is romeo and juliet still relevant today essay

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A Modern Perspective: Romeo and Juliet

By Gail Kern Paster

Does Romeo and Juliet need an introduction? Of all Shakespeare’s plays, it has been the most continuously popular since its first performance in the mid-1590s. It would seem, then, the most direct of Shakespeare’s plays in its emotional impact. What could be easier to understand and what could be more moving than the story of two adolescents finding in their sudden love for each other a reason to defy their families’ mutual hatred by marrying secretly? The tragic outcome of their blameless love (their “misadventured piteous overthrows”) seems equally easy to understand: it results first from Tybalt’s hotheaded refusal to obey the Prince’s command and second from accidents of timing beyond any human ability to foresee or control. Simple in its story line, clear in its affirmation of the power of love over hate, Romeo and Juliet seems to provide both a timeless theme and universal appeal. Its immediacy stands in welcome contrast to the distance, even estrangement, evoked by other Shakespeare plays. No wonder it is often the first Shakespeare play taught in schools—on the grounds of its obvious relevance to the emotional and social concerns of young people.

Recent work by social historians on the history of private life in western European culture, however, offers a complicating perspective on the timelessness of Romeo and Juliet. At the core of the play’s evident accessibility is the importance and privilege modern Western culture grants to desire, regarding it as deeply expressive of individual identity and central to the personal fulfillment of women no less than men. But, as these historians have argued, such conceptions of desire reflect cultural changes in human consciousness—in ways of imagining and articulating the nature of desire. 1 In England until the late sixteenth century, individual identity had been imagined not so much as the result of autonomous, personal growth in consciousness but rather as a function of social station, an individual’s place in a network of social and kinship structures. Furthermore, traditional culture distinguished sharply between the nature of identity for men and women. A woman’s identity was conceived almost exclusively in relation to male authority and marital status. She was less an autonomous, desiring self than any male was; she was a daughter, wife, or widow expected to be chaste, silent, and, above all, obedient. It is a profound and necessary act of historical imagination, then, to recognize innovation in the moment when Juliet impatiently invokes the coming of night and the husband she has disobediently married: “Come, gentle night; come, loving black-browed night, / Give me my Romeo” ( 3.2.21 –23).

Recognizing that the nature of desire and identity is subject to historical change and cultural innovation can provide the basis for rereading Romeo and Juliet. Instead of an uncomplicated, if lyrically beautiful, contest between young love and “ancient grudge,” the play becomes a narrative that expresses an historical conflict between old forms of identity and new modes of desire, between authority and freedom, between parental will and romantic individualism. Furthermore, though the Chorus initially sets the lovers as a pair against the background of familial hatred, the reader attentive to social detail will be struck instead by Shakespeare’s care in distinguishing between the circumstances of male and female lovers: “she as much in love, her means much less / To meet her new belovèd anywhere” ( 2. Chorus. 11 –12, italics added). The story of “Juliet and her Romeo” may be a single narrative, but its clear internal division is drawn along the traditionally unequal lines of gender.

Because of such traditional notions of identity and gender, Elizabethan theatergoers might have recognized a paradox in the play’s lyrical celebration of the beauty of awakened sexual desire in the adolescent boy and girl. By causing us to identify with Romeo and Juliet’s desire for one another, the play affirms their love even while presenting it as a problem in social management. This is true not because Romeo and Juliet fall in love with forbidden or otherwise unavailable sexual partners; such is the usual state of affairs at the beginning of Shakespearean comedy, but those comedies end happily. Rather Romeo and Juliet’s love is a social problem, unresolvable except by their deaths, because they dare to marry secretly in an age when legal, consummated marriage was irreversible. Secret marriage is the narrative device by which Shakespeare brings into conflict the new privilege claimed by individual desire and the traditional authority granted fathers to arrange their daughters’ marriages. Secret marriage is the testing ground, in other words, of the new kind of importance being claimed by individual desire. Shakespeare’s representation of the narrative outcome of this desire as tragic—here, as later in the secret marriage that opens Othello —may suggest something of Elizabethan society’s anxiety about the social cost of romantic individualism.

The conflict between traditional authority and individual desire also provides the framework for Shakespeare’s presentation of the Capulet-Montague feud. The feud, like the lovers’ secret marriage, is another problem in social management, another form of socially problematic desire. We are never told what the families are fighting about or fighting for; in this sense the feud is both causeless and goal-less. The Chorus’s first words insist not on the differences between the two families but on their similarity: they are two households “both alike in dignity.” Later, after Prince Escalus has broken up the street brawl, they are “In penalty alike” ( 1.2.2 ). Ironically, then, they are not fighting over differences. Rather it is Shakespeare’s careful insistence on the lack of difference between Montague and Capulet that provides a key to understanding the underlying social dynamic of the feud. Just as desire brings Romeo and Juliet together as lovers, desire in another form brings the Montague and Capulet males out on the street as fighters. The feud perpetuates a close bond of rivalry between these men that even the Prince’s threat of punishment cannot sever: “Montague is bound as well as I,” Capulet tells Paris ( 1.2.1 ). Indeed, the feud seems necessary to the structure of male-male relations in Verona. Feuding reinforces male identity—loyalty to one’s male ancestors—at the same time that it clarifies the social structure: servants fight with servants, young noblemen with young noblemen, old men with old men. 2

That the feud constitutes a relation of desire between Montague and Capulet is clear from the opening, when the servants Gregory and Sampson use bawdy innuendo to draw a causal link between their virility and their eagerness to fight Montagues: “A dog of that house shall move me to stand,” i.e., to be sexually erect ( 1.1.12 ). The Montagues seem essential to Sampson’s masculinity since, by besting Montague men, he can lay claim to Montague women as symbols of conquest. (This, of course, would be a reductive way of describing what Romeo does in secretly marrying a Capulet daughter.) The feud not only establishes a structure of relations between men based on competition and sexual aggression, but it seems to involve a particularly debased attitude toward women. No matter how comic the wordplay of the Capulet servants may be, we should not forget that the sexual triangle they imagine is based on fantasized rape: “I will push Montague’s men from the wall and thrust his maids to the wall” ( 1.1.18 –19). Gregory and Sampson are not interested in the “heads” of the Montague maidens, which might imply awareness of them as individuals. They are interested only in their “maidenheads.” Their coarse view of woman as generic sexual object is reiterated in a wittier vein by Mercutio, who understands Romeo’s experience of awakened desire only as a question of the sexual availability of his mistress: “O Romeo, that she were, O, that she were / An open-arse, thou a pop’rin pear” ( 2.1.40 –41).

