Essay On Impulsivity In Romeo And Juliet

Most people have moments where they act without thinking about the possible outcomes. This is called impulsivity. An example of impulsivity is when a person is mad, they might say something hurtful that they may later regret. In extreme cases, impulsivity may cause death. An example of this is drunk driving or crossing a busy street without looking. Similarly, many published writings contain characters that display impulsivity resulting in negative consequences. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, extreme impulsivity, by all characters, caused the tragic deaths of the protagonists, Romeo and Juliet. While one can infer that Romeo and Juliet’s death is caused by impulsivity, some may blame Friar Lawrence. After Romeo and Juliet meet and instantly

In 4.5, Balthasar sees Juliet dead, even though she is not actually dead. With this false information, Balthasar rushes to Mantua to tell Romeo of her death. After hearing the news, Romeo goes to the apothecary and says, “Let me have / A dram of poison, such soon-speeding gear / As will disperse itself through all the veins / That the life-weary taker may fall dead,” (5.1.61-64). Reflectively, Romeo is asking the apothecary for poison to kill himself due to hearing about Juliet’s death. Romeo buys the poison without having any physical proof that Juliet is dead, as his only source of information was Balthasar. Consequently, Romeo buying poison to kill himself from the apothecary without confirmation of Juliet’s death presents another act of

His impulsive action was a cause of her death. Her immediate desire to kill herself after seeing Romeo dead also displays impulsivity. In 5.1, Romeo heads to Juliet’s tomb with the poison that he previously purchased in order to kill himself. When he sees Juliet lying in the tomb, he kills himself. The Friar subsequently arrives at the tomb, and Juliet wakes up from the sleeping potion soon after. While the Friar leads Juliet out of the tomb, she sees Romeo dead on the ground. After the Friar tells Juliet they have to leave, she says, “Go, get thee hence, for I will not away” (5.3.165). Juliet is saying that she will not leave the tomb because she wants to kill herself after seeing Romeo dead. The Friar displays impulsivity here because he leaves Juliet behind without thinking about the possibility that she will kill herself. Therefore, the Friar leaving Juliet behind in the tomb displays