Juliet (external)
Tiffany Wylde per. 7
Romeo and Juliet
In the story of Romeo and Juliet, two teens from opposing families accidentally meet and fall in love. Since their families have an everlasting hatred for one another, they have to keep their love, and their marriage, secret. At the end of the show, Juliet fakes her own death in order to be with Romeo. Romeo, ignorant to the situation, commits suicide in grievance of her, and soon after Juliet does the same. This play, by William Shakespeare, was written to give his viewers the message that people should not let hate conquer an opportunity of love. The play doesn't read word for word that theme exactly; however examples throughout different acts in the play show this.
Act 1, Scene 4
After first meeting Romeo, Juliet quickly asks her nurse to find out what his name is and if he is married or not. The nurse returns with poor news that he is the only son of her family's great enemy and is also unmarried. Juliet shows grievance of this news when she states "My only love, sprung from my only hate!/.../Prodigious birth of love it is to me/That I must love a loathed enemy," (1018, 154-157). This shows that Juliet is realizing that it is a problem that she loves Romeo; however, she never denies her love. She knows that her family would never approve, so, excluding the nurse, this motivates her to keep it a secret.
Act 2, Scene 2
Romeo sneaks into Juliet's garden to confess his love for her. She tells him that if he was caught, her father would murder him, since he is an enemy. He then tells her "...let them find me here./ My life were better ended by their hate/Than death prorogued, wanting thy love," (1025, 85-87). He tells her that he would take the risk of dying by their hatred to know that she loves him, than die many years later without love from her. This causes Juliet to truly believe that he loves her since he is willing to risk his life for her; she becomes willing to do the same. They decide to get married, and it becomes even more crucial that their love remains in ears of those who are trusted.
Act 3, Scene 4
Hatred between the Capulets and the Montagues caused a duel between Tybalt, Juliet's cousin, and Romeo, a Montague, but also Juliet's husband. Romeo ends up slaying Tybalt, and all of the Capulets mourn over his death. Romeo gets banished from Verona, and Juliet is heartbroken that she will no longer be able to see her love again. Her father, in the love he has for her, decides to talk to Paris, a lord who wishes her hand in marriage, and plan his and Juliet's wedding to help cheer her and every other Capulet up. Lord Capulet tells Paris it will be on "A Thursday let it be - a Thursday, tell her," (1061, 23). Little do they know, Juliet isn't mourning for the loss of her cousin, but for the banishment of her husband; by planning this wedding the Capulet's are only creating more problems for their young daughter.
Act 5, Scene 3
When Romeo and Juliet both take their lives because of the love they have for each other, it is a tragedy to both families. However, the two star-crossed lovers aren't the only lives lost involving the large secret of their love for each other. Mercutio, Tybalt, Lady Montague, and Paris end up losing their lives as well, which would not have occurred had Romeo and Juliet's love for each other not have to remain a secret. The only reason the two had to keep it a secret is because they knew that with the hatred of their two families, there would be no way they could remain together with the absence of ignorance. At the end of the show, the Prince tells both families "See what a scarge is laid upon your hate,/That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love!" (1101, 316-317). The Prince is telling both families that because of the strong hatred between them, their children were forced to keep their love secret, and in turn, resulted in many deaths. The main point that the Prince was trying to put across was that the two families created a world where love would inevitably kill someone because of the amount of hatred they have put into making that world. Thus, people should not allow hate to conquer love.