Feuding, then, is the form that male bonding takes in Verona, a bonding which seems linked to the derogation of woman. But Romeo, from the very opening of the play, is distanced both physically and emotionally from the feud, not appearing until the combatants and his parents are leaving the stage. His reaction to Benvolio’s news of the fight seems to indicate that he is aware of the mechanisms of desire that are present in the feud: “Here’s much to do with hate, but more with love” ( 1.1.180 ). But it also underscores his sense of alienation: “This love feel I, that feel no love in this” ( 187 ). He is alienated not only from the feud itself, one feels, but more importantly from the idea of sexuality that underlies it. Romeo subscribes to a different, indeed a competing view of woman—the idealizing view of the Petrarchan lover. In his melancholy, his desire for solitude, and his paradox-strewn language, Romeo identifies himself with the style of feeling and address that Renaissance culture named after the fourteenth-century Italian poet Francesco Petrarca or Petrarch, most famous for his sonnets to Laura. By identifying his beloved as perfect and perfectly chaste, the Petrarchan lover opposes the indiscriminate erotic appetite of a Gregory or Sampson. He uses the frustrating experience of intense, unfulfilled, and usually unrequited passion to refine his modes of feeling and to enlarge his experience of self.

It is not coincidental, then, that Shakespeare uses the language and self-involved behaviors of the Petrarchan lover to dramatize Romeo’s experience of love. For Romeo as for Petrarch, love is the formation of an individualistic identity at odds with other kinds of identity: “I have lost myself. I am not here. / This is not Romeo. He’s some other where” ( 1.1.205 –6). Petrarchan desire for solitude explains Romeo’s absence from the opening clash and his lack of interest in the activities of his gang of friends, whom he accompanies only reluctantly to the Capulet feast: “I’ll be a candle holder and look on” ( 1.4.38 ). His physical isolation from his parents—with whom he exchanges no words in the course of the play—further suggests his shift from traditional, clan identity to the romantic individualism prefigured by Petrarch.

Shakespeare’s comic irony is that such enlargement of self is itself a mark of conventionality, since Petrarchism in European literature was by the late sixteenth century very widespread. A more cutting irony is that the Petrarchan lover and his sensual opponent (Sampson or Gregory) have more in common than is first apparent. The Petrarchan lover, in emphasizing the often paralyzing intensity of his passion, is less interested in praising the remote mistress who inspires such devotion than he is in displaying his own poetic virtuosity and his capacity for self-denial. Such a love—like Romeo’s for Rosaline—is founded upon frustration and requires rejection. The lover is interested in affirming the uniqueness of his beloved only in theory. On closer look, she too becomes a generic object and he more interested in self-display. Thus the play’s two languages of heterosexual desire—Petrarchan praise and anti-Petrarchan debasement—appear as opposite ends of a single continuum, as complementary discourses of woman, high and low. Even when Paris and old Capulet, discussing Juliet as prospective bride, vary the discourse to include a conception of woman as wife and mother, she remains an object of verbal and actual exchange.

In lyric poetry, the Petrarchan mistress remains a function of language alone, unheard, seen only as a collection of ideal parts, a center whose very absence promotes desire. Drama is a material medium, however. In drama, the Petrarchan mistress takes on embodiment and finds an answering voice, like Juliet’s gently noting her sonneteer-pilgrim’s conventionality: “You kiss by th’ book” ( 1.5.122 ). In drama, the mistress may come surrounded by relatives and an inconveniently insistent social milieu. As was noted above, Shakespeare distinguishes sharply between the social circumstances of adolescent males and females. Thus one consequence of setting the play’s domestic action solely within the Capulet household is to set Juliet, the “hopeful lady” of Capulet’s “earth” ( 1.2.15 ), firmly into a familial context which, thanks to the Nurse’s fondness for recollection and anecdote, is rich in domestic detail. Juliet’s intense focus upon Romeo’s surname—“What’s Montague? . . . O, be some other name” ( 2.2.43 , 44 )—is a projection onto her lover of her own conflicted sense of tribal loyalty. Unlike Romeo, whose deepest emotional ties are to his gang of friends, and unlike the more mobile daughters of Shakespearean comedy who often come in pairs, Juliet lives isolated and confined, emotionally as well as physically, by her status as daughter. Her own passage into sexual maturity comes first by way of parental invitation to “think of marriage now” ( 1.3.75 ). Her father invites Paris, the man who wishes to marry Juliet, to attend a banquet and feast his eyes on female beauty: “Hear all, all see, / And like her most whose merit most shall be” ( 1.2.30 –31). Juliet, in contrast, is invited to look only where her parents tell her:

I’ll look to like, if looking liking move.

But no more deep will I endart mine eye

Than your consent gives strength to make it fly.

( 1.3.103 –5)

The logic of Juliet’s almost instant disobedience in looking at, and liking, Romeo (rather than Paris) can be understood as the ironic fulfillment of the fears in traditional patriarchal culture about the uncontrollability of female desire, the alleged tendency of the female gaze to wander. Petrarchism managed the vexed question of female desire largely by wishing it out of existence, describing the mistress as one who, like the invisible Rosaline of this play, “will not stay the siege of loving terms, / Nor bide th’ encounter of assailing eyes” ( 1.1.220 –21). Once Romeo, in the Capulet garden, overhears Juliet’s expression of desire, however, Juliet abandons the conventional denial of desire—“Fain would I dwell on form; fain, fain deny / What I have spoke. But farewell compliment” ( 2.2.93 –94). She rejects the “strength” implied by parental sanction and the protection afforded by the Petrarchan celebration of chastity for a risk-taking experiment in desire that Shakespeare affirms by the beauty of the lovers’ language in their four scenes together. Juliet herself asks Romeo the serious questions that Elizabethan society wanted only fathers to ask. She challenges social prescriptions, designed to contain erotic desire in marriage, by taking responsibility for her own marriage:

If that thy bent of love be honorable,

Thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow,

By one that I’ll procure to come to thee,

Where and what time thou wilt perform the rite,

And all my fortunes at thy foot I’ll lay

And follow thee my lord throughout the world.

( 2.2.150 –55)

The irony in her pledge—an irony perhaps most obvious to a modern, sexually egalitarian audience—is that Romeo here is following Juliet on an uncharted narrative path to sexual fulfillment in unsanctioned marriage. Allowing her husband access to a bedchamber in her father’s house, Juliet leads him into a sexual territory beyond the reach of dramatic representation. Breaking through the narrow oppositions of the play’s two discourses of woman—as either anonymous sexual object (for Sampson and Gregory) or beloved woman exalted beyond knowing or possessing (for Petrarch)—she affirms her imaginative commitment to the cultural significance of desire as an individualizing force:

                          Come, civil night,

Thou sober-suited matron all in black,

And learn me how to lose a winning match

Played for a pair of stainless maidenhoods.

