1/30 Romeo and Juliet 1&2

So I've read this play multiple times, and no matter how many times I read it, it astounds me just how fast Romeo and Juliet fall in love with each other. What never clicked however, is that Romeo is actually super depressed at the beginning of this play. I know it's there in the text, but for some reason, it just was never a thing in my head. I also find it interesting that all this time, I never realized that Juliet actually had a brain and realized they were moving too fast.

I think I literally dismissed any possibility of it because well, the ending where they both decide it's a great idea to kill themselves.

I do think, however that this play is faaaaar better as a performance than as reading material. I saw at least one performance of R&J and it left quite the impression on me. Not because of the plot (because all I retained was guy and girl fall in love on sight, then kill each other three days later. A testament to our species -_-), but because of the performance itself. I remember loving the way the actors moved (there were bars they could climb around on) and the way they held themselves. Mercutio and Tybalt, especially, were phenomenal. Absolutely my favorite actors, which carried over to being my favorite characters. I remember being incredibly depressed that they both died, but damn they did an amazing job. I think this performance is probably the reason why I love seeing plays (each performance is different and unique and I love to see how actors and directors put their own spin on plays that have been done for hundreds of years), and its probably the reason why I love Shakespeare (not because of R&J, mind you - didn't even like them in the play), but because of the actors and performance itself. I owe a lot of thanks to this play and performance.