William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

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William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet "Many a morning hath he been there seen /With tears augmenting the

fresh morning's dew /Adding clouds to more clouds with his deep sighs"

Romeo is a boy of 16 living in 17th century Verona, Italy. In the

beginning of the play Romeo is pining for Rosaline - the object of his

unrequited love. He spends most of his time sighing over his sad,

depressing and non-existent love life. When Romeo is first mentioned

in the play, it seems as if he is an aimless wanderer, preoccupied

with thoughts of Rosaline.

Although Rosaline is Romeo's obsession, it is when he talks of her

that the audience realises that this is an artificial love. When Romeo

is describing her to his friend Benvolio, Romeo's descriptions are

normally general, referencing on Rosaline's physical beauty and

attractiveness rather than expressing why he really loves her, or

offering examples of her uniqueness. He just talks about the

unfairness of unrequited love and how helpless he is in her beauty

that attracts him: "Show me a mistress that is passing fair, what doth

her beauty serve, but as a note /Where I may read who passed that

passing fair". Romeo then goes on to moan about his rejected advances:

"She is rich in beauty, only poor/ That, when she dies, with beauty

dies her store". Unlike the personal connection he later expresses for

Juliet, what he says for Rosaline is just regret for Rosaline's vow of

chastity.

Throughout the play, Romeo's relationship with Rosaline is inactive as

he does not actually do anything to speak to h...

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...to these questions can

only be found when they are thought of in relation to love.

One often wonders if the tragedy in Romeo and Juliet could have been

avoided - without the seemingly vital need for bloodshed. Could Romeo

have not acted too hastily throughout the play, or Juliet, not have

deceived and disobeyed her parents? But the obvious answer is to be

that the tragedy was not the fault of any one individual - it was fate

that Romeo and Juliet met and fell in love, and bad luck that the

letter which could have saved them didn't reach Romeo in time.

"A glooming peace this morning with it brings;

The sun, for sorrow, will not show his head

Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things;

Some shall be pardon'd, and some punished:

For never was a story of more woe

Than this of Juliet and her Romeo."

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