Hood my unmanned blood, bating in my cheeks,

With thy black mantle till strange love grow bold,

Think true love acted simple modesty.

( 3.2.10 –16)

Romeo, when he is not drawn by desire deeper and deeper into Capulet territory, wanders into the open square where the destinies of the play’s other young men—and in part his own too—are enacted. Because the young man’s deepest loyalty is to his friends, Romeo is not really asked to choose between Juliet and his family but between Juliet and Mercutio, who are opposed in the play’s thematic structure. Thus one function of Mercutio’s anti-Petrarchan skepticism about the idealization of woman is to offer resistance to the adult heterosexuality heralded by Romeo’s union with Juliet, resistance on behalf of the regressive pull of adolescent male bonding—being “one of the guys.” This distinction, as we have seen, is in part a question of speaking different discourses. Romeo easily picks up Mercutio’s banter, even its sly innuendo against women. Mercutio himself regards Romeo’s quickness at repartee as the hopeful sign of a return to a “normal” manly identity incompatible with his ridiculous role as lover:

Why, is not this better now than groaning for love? Now art thou sociable, now art thou Romeo, now art thou what thou art, by art as well as by nature. For this driveling love is like a great natural that runs lolling up and down to hide his bauble in a hole.

( 2.4.90 –95)

Implicit here is a central tenet of traditional misogyny that excessive desire for a woman is effeminizing. For Mercutio it is the effeminate lover in Romeo who refuses shamefully to answer Tybalt’s challenge: “O calm, dishonorable, vile submission!” he exclaims furiously ( 3.1.74 ). Mercutio’s death at Tybalt’s hands causes Romeo temporarily to agree, obeying the regressive emotional pull of grief and guilt over his own part in Mercutio’s defeat. “Why the devil came you between us?” Mercutio asks. “I was hurt under your arm” ( 3.1.106 –8). Why, we might ask instead, should Mercutio have insisted on answering a challenge addressed only to Romeo? Romeo, however, displaces blame onto Juliet: “Thy beauty hath made me effeminate / And in my temper softened valor’s steel” ( 3.1.119 –20).

In terms of narrative structure, the death of Mercutio and Romeo’s slaying of Tybalt interrupt the lovers’ progress from secret marriage to its consummation, suggesting the incompatibility between romantic individualism and adolescent male bonding. The audience experiences this incompatibility as a sudden movement from comedy to tragedy. Suddenly Friar Lawrence must abandon hopes of using the love of Capulet and Montague as a force for social reintegration. Instead, he must desperately stave off Juliet’s marriage to Paris, upon which her father insists, by making her counterfeit death and by subjecting her to entombment. The legal finality of consummated marriage—which was the basis for Friar Lawrence’s hopes “to turn your households’ rancor to pure love” ( 2.3.99 )—becomes the instrument of tragic design. It is only the Nurse who would allow Juliet to accept Paris as husband; we are asked to judge such a prospect so unthinkable that we then agree imaginatively to Friar Lawrence’s ghoulish device.

In terms of the play’s symbolic vocabulary, Juliet’s preparations to imitate death on the very bed where her sexual maturation from girl- to womanhood occurred confirms ironically her earlier premonition about Romeo: “If he be marrièd, / My grave is like to be my wedding bed” ( 1.5.148 –49). Her brief journey contrasts sharply with those of Shakespeare’s comic heroines who move out from the social confinement of daughterhood into a freer, less socially defined space (the woods outside Athens in A Midsummer Night’s Dream , the Forest of Arden in As You Like It ). There they can exercise a sanctioned, limited freedom in the romantic experimentation of courtship. Juliet is punished for such experimentation in part because hers is more radical; secret marriage symbolically is as irreversible as “real” death. Her journey thus becomes an internal journey in which her commitment to union with Romeo must face the imaginative challenge of complete, claustrophobic isolation and finally death in the Capulet tomb.

It is possible to see the lovers’ story, as some critics have done, as Shakespeare’s dramatic realization of the ruling metaphors of Petrarchan love poetry—particularly its fascination with “death-marked love” ( Prologue. 9 ). 3 But, in pondering the implications of Shakespeare’s moving his audience to identify with this narrative of initiative, desire, and power, we also do well to remember the psychosocial dynamics of drama. By heightening their powers of identification, drama gives the members of an audience an embodied image of the possible scope and form of their fears and desires. Here we have seen how tragic form operates to contain the complex play of desire/identification. The metaphors of Petrarchan idealization work as part of a complex, ambivalent discourse of woman whose ultimate social function is to encode the felt differences between men and women on which a dominant male power structure is based. Romeo and Juliet find a new discourse of romantic individualism in which Petrarchan idealization conjoins with the mutual avowal of sexual desire. But their union, as we have seen, imperils the traditional relations between males that is founded upon the exchange of women, whether the violent exchange Gregory and Sampson crudely imagine or the normative exchange planned by Capulet and Paris. Juliet, as the daughter whose erotic willfulness activates her father’s transformation from concerned to tyrannical parent, is the greater rebel. Thus the secret marriage in which this new language of feeling is contained cannot here be granted the sanction of a comic outcome. When Romeo and Juliet reunite, it is only to see each other, dead, in the dim confines of the Capulet crypt. In this play the autonomy of romantic individualism remains “star-crossed.”

• The story of these massive shifts in European sensibility is told in a five-volume study titled A History of Private Life , gen. eds. Philippe Ariès and Georges Duby (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1987–91). The study covers over three millennia in the history of western Europe. For the period most relevant to Romeo and Juliet, see vol. 3, Passions of the Renaissance (1989), ed. Roger Chartier, trans. Arthur Goldhammer, pp. 399–607.
• The best extended discussion of the dynamic of the feud is Coppélia Kahn, Man’s Estate: Masculine Identity in Shakespeare (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1981), pp. 83ff.
• Nicholas Brooke, Shakespeare’s Early Tragedies (London: Methuen, 1968), pp. 82ff.

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Why Shakespeare still matters

The Bard’s enduring popularity proves that even four centuries after his death, he can teach us much about tackling humanity’s great questions

By Dr David McInnis, Gerry Higgins Lecturer in Shakespeare Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Melbourne

Shakespeare would be amused at how famous he is in 2016. Before anything else, he was a businessman: an actor, a shareholder in his company, as well as a playwright whose priority was to sell tickets. Half of his plays weren’t even published during his lifetime.

Now his legacy is all around us, from The Simpsons and Doctor Who , to movies such as Shakespeare in Love . Too bad he didn’t live to see the royalties.

To understand who we are, we need to understand where we came from.

