Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet Essay Example

In the Shakespearean tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, the characters Romeo and Juliet are inexperienced young adults flanked by their parents’ ideas about love and marriage. Their admiration for one another goes against their parents’ ideology, thus making Romeo and Juliet’s love “star- crossed” and forbidden (The Prologue). In Act One, Shakespeare develops the theme of romance by communicating the ideas about love and marriage that were common in Shakespearean time. Love was seen as something that was arranged rather than developed. When Romeo and Juliet meet, they share an intimate kiss. Shakespeare takes this opportunity to introduce Romeo and Juliet's ill-fated romance by adding one beat to the sonnet. This symbolizes their doomed relationship and the ongoing tension among the Montague and Capulet families.

As the sonnet progresses, a change in Romeo and Juliet can be observed. Their opinions about love shift during their brief exchange. For instance, in Act 1.3, 68, Juliet states that marriage “is an honor that I dream not of.” Her reaction indicates to her mother that she isn't prepared to be in a romantic relationship, and she is exhibiting signs of unease. Juliet’s perspective changes in the sonnet, as she opens up to Romeo and compares kissing to a religious or spiritual experience. This shift can be observed in Act 1.5, 95-98. Romeo argues that hands touch statues of saints and lips pray to them. Romeo pleads with Juliet to “let lips do what hands do”, suggesting that they kiss. Both agree and evaluate their kiss as a holy experience, elevating a physical experience to one of religion or spirituality. Shakespeare emphasizes the concept that Juliet is immature and innocent. She justifies her kissing Romeo with religion, as she has by no means been in a relationship to this degree.

The spectacle additionally furthers our understanding of Romeo and Juliet’s scenario. Romeo and Juliet are extremely impulsive due to their ages. At the party, Romeo and Juliet race to see each other, disrupting the crowd around them. The camera proceeds to focus on the two lovers as they make desperate attempts to disengage themselves from the festivities (Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet). By focusing the camera, we can infer that the director desires to spotlight Romeo and Juliet’s “star-crossed” love (The Prologue) (similar to how Shakespeare disrupts Romeo and Juliet’s sonnet). While meeting, Romeo and Juliet press their palms together, emphasizing the idea that Romeo and Juliet’s kiss is spiritual. If hands may touch in a religious setting, why can’t lips do the same? Finally, as a last attempt to reinforce the idea that Romeo and Juliet’s love is ill-fated, Juliet’s nurse comes in and states in Act 1.5, 109, “Madam, your mother craves a word with you”. At this moment the sonnet is interrupted and Romeo and Juliet go their separate ways. This symbolizes a doomed relationship between the two. Their respective families do not want them to interact, much less be in a romantic relationship. We can infer that the nurse was sent by Juliet’s mother, or she desired to interrupt the two before Juliet’s mother heard of what was happening.

Both Romeo and Juliet disobey their guardians only for the short-lived, euphoric feeling of love. These interactions fortify the concept that love can make us behave involuntarily. Shakespeare portrays love as something that is out of reach, and frequently reminds his audience of the overwhelming patriarchy in society. In modern western society, parents are mainly responsible for their children's relationships. Parental figures are capable of overriding relationships if they deem them unhealthy or dangerous. In contemporary society, young adults and teenagers may be unhappy with their parent's decisions and may choose not to honor them, similar to Romeo and Juliet. Minors are constantly penalized for their choices, many times only because of societal expectation. Romeo and Juliet is a story of two young adults and their battle with society and their parents’ standards. This battle teaches us that there is a disconnect between the teen brain and parental authority and logic. There are often underlying causes to a teenager’s behavior that can be left unaddressed and disregarded. Shakespeare perfectly illustrates this situation in a remote time and incorporates factors such as gender, societal expectation, and status. The teenage brain works differently than one of an adult, and we must acknowledge and accept this in order to create an ideal society.