. Juliet transforms Romeo’s immature and erotic infatuation to true and constant love. After meeting Juliet he matures very quickly. Maybe Romeo’s love for Juliet is so intense because unlike Rosaline, Juliet reciprocates his

Moreover, Romeo through his infatuation with Rosaline learned valuable lessons that help him come to appreciate and understand the feelings he experiences with Juliet. Romeo felt rejection, sorrow, and misery from his infatuation with Rosaline which is seen when he is talking to Benvolio, “In sadness, cousin, I do love a woman” this particular quote shows the sadness or sorrow he feels from the feelings for Rosaline (1.1.201). Also when he says “She hath forsworn to love”, the words Romeo speaks allow it to be inferred that his feelings for her have been rejected (1.1.220). “At the opening of the play [Romeo] is maundering about like an erotic woman novelist, sighing and groaning because Rosaline will not listen to his tenders of affection” revealing that Romeo’s love was rejected and was upset because of this, allowing him to learn these feelings and what it is like to be rejected by the one he had feelings for (Northwood 19). Due to having felt these emotions from his infatuation, when he finds his love for Juliet and receives love and acceptance from her. Since he went so long, feeling sorrow and rejection when he finally finds Juliet, he can fully appreciate the love and acceptance he is given which intensifies his love for her and does the opposite of weakening the credibility of his love. Through his infatuation with Rosaline, he was able to grow as a person and become able to fully commit to his love for Juliet.

From the 16th century to the 21st century, concepts of good parenting have drastically changed. In Romeo and Juliet, parenting takes an unusual approach as the children are treated in many different ways. Several couples in Shakespeare’s book, have experienced raising a child. While some raise their children with every second of their attention, others, including the Capulets, leave their child with a nanny. Not having a stable relationship with parents has often been the cause of feeling isolated; this is how Juliet feels when growing up, especially being an only child. After the lack of parenting in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Juliet has been raised by her nurse, not had her parents’ influential presence in her life, and has

Romeo shows an abundance of passion towards others in this novel. Romeo is a very passionate character that loves too quickly, yet loves intensely. Romeo believes that Rosaline’s beauty is “too fair” (1.1.212) and claims that “[nobody can] teach [him]

The development of Romeo uncovers fanatic characteristics. After his heartbreak, Romeo reflects on the beauty of Rosaline as he strolls down the street adding, “She is too fair, too wise, wisely too fair” (I.i.215). Romeo’s obsessive behavior leads him into believing Rosaline and his bond remains too strong for her to waste her beauty. Romeo’s distinguished perspective adds to the overkeen mood. At the Capulet’s party, Romeo watches Juliet, after they first meet, adding, “Juliet is the sun” (II.ii.3).

“For never was a story of more woe, than this of Juliet and her Romeo” (5.3.309-310). In William Shakespeare’s Tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, love is one of the most prominent themes of the story. In the play, Shakespeare explores and illustrates the emotions of love with precise details in which every major character in the play experiences some form of desire or love. Many different types of love are shown, from the sensual and physical love advocated by the Nurse and Benvolio, proper contractual love (Paris), unrequited love between Romeo and Rosaline, friendship (Nurse/Juliet, Benvolio/Mercutio-Romeo, Friar-Romeo), romantic love, and eventually to the most important, real passionate love between Romeo and Juliet. There are many different kinds of love discussed in the play; love is illustrated as powerful, tumultuous and passionate, which is a dividing force in social contexts, between families and friends and even Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare describes love as beautiful, violent and spiritual. In exploring Shakespeare’s tragedy, Romeo and Juliet; there are three kinds of love that will be discussed: the immature love of Romeo and Rosaline, the passionate love of Romeo and Juliet, and the friendship love of Benvolio, Mercutio and Friar Lawrence. We realize Shakespeare enjoys exploring young passionate love, but also morns the ephemeral quality of that love.

The strains these children endure are immeasurable that which pressures begin from themselves and their families to gain another 's devotion and start a family. Along with the pressures, their own selfish ways prevent them from truly feeling love, because of their obsession with beauty and longing for sexuality. When Romeo talks about Juliet, he mentions, “Did my heart love till now? Forswear it sight! For I ne’er saw true beauty till thy night” (I.v.53-54), this implies that Romeo needs and longs for attractiveness to have a pleasant relationship, and does not base his love off of Juliet 's personality. He sees beauty and automatically connects that to love, but does not bother to even talk to Juliet beforehand. He has a monomania with outward appearance and creates a way of life for himself based off the belief that appearance equals love (Dupler 267). Loveliness is what he longs for in a women, for “she is rich in beauty, only poor, that when she dies, with beauty dies her store” (I.i.223-224). He never mentioned about her personality or passion, but focuses on her appearance throughout the entire novel. Both children are driven to each other more by the sexual drive than their true emotions for one another.

Juliet trusts that Romeo will be with her forever, even when she dies, he will be shining down on her like stars in the night. Therefore, the two characters are convinced the stars are at fault for their love for one another.