You don’t have to live in England to see Shakespeare’s influence everywhere you look. Shakespeare’s plays were amongst the precious few books brought to Australia by Captain Cook on his ship, The Endeavour . A note on the back of Australia’s oldest surviving print document tells us that Richard III (probably Shakespeare’s play) was performed as early as December 1793 on Norfolk Island. Shakespeare is embedded in our history.

• Shakespeare 400 Melbourne

His plays were performed consistently in Australia throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, and remain some of the most frequently adapted stories in Hollywood.

Film producers could rely on familiarity with Shakespeare’s work, and use it as a licence to experiment with form. Some of the earliest silent pictures were of Shakespeare plays. King John , for example, made it into film as a short feature as early as 1899 . A silent Midsummer Night’s Dream ( 1909 ) was an early leader in special effects, making its fairies fly and disappear on film.

Shakespeare provided the vehicle for social commentary: in the 1956 sci-fi cult classic, Forbidden Planet (starring a very young Leslie Nielson), the “new world” of Shakespeare’s The Tempest is literalised as “new worlds” in the context of the space race concerns of the mid 20th century.

Screen violence reached new heights in Roman Polanski’s Macbeth (1971); a film made in the wake of the director’s pregnant wife having been murdered by the Manson Family. And for stylistic innovation alone, Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet is impossible to ignore.

There is also a quirky side to Shakespearean history. The common starling, an introduced pest in the United States, owes its introduction to a group of Shakespeare enthusiasts, who in 1890 thought it would be nice to release into Central Park every bird named in Shakespeare’s plays.

And if you believe American Shakespeare scholars, Shakespeare also helped the Allies win World War II. Shakespeare scholar Charlton Hinman was working on the numerous and minute differences between printed copies of Shakespeare’s works when America entered the war and he became a naval cryptanalyst. His interest in the printing of Shakespeare’s plays and in analysis of aerial photographs of pre- and post-bombing sites led to the creation of the “ Hinman Collator ”: an optical machine enabling rapid comparison between two virtually identical documents. Vital technology for winning the war thus owes a debt to Shakespeare, in a way.

But why should we continue to see Shakespeare’s plays and to read his work?

For some, the beauty of his language and the relatable characters he created is enough. His fellow playwright and friend Ben Jonson described Shakespeare as “ not of an age, but for all time ”. When we think of romance, we think of Romeo and Juliet . When we think of the dangers of ambition or of ruthlessness in politics, we think of Macbeth and Richard III . When a comical mix-up takes place we still refer to The Comedy of Errors with its confusion of not just one set of twins, but two.

For others, there is an instrumental value in studying Shakespeare. Sure, we live in an age of blogs and tweets, but those who can think in long-form can also write concisely. The converse isn’t necessarily true. Shakespeare offers stimulating examples of complex material that helps hone our critical thinking skills. After studying the construction of racial identity and prejudice in Othello – a play in which racial Otherness was literally constructed in Shakespeare’s day (just as gender was) by a white male actor using cosmetics and gestures – we are better equipped for analysing the motivations and strategies of racist thought in contemporary society.

There has never been a better time to enjoy Shakespeare. We are not precious about his work anymore: actors don’t have to feign English accents or wear tights. To focus on just a single play, think about the infinite variety of interpretations that Macbeth has produced. In the classic 1957 Japanese film Throne of Blood , Akira Kurosawa located Shakespeare’s story within the influence of Noh theatre and a Japanese aesthetic emphasising the inevitability of karmic fate.

Celebrating 400 years of Shakespeare

He reimagined the Scottish warlord as a samurai warrior (Washizu, played by Toshirô Mifune) who rises to the rank of Great Lord of the Spider’s Web Castle after he receives a prophecy from an eerie forest-spirit and is manipulated by his even eerier wife (Lady Asaji, played by Isuzu Yamada).

In the BBC’s Shakespeare Retold series of the early 2000s, barely a word of Shakespeare’s text survives as “Joe Macbeth” (James McAvoy), an aspiring chef, is tempted to kill the head chef and take over the kitchen himself.

In 2012, the ridiculously talented Alan Cumming performed Macbeth essentially as a one-man play, set in a Victorian-period mental institution – what one critic called “ a kind of schizophrenic nightmare ”. And of course, in the post- Downton Abbey infatuation with period drama, director Justin Kurzel has most recently returned us to a pseudo-historical setting of a rugged Scottish landscape as cold as the hearts of the characters it dwarfs, in his 2015 film starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard.

Arguably what makes Shakespeare’s work so enduring is that he doesn’t provide easy answers. He does not tell us what to think; he teaches us how to think. His characters and the situations they find themselves in are complex; complex enough to warrant continued investigation four centuries later.

Were Romeo and Juliet’s parents cruel, or were they being responsible and pragmatic in looking after their children’s long-term interests? Should Hamlet have trusted his instinct and acted decisively, or was he wise to delay until he thought he had proof? Or as King Lear’s decision to divide his land but retain the crown prompts us to consider, does power reside in a title or in actions?

The questions of identity, race, terror, sex, violence, religion and gender raised by Shakespeare’s plays continue to be hotly debated in contemporary culture, though rarely with the subtlety and intelligence found in Shakespeare. In wrestling with the provocative questions and scenarios Shakespeare created, we question our own assumptions and beliefs, clarify our own thoughts, and become better thinkers. And as the vast diversity of film and stage performances suggests, we continue to have fun in the process.

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Romeo and Juliet

By william shakespeare.

Shakespeare creates an absolute masterpiece here with his groundbreaking ideas underpinned by his legendary writing skills. 

About the Book

Article written by Lee-James Bovey

P.G.C.E degree.

Romeo and Juliet almost speaks for itself. However, in keeping with the other articles on Book Analysis , we will try and review it honestly. (As honest as can be from a self-proclaimed Shakespeare fanboy!)

Characterization

It is not as straightforward to show characters in a play. Often the actors themselves help bring a text to life. However, having done some amateur theatre what I can say categorically is that with a dull script the talent of the actors is irrelevant. That is not an issue here. There is a range of characters and they all feel distinct from one another.

We see a range of motivations and people adapting the way they behave to suit their situation. Take for instance the character Lord Capulet who is defensive about the idea of Juliet marrying given her age but in the wake of Tybalt’s death and facing her showing a rebellious side he transforms completely appearing to threaten violence against her.

It is well known that Shakespeare borrowed plot ideas liberally from ancient Greek plays . However, with Romeo and Juliet , he broke new ground. Of course, it wasn’t the first tragedy but it was the first to use love as the hero’s fatal flaw. Up until this point, of course, we had seen love in plays but usually in comedy. It was considered not serious enough to warrant being a factor in a tragedy. The impact of this has shaped culture immeasurably.

