To Be Hasty or not to be Hasty

Hasty is to Romeo and Juliet as actions are to outcomes. The theme haste is defined in several points in the play, Romeo and Juliet, by Sir William Shakespeare. Through the characters, one can see the harm of these people’s impulsive actions that led up to the event of Romeo and Juliet’s suicides. The characters impulsive decisions led to complications in the play. The hastiness of the characters is seen directly through Lord Capulet, Juliet, and Romeo.

Particularly, Lord Capulet is a prime example of impulsiveness in the play. Originally, when Paris asked for Juliet’s hand in marriage, Capulet turned him down because he believed she was too young and should marry for love. After the unfortunate death of Tybalt, Juliet’s Cousin, Capulet believed that the only way to make Juliet radiant again was to marry her off. When Paris came asking for Juliet’s hand in marriage, again, Lord Capulet states,” Sir Paris, I will make a desperate tender / of my child’s love I think that she will be ruled / in all respects by me; nay more, I doubt it not.” (3.4.12-14.). However, when Juliet heard word of Capulet’s decision, Juliet refuses. Juliet refusing to marry Paris lead to an argument, in which Capulet threatened to disown Juliet if she refused to marry Paris. This was just one complication in the play, however. Capulet made another rash decision by pushing forward the date Juliet and Paris were to be wed. In fact, this led to the complication of Juliet rushing to Friar Lawrence to plan a fake death so she could be with Romeo. Specifically, Romeo and Juliet meeting was a mistake made by Lord Capulet’s hasty decision. Capulet had to send out invitations to his party, upon which Romeo and Juliet originally met. Too lazy to find a literate ser...

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... himself at her side, instead of first investigating the circumstances of her death.

(Cardullo 61-62)

Notably, Cardullo recognizes Romeo’s first problem, in his essay titled The Characters Impulsiveness is the Villain of the Play, haste. Instead of mourning for Juliet, he decided to kill himself instead. In fact, Romeo is the hastiest character in the play.

The complications in the play Romeo and Juliet are a result of the characters impulsiveness. Lord Capulet’s decision led to Romeo and Juliet’s first meeting. Juliet’s refusal of marriage, because of her undying faith to Romeo led to her fake death. Lastly, Romeo’s decision to kill himself without thinking led to three deaths, his own, Paris’, and Juliet’s. The decisions made in the play were due to the characters acting without thinking. Unfortunately, Romeo and Juliet took till death do us part literally.