Every human being dreams of falling in love one day, where you find the one that you’re destined to spend the rest of your life with. While we may experience this emotion sometime or another in our lifetime, it is very difficult for many to express it in words. Although many writers and poets have explored this theme, none have portrayed it as intensely as William Shakespeare has in Romeo and Juliet. The story of two star-crossed lovers that were doomed from the very beginning, with feuding families, poorly made choices, and betrothals to others, we still manage to fall in love with the young lovers every time we come across the story. Shakespeare brilliantly moulds the interactions between Romeo and Juliet in

Do you know of anyone who married at age 13, 14, or 15? You probably don’t, but it was very common during the Elizabethan Era in England, a time when people were expected to get married at a very young age. When people think of couples that married at a very young age, Romeo and Juliet often come to mind. Romeo and Juliet’s marriage was not very much like others of the time period. Shakespeare wrote the play, Romeo and Juliet, based on his own views of marriage and love. Shakespeare’s experience with love and marriage, arranged marriages, the age of marriage and consent suggest Shakespeare’s views on marriage varied from his contemporaries’.

This means that Rosaline is beautiful but it will all be for nothing because when she dies, her beauty will go to as with her virginity because she plans to remain chaste forever and to never be in a relationship - crushing Romeo’s dreams of being with her. This quote from Romeo shows that he is only really looking at Rosaline’s beauty and admiring it, not her personality, which isn’t really love. This may entail that Romeo isn’t actually in love with her, but with the idea of being in love. Another hint at this can be described in Act I, Scene 5 when Romeo not only states yet proclaims, “Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.” When he’s speaking of Juliet. All of a sudden, Rosaline is expelled from Romeo’s mind and, just by a glance at Juliet, Romeo is infatuated with her. This is meant to show the theme of love but one can easily argue that it’s not Romeo falling in love. Not yet at least. Romeo’s first acts of true love aren’t until later on in the play but Shakespeare used Act I to set the scene and lay the theme of love into the listeners (and now readers,) minds.

Authors create stories that draw the reader in, by adding depth to their characters in ways that can be understood and used to piece together personal interpretations. This allows one to not only form a deeper connection with the characters, but to more easily see the story from their point of view. The writer can use their hold and ability to steer the characters in whichever direction to invoke a greater reaction from anyone who reads their creation. Depending on how the partaking persons are written, the reader may come to sympathize with, dislike, adore, or pity them. The way the characters are viewed affect how the story itself is viewed, as well. A story with bland, unlikable, one-dimensional characters is one most wouldn 't bother to read. The characters add to the enjoyability of the work they 're featured in and hold much significance to the quality of the text. For example, in Shakespeare 's play, Romeo and Juliet, one he is well renowned for, it is his characters and their traits that bring meaning to the story, from Romeo 's blurred perspective towards the concept of love, to Juliet 's naïveté and willingness to comply with Romeo 's, and her own, ignorance, to Paris ' dedication to Juliet, to even the head of the two households ' neglect and lack of proper attention to their children, which resulted in the broken, distrustful relationships between them. The characters in the play change in accordance with what happens and their feelings at the time. Romeo falls

Throughout the long, tumultuous and famed play that greatly contributed to Shakespeare’s success, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare features many characters that make less than mentally sound decisions. The titular characters, Romeo and Juliet, are often at the heart of this. The choices they make during the play reflect their inexperience and youth, and are often poorly thought out. While neither of them can really be described as mature, Romeo is far less levelheaded and dependable than Juliet. It is for these reasons that the belief that Juliet displayed more maturity than Romeo over the course of the play is justified: first, Juliet expresses a clear desire to take things slowly with Romeo, which stands in stark opposition of his brash impulsiveness. Second, Juliet is able to formulate a cohesive plan with Friar Laurence in order to reunite herself with Romeo, whereas Romeo once again acts recklessly when he was not informed (which was not Juliet’s error), and Juliet swallows her pride to appease her father and achieve this plan. Lastly, Romeo himself shows incredible immaturity and childishness in his decision to fight Tybalt, which does not involve avenging his friend Mercutio, but instead is because he wishes to regain the masculinity that has been softened by his spending time with Juliet. Because he fought for these petty reasons, Romeo was banished from Verona completely. These circumstances lead to both Romeo and Juliet’s deaths.

Romeo+Juliet, a kaleidoscopic film directed by Baz Lurmann, is an intriguing modern interpretation on Shakespeare’s 16th century romantic tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, which has been appropriated to suit the audience and context of modern day society. Lurmann said in an interview, “Shakespeare had an amazing genius for capturing who we are and revealing it to us. My job is just to re-reveal it.” Lurmann successfully appropriated Shakespeare’s original ideas of conflict, violence, love and death, which remain woven through the storyline with the use of characters, setting, theme and dialogue, Romeo and Juliet has been transformed into a modern-day classic, in the form of Baz Lurmann’s Romeo+Juliet.