But is the plot any good? It is not his most complex. There are no multiple side plots at play. However, it is such a good story. It truly is timeless and has been borrowed and liberally ripped off for centuries since. Personally, it is one of my favorites.

Language use

There is no doubt that Shakespeare was a master of his craft. So much of what he has written has shaped and bled into modern society. What he always did beautifully is use speech patterns to denote class or changes in status. Or in the case of Rome and Juliet to signify love. You know how they say when people are in love they “complete one another” Shakespeare subconsciously shows us that. When Romeo and Juliet first talk to one another their words form a perfect Shakespearean sonnet. Isn’t that beautiful? Plus looking beyond that you have the subtle difference in the way Romeo describes Juliet compared to Rosaline.

His metaphors are all about war and misery with Rosaline signifying his inner turmoil while his imagery when describing Juliet draws on religion and light. These skills combined with the masterful use of foreshadowing and the beautifully crafted witty exchanges between Romeo and Mercutio prove just how good the bard was.

It might not be the literary critic’s favorite. That honor seems to lie with Hamlet but can you really argue with the lasting appeal of Romeo and Juliet ? Here is a play that is still discussed and performed more than 400 years after it was written in an era where the language has developed so much that people struggle to understand everything which is said and yet it maintains its mystique. Some could point to the literary canon and suggest that it is full of dead white men and of course that is correct. I would suggest that not all of those dead white men deserve their place either.

However, I do not believe that you can extend that critique to the works of Shakespeare who was clearly ahead of his time in terms of the issues he was tackling. He also consistently displayed a masterful use of language and was as good at turning a phrase as anyone who has ever picked up a quill or sat in front of a typewriter. So, yes while I do display a certain degree of bias towards Shakespeare I still believe that Romeo and Juliet is an absolute masterpiece.

Should you read it?

This is a slightly more complex question to answer than you might expect. Yes, Shakespeare was a phenomenal writer but he was not an author. You can read his works and get enjoyment from them but truly to see them brought to life I’d recommend going to the theatre and seeing them performed and if you can’t bring yourself to do that watch one of the movies adaptations. So yes by all means read it. But if you ever get the opportunity to see it performed, do that! Especially if it is by somebody who does it well like the RSC in the UK.

Romeo and Juliet: Still as relevant today as it was in its day

• Writing style
• Lasting effect on reader

Romeo and Juliet Review

• Impeccable use of language
• Iconic story
• The music scene near the climax is dated
• Some of the humour is lost on a modern audience
• Language can be tricky to understand

About Lee-James Bovey

Lee-James, a.k.a. LJ, has been a Book Analysis team member since it was first created. During the day, he's an English Teacher. During the night, he provides in-depth analysis and summary of books.

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Why Is Shakespeare Still Important?

31 Jan, 2024

Few people deny that he’s one of the most important writers to have ever lived – but why?

In a world in which ‘everyone is writing a book’ (Cicero said that all the way back in around 100 BC, and it’s still true today, two thousand years later), why is Shakespeare one of the few names that continues to resonate through the centuries?

Before we launch into his work and legacy, here’s a quick biography of the man behind the plays.

Table of Contents

Who was William Shakespeare?

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, all the way back in 1564. The Shakespeares weren’t a noble family, but his father did hold positions in local government and William was probably sent to the local grammar school as a child. At eighteen, he married a woman called Anne Hathaway (not that one!), and later moved to London. He made a name for himself as an actor and then as a playwright in the capital. He lived between London and his hometown, while his wife and kids stayed in Stratford.

4 reasons why Shakespeare is still relevant today

1. shakespeare’s themes.

A lot of Shakespeare’s plays deal with really big, universal themes. Things like life, love, death and betrayal. He might write about them in slightly funny language and in the context of an England that existed 400 years ago, but they’re topics that we can still relate to today.

One of the best-known speeches in the world begins ‘To be or not to be.’ It sees a young man struggle with questions of death and the afterlife in the face of crippling grief. You can set the monologue in any context, at any time and in any place; the emotion and rawness of the words will still resonate deeply with the audience. Similarly, Romeo and Juliet’s professions of love are amongst the most beautiful in the English canon. And their story of a forbidden relationship is one with which many modern audience members can still sympathise. The topics that Shakespeare explores in his plays, then, are things that everyone throughout history can relate to. The fact we continue to identify with situations he writes about is one of the biggest reasons we still read him so widely today.

2. Shakespeare’s characters

The themes covered in the plays are universal, but the relatability of the characters is even more impressive. It’s not difficult for modern audiences to see themselves reflected in at least one character in any given Shakespeare production, even though they were written around the turn of the 17th century. How remarkable is that!

Viola, Sebastian and Duke from She’s the Man are all believable high schoolers in the mid-2000s, but they’re actually based on characters from Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night . Creating men and women who are able to slot into modern American football teams, or wield pistols instead of swords is no mean feat, but Shakespeare achieved it over and over again. His characters are beloved, despised, laughed at and most importantly remembered for their relatability. 

3. Shakespeare’s impact on linguistics

For those with an interest in learning the English language more than reading its literature, Shakespeare is still important. This is because of his contributions to the development of words and phrases that are now used on a daily basis. Shakespeare played a really important part in molding the language we speak today. If you’ve ever said ‘all of a sudden’, or spoken about jealousy as ‘the green-eyed monster’, then you have Shakespeare to thank. He even came up with whole new words – 422 of them , in fact, including bump, lonely and upstairs. That’s not to say we’d still be without words for these things if Shakespeare had never written. But the sheer number of new words and phrases he coined makes him a core figure in the development of our language.

4. Shakespeare’s impact on theatre

For many modern actors, acting in the main role in a Shakespeare production is a career-defining and impressive achievement. The Globe Theatre, the Elizabethan playhouse for which he produced his plays, is still an icon of London’s rich cultural history. 

Watching a Shakespeare play live on stage is an experience like no other. You’re sure to find productions of his plays nearby, wherever you live, but there’s nothing quite like an open-air production to really capture the original magic. If you enrol in our Oxford summer course , you’ll get to watch a play performed live in the ruins of the ancient Oxford Castle and Prison , or you could watch a play in the reconstruction of Shakespeare’s own Globe Theatre on the Southbank.

What can we learn from Shakespeare’s plays?

Shakespeare’s plays offer timeless insights into human nature, society, and the complexities of relationships.

Through his masterful storytelling, we learn about the enduring themes of love, power, jealousy, betrayal, and the human condition. His characters, from the tragic hero to the comic fool, provide a mirror to our own lives, teaching us about empathy, understanding different perspectives, and the consequences of our actions.

Shakespeare also enriches our understanding of language and its power, showing how words can convey deep emotions, create vivid imagery, and express complex ideas.

Interested in more classic literature?

