Romeo And Juliet Relationships

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Romeo and Juliet is a play written by William Shakespeare. It serves as a beacon of hope for true love, and as an example of how relationships and interactions shape society. The play tells the story of the Montagues and the Capulets: sworn rivals. Within each family there are younger characters, and their elders. In the opening scene of the play a fight breaks loose between the younger Capulets and the younger Montagues. Tybalt says, “What, drawn, and talk of peace? I hate the word, As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee. Have at thee, coward!” (1.1.71-73). Meaning, what, you take out your sword and then talk about peace? I hate the word peace like how I hate hell and all Montague's and you! Let's go at it, coward! This shows how …show more content…

When the older characters are talking about the fight Lady Montague says, “Oh, where is Romeo? Saw you him today? Right glad I am he was not at this fray” (1.1.118-119). Meaning, Where is Romeo? Have you seen him today? I am so glad he was not at this fight. This shows that the older characters worry about the dangers of fighting and that they avoid getting involved and making matters worse. The difference between how the older and younger characters behave in various situations proves that behavior and interaction are strongly influenced by age and life experience. Romeo and Juliet is a play about love, and throughout the play, we see how important love is to each character, and how love affects each character's lives. When Juliet tells her mother that marriage “... is an honor that I dream not of" (1.3.71), meaning, marriage is a privilege that I do not think about/that I do not want right now; Lady Capulet disregards Juliet’s wishes and later goes on to …show more content…

When Juliet is assumed dead, Romeo and Paris felt that they could not live without her, and they both made the choice to commit suicide rather than living with such grief. As Romeo drinks the poison he says, “Seal with a righteous kiss A dateless bargain to engrossing death” (5.3.114-15). Meaning, seal with a righteous kiss, a deal I made with death that will last forever. This shows that Romeo decided to take his life rather than of trying to make the situation better and thinking things through. Then, Juliet wakes up to find Romeo and Paris dead, and instead of thinking about what happened or taking the time to think, she, too, commits suicide. As she does so she says, “Then I'll be brief. O happy dagger, this is thy sheath. There rust, and let me die” (5.3.173-175). Juliet is saying, then I will be quick. Oh good! A knife! I will be your sheath. Rust inside my body and let me die. This shows how the younger characters act on their feelings and handled the situation by trying not to deal with it at all. Death is very hard to understand and to overcome, but as seen with the older characters, they take the time to think before they make rash decisions. When the Capulets learn that Juliet is dead, they visit her grave to respect her and to remember her; however, they find Romeo and Juliet after committing their suicides. Friar Lawerance explains the tragic tale of the “star cross’d lovers” love, life and death.

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