• Take a look at these classic books that everyone should read!
• For a more immersive experience in English literature, consider attending a Summer School in Oxford , where you can delve deeper into these timeless works and prepare for university-level studies in English Literature.
• Explore some further English literature reading list suggestions  for those interested in studying English Literature at university.

What are your writing aspirations?

If you’re an aspiring writer or interested in studying English, explore our Writing Summer School in Oxford. You’ll be immersed in the creative atmosphere of Oxford, a hub of inspiration for writers, and surrounded by like-minded students from around the world. Discover more about the Oxford Scholastica Academy!

BTN: Why Shakespeare is still relevant today

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Ian McKellen performs as King Lear, and Sylvester McCoy as the Fool, in Shakespeare's King Lear.

(Laughs) To take 't again perforce — Monster ingratitude!

If you were my fool, nuncle, I'd have thee beaten for being old before thy time.

ABC's Behind The News presenter Nathan Bazley narrates.

NATHAN BAZLEY:

There is no doubt that these guys are performing Shakespeare. They're old, they're yelling at each other, and, for the life of me, I can't work out what they're on about.

She will taste as like this as a crab does to a crab.

# TECHNO BEAT

Three actors in gaudy Elizabethan costumes perform on stage with handheld microphones. Behind them is a colourful circus-like marquee.

But what about these guys?

(Raps) # And a punk named Iago who made himself a menace / He got beef with Othello, the Moor of V-V-Venice. #

Well, believe it or not, this rap is part of The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare — a fun production that fits all his plays into one. This really is Shakespeare with his name in lights.

Above the stage, marquee lights spell out 'William Shakespeare'.

Nathan interviews the three actors on the stage.

The response we've had from the schools audiences have been amazing. And I sit in the audience to start with, um, and I can hear people beforehand going 'Oh, this is going to be boring' and 'I hate Shakespeare' and I just think, 'Oh, I cannot wait until you see what we're going to do.'

But before we get into the future of Shakespeare, let's look all the way back into his past.

# ELECTRONIC BEAT

Portraits of William Shakespeare.

William Shakespeare was a scriptwriter and poet who is widely regarded as the best ever. That's big praise, but he deserves it. Over his lifetime, Shakespeare wrote around 37 plays and 154 poems. And many of them are still being performed today, 400 years later.

Footage from Disney's animation The Lion King. The meerkat Timon approaches a mossy log.

Hey, this looks like a good spot to rustle up some grub.

Timon cracks the log open and Simba the lion cub and Pumbaa the warthog peer tentatively Inside. They see an assortment of grubs and bugs twitching and squeaking.

Eugh, what's that?

A grub. What's it look like?

Eugh! Gross!

Timon sucks his fingers, delighted.

Even modern movies like the Lion King are adaptions of his work.

Slimy yet satisfying.

Interview with the three actors from The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare.

There's a reason why they've stuck around for 400 years, is because the stories are just fantastic. And even, you know, some of the histories, they're not dry and bland. He's really sort of amped them up so that they're exciting and they have all these fantastic characters that he injected into them to make them theatrical and fun to watch.

Shots of props from The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare — a mannequin made of pillows, a hand puppet, golden human skulls with glowing eyes, and lurid, colourful wigs.

Just looking at some of the props used in his production proves Shakespeare has all the plot lines of a Hollywood action flick.

Actor 2 holds a human skull which has comically bulging eyes.

Whenever people think of Shakespeare, one of the first images they see is, kind of, this in their mind, which is Hamlet going, 'Alas, poor Yorick. I knew him well.' He doesn't know him that well anymore.

Actor 1 is dressed as a chef. He holds a meat cleaver in one hand and a bloodied white cloth in the other.

This is Titus Andronicus, which is Shakespeare's first tragedy. And he kills him and bakes him in a pie and serves it to his mother at a dinner party. So we've sort of turned it into a bit of a MasterChef sort of theme.

But despite the violence and comedy in his plays, a lot of kids don't look forward to studying his works…

John Bell performs as King Lear on stage opposite Susan Prior as Cordelia.

I fear I am not in my perfect mind. Methinks I should know you.

..and a lot of the reason for that comes down to the language. Shakespeare's writing may seem hard to understand, but it's just how sentences were written back then. It'd be like someone trying to perform a play on your tech-speak in the future.

The first time you see it, you're like, 'What on earth?' But as soon as you click your mind in, with all the 'LOL's and 'ROFL's and all this, you totally get it!

So, is Shakespeare still relevant today? Well, these guys certainly think so.

We've got, you know, Juliet's kind of a, like, teenage girl, and Romeo's kind of part emo. The stories are basically transportable from time to time.

Which is a good indication we'll be seeing Shakespeare shows like this one for another 400 years to come.

SUBJECTS:   English

YEARS:  9–10

Why do we study Shakespeare in school?

How can plays written four centuries ago still be relevant today? Especially when it is hard to understand what Shakespeare was even saying. But actors still have fun playing Shakespeare. Find out why.

Things to think about

• 1. What Shakespearean plays do you know about? What are your favourite quotes from Shakespeare? Perhaps 'To be or not to be, that is the question'? Or maybe 'Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?' Conduct a quick survey of your family and friends to find out what Shakespearean plays they studied at school. What are their favourite quotes?
• 2. What is the rap version of Shakespeare like? Why do the performers think Shakespeare has lasted so long? What reasons are given as to why many students don't like learning about Shakespeare? What is the key reason that Shakespeare's plays have survived?
• 3. The performers talk about how they play modern versions of 'Titus Andronicus' and 'Romeo and Juliet'. Discuss why you think the directors made the plays like this. Do you think they would work? Why or why not? Look at Disney's film version of 'The Lion King'. Try to find five points that show how it relates to 'Macbeth' and to 'Hamlet'.
• 4. Select a scene of a Shakespearean play you are familiar with. Write a rap or modern version of the scene. Look at a film adaptation of a Shakespearean play. Perhaps Baz Luhrmann's 1996 version of 'Romeo + Juliet' which uses Shakespearean language. Or Roman Polanski's 1972 graphic version of 'Macbeth'. How do you think they compare to Shakespeare's original script?

Date of broadcast: 10 May 2011

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

What is Shakespeare Unbound?

The Tempest: The island of grief

Radio National: Was Shakespeare psychic, or just a smart guy?

Is Romeo And Juliet Still Relevant Today?

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Romeo And Juliet Still Relevant Today

irrelevant to todays culture. Since our society is ever-changing and shifting, it is said that these works do not apply to today. Some may believe that they are universally relevant and time will generally always be the same. Whatever the argument may be, no one can seem to come to a conclusion. Romeo and Juliet is a relevant work for a person in modern times due to how love overpowers hatred, family can become a hardship in which you battle, and being overly prideful can lead to rebellion. Romeo and Juliet

Is Romeo And Juliet Still Relevant Today

Two star crossed lovers fueled by young love and the dream of finding their true love. Romeo and Juliet set in Verona in the 14th century with two feuding families and two youthful admirers deeply in love. This storyline filled with love and admiration makes me want to understand how Shakespeare wanted the audience to portray young love, whether he want us to look at it positively or negatively. I wanted to find an understanding of how Shakespeare uses the characters who have such an intricate and

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Why Is Romeo And Juliet Still Relevant Today

can mean anything to the teenagers of today. Its true that two teenagers fall in love, marry, and kill themselves in a matter of days, which our society might think is hardly a serious piece of literature. But in terms of a scholarly approach Romeo and Juliet is a perfect example of why we should study Shakespeare today and why we continue to read his work. This story is exactly what relates the past to our today's modern society. Romeo and Juliet is relevant in today's society because today's kids

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Romeo and Juliet Is Still Important Now Essay

Romeo and Juliet was written about 400 years ago. Although it is old, Romeo and Juliet is still relevant and important to peoples’ lives. The themes used in it are the themes that people enjoy, Shakespeare invented a lot of words people use today, and good for education. Romeo and Juliet is still a great play, still has a impact and entertain contemporary audience. In Romeo and Juliet, there are many themes. Love, rivalry, arguing with parents, friendship, and fate and destiny. These themes are

Is Romeo And Juliet Still Relevant?

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Romeo And Juliet Relevant

time period are no longer relevant. While others may argue that they will always be relevant, and teaches us lesson after lesson. Which side do you agree with? Are books after a certain time period relevant or not? The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is a relevant piece of work for people in modern times due to its lessons and views on how we should treat others, that we can not control others, and that violence is never the answer. The first reason Romeo and Juliet is relevant is because, it has taught

Parental Rebellion In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

which, known as Romeo and Juliet, has been labelled the most tragic love story of all time since the early 1600s. Shakespeare’s plays continue to be reinterpreted and appreciated by modern day audiences in the 21st century. Through the entirety of its themes, Romeo and Juliet still captures the imagination of teenage audiences today. Teenagers can connect easily with the three themes in the play of parental rebellion, suicide and love and hate relationships, which are as prevalent today as they were

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Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is a tragic play that is still relevant even today. It's relevant because people can still relate to it. The play features teenage love, teenage suicide, and disapproving families. Teenagers can relate to Romeo and Juliet because it shows teenage love. This is shown in act two, scene two, lines two and three. “But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Juliet is the sun.” Romeo was speaking about Juliet and how beautiful she was

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Romeo and Juliet must be kept on the Australian curriculum as it is a play that strikes at the heart of teenagers and their parents. More so teens because it is about the passion of young love, the excitement of confronting one’s parents and the thrill of making adult decisions, for parents because it captures the fears every parent have for their children. The play is a cautionary tale – a warning to children and parents. The themes and issues raised in the play are as relevant today as they were

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Show More Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet depicts the lives of two lovers and the events of their lives as they hide their love from their parents. Although written centuries ago, it is still relevant in today’s society. The characters Romeo and Juliet are similar to today's adolescents. Their personalities, attitudes, and emotions mimic those of teenagers today. But their range of emotions and issues are relatable to people of any age, gender or background. This is one of many reasons why the story is such a big success in today's culture. Nowadays, teens will become just as emotional as they are in these situations over the smallest of problems. Whether it's a bad breakup or a revoked privilege. Most of today's teenagers are rebellious and impulsive …show more content… This is especially so because of our world, is very divided in terms of religion, race, and class. For example, if a religious Jew wanted to marry a Gentile, there would be tension. If a devout Muslim wanted to marry a Christian, there can be conflict. If a poor boy from ghetto wanted to marry a rich girl from the upper crust of society, there will be criticism. As much as we want to think that our world has progressed, it has not. There will always be division and conflict. And whenever these divisions exist, love that crosses cause problems. The impulses of young lovers that still take dangerous risks are evident, even in this day and age, The feud itself demonstrates the social poisons caused by meaningless hatred, as feuds to tend to become over time. Situations in which ancient hatred is still inherited, where people hate and kill because " that's the way it has always been .". Racism in America. Arabs and Jews and an endless list of more. In conclusion, The Montague and Capulet feud does not accomplish anything meaningful. The only result is a rising death count. Shakespeare's story has proved that no one wins when animosity dominates. The feud between the two houses supposedly represents the presence of drama in the 21st century. As long as a story upholds some type of currency, the popularity of the story will never

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• Romeo and Juliet
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• Characters in Romeo and Juliet
• Juliet Capulet

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Although centuries old Romeo and Juliet is still relevant today. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Although centuries old Romeo and Juliet is still relevant today. Do you agree or disagree with this statement ?

        I strongly agree with this statement the reason being, the story of Romeo and Juliet shows arange of emotions and issues that people from any age, gender or background are able to relate to. This is one of many reasons why the story is such a big success in today’s culture.

        Shakespeare’s story is focused on the two young lovers that can’t be together and all the anguish that surrounds them, this is true as it follows on in to day’s society.

At the beginning of the play Shakespeare lets the audience have an insight to what the play may be about, he does that in such a way through the prologue which is featured in the beginning of the play. “From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, where civil blood makes civil hands unclean” this quote shows how Shakespeare intrigues the audience interest by letting the audience question themselves on What the grudge is about.

In every young age people have fallen in love against their parent’s wishes. Shakespeare has shown this when Romeo sneaks his way into Capulet party, his great enemy, once there he set his eyes upon on Juliet and says (“Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night”) and he fall’s head over heels for her as she does for him, once Romeo and Juliet found out about their parents they knew they couldn’t be together but they were so in love and found it hard to resist one another and so the only way they thought was best was to sneak around without their parents knowing.

This can be easily link in today’s world were people meet at social events such as night clubs or events held by friends or family members, which two young people  meet and fall in love with one another and possible get married in the future.

Audience will feel they are able to relate to the two lovers as them there selves have falling in love at first sight or maybe the audience might feel Romeo just taking advantage of her so he can sleep with her and think of her as  a quick thing, or it could be a crush and not love.      

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In Shakespeare time their were arrange marriage’s in well establish families, this has lead me to believe that Shakespeare has taken that situation and related to his play, this issue was raised, where Lady Capulet says to Juliet “how stands your dispositions to be married” this quote is saying how do you feel about having an arranged marriage and the response that Juliet gives “It is an honour that I dream not of” in other words it is not her desire to be married.

        This can still happen to families or societies that are in conflict. This can also be said to some parents in certain cultures for example Muslim or Asian, they decide on who would be suited for their son or daughter.

        Today’s audience may feel strongly with Juliet’s decision because people feel it’s wrong of the parents to do that against her and that no one can choose who they fall in love with. On the other hand people may agree with the parent’s choice and they will see that their decision is to protect their daughter security and future happiness.

        I‘ve noticed that there are more than just one relevant reason in the story that Shakespeare created, such as feuding families, gang warfare, loyalty, parent/child relationship, love elopement, astrology and death/suicide.

        All this issue still are around us today especially the feuding. In Northern Ireland were evidence shows both religion’s-catholic and protestant-are constantly feuding. This issue can also affect their children for example a catholic girl could fall in love with a protestant boy, this can create an even worse situation where lies and betrayal can impose both parties against each other. This dilemma is shown in the story where Romeo and Juliet elope to get married. This has made them lie and betray their parent’s which creates even more tension.

        Friar Lawrence believes that it will bring the two different households together which he trusts will make the feuding stop. “For this alliance may so happy prove to turn your household rancour to pure love”, words of Friar Lawrence. Audience will look at this and feel awakened by Friar Lawrence’s ambition to marry the two lovers that could bring the households together; this is another issue that that audience may feel unsure about, which could turn out for the worst instead of becoming better.

        Children who are brought up in upper class families don’t always interact emotionally with their own parents as they employ nannies to look after their own children while they are at work for long periods, or it’s just traditional for them to have a nanny as them their selves been brought up will one . The child will most likely have grown a strong bond with the nanny, which can lead the child to feel that they can trust and feel wanted. This is the same for Juliet; her parents have little or no emotion to their own daughter because they spend less time with her, while the nurse is there to comfort her. This has made Juliet lose her loyalty to her parents which lead her to lie. Lady Capulet quotes “Talk not to me for I’ll not speak a word; do as thy wilt for I have done with thee”. This quote shows no warmth to wards Juliet after her father yelled at her violently over her refusal of the arranged marriage to Paris. Even Capulet says “and that we have a curse in having her” this lead’s Juliet to feel hurt and unloved by her parents, which leads her to go and find comfort in the arms of her trusted nurse. The viewers will look upon this situation and feel emotionally distressed towards Juliet as she has no loving bond with her parents. On the other hand, people may see that it is a good thing that her parents have provided her with such richness and that she doesn’t need such a bond with them or they may feel it could distract her decision in life by being comforted a lot.

        Gangs’ warfare still happens a lot in society. For example racial attacks, when someone kills another for being different or having the same values as the other person does. In that situation someone you’ve known for years and love this could be a fried or family member, you as that person will feel hurt and make you want revenge on that person.

        Romeo is in the same situation where Mercutio, his best friend, is murdered by Tybalt, Romeo’s fearful enemy. “My very friend, halth got this mortal hurt in my behalf, my reputation stained with Tybalt’s slander” this tells us that Mercutio died in defending Romeo and so, Romeo feels he needs to defend that honour by killing Tybalt. I believe the audience will feel for Romeo as they would do the same if it was them but the other side could reject Romeo’s, actions: they may feel that it was unjust and immoral for both characters to act like that.  

        Death and suicide can be found in people who are afraid, for instance, two couples who have been together for years and one of the partners dies unexpectedly, this can have a strong effect on that person. That person may feel scared, alone and afraid to communicate to anyone, which can lead to suicide over the person they have lost.

        This is similar for Romeo and Juliet as Juliet awakens to find her Romeo lay dead beside “I will kiss thy lips haply some poison yet doth hang on them, to make me die with a restorative”.  Her thought turn towards suicide which leads her to be with Romeo in eternal life.

        The audience will feel that the characters see no other way of being together and may understand Shakespeare views upon that scene. The others views that the audience may feel that they cannot relate to is the death, why would two young lovers turn towards death when there could be other options that would save them?

I’ve come to the conclusion that Shakespeare has taken real life situations and put together in to a tragic love story, this has been done through number of his plays such as Macbeth and Hamlet, these play’s have the same similarities situation as seen in Romeo and Juliet’s play, which consist of   feuding, love, revenge and suicide.

This very old play relates human nature interaction with issues which not only interesting for the audience, but they can relate to them in today’s culture.  

Teacher Reviews

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Paul Dutton

This student has remained focused on the question throughout and has used detailed reference to the text to back points up. More emphasis on language would have helped but an intelligent response given.

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• Subject English

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Romeo And Juliet's Mistakes Essay

Romeo and Juliet were deeply attracted to each other when they first met, but one of their first mistakes was assuming their attraction was love. The decision they made to kiss on the first night they met was a bad one. They knew at this point that their families were enemies, but they didn’t let that stop them. Juliet shares her thoughts about this after Romeo leaves her balcony; “My only love sprung from my only hate, too early to be seen, and too late to be known! Prodigious birth of love it is to me, That I must love a loathed enemy.” (1.V. 137-140) She uses the word love when they have known each other for barely a few hours. She acts like she has no choice but to love someone from a family that her family despises. Romeo pursues her from …show more content…

They jump right in without pausing to think what the consequences might be. Had they realized that their feelings were more on the surface than real love is, then they would not have continued seeing each other and creating a big conflict between the families. The decision to get married was even worse than when they thought they fell in love at first sight. They did not ask their family for permission to get married. After just meeting Juliet, Romeo goes to Friar Laurence and asks, “[him] consent to marry [them] today.”(11.11.64) This is ridiculously fast and not thought through. First, Juliet is fourteen and Romeo is not much older, they are way too young to be getting married, they are still kids. The fact that they kept a secret from their parents was childish. They also let Friar Laurence come up with a secret plan that most adults would think was a bad idea. They follow him because they let their feelings of passion guide their actions. If kissing and getting married was a bad idea, then definitely faking your death is even worse. Most of the poor decisions they made involved hiding information from their parents and

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Heartstopper ‘s Kit Connor and West Side Story ‘s Rachel Zegler will star in the new Broadway production of William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet this fall, directed by Tony Award winner Sam Gold, with music by Grammy Award winner Jack Antonoff and movement by Tony winner Sonya Tayeh.

Producers Seaview made the announcement today.

The Gold fall production will mark the Broadway debuts of Connor, Zegler and Antonoff, who in February won his third consecutive Grammy Award for Producer of the Year.

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Gold said, “With the presidential election coming up in November, I felt like making a show this fall that celebrates youth and hope, and unleashes the anger young people feel about the world they are inheriting.”

Tickets will go on sale to the public in May.

Official synopsis: “The youth are fucked. Left to their own devices in their parents’ world of violent ends, an impulsive pair of star-crossed lovers hurtle towards their inescapable fate. The intoxicating high of passion quickly descends into a brutal chaos that can only end one way.”

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