Romeo/Gatsby

This is my first time reading Romeo and Juliet. This however is not my first experience with Shakespeare (Macbeth in high school). Although, neither of these two plays have peaked my interest; I would prefer Macbeth if I had to choose between the two.  I have never seen any of the plays in theatre or on film; but I would love to watch Romeo and Juliet on either platform. It would be interesting to see if watching the play on stage or on film could change my mind.

The theory of the love at first sight in Romeo and Juliet first reminded me of the relationship between Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan in F. Scott Fitzgeralds novel, The Great Gatsby. Gatsby like Romeo fell in love with his significant other at a young age. Gatsby moved away form Daisy and became a very successful business man. Although the story plot has its differences, the love connection between the two couples is completely parallel. I am a firm believer in love at first sight. Although very rare, I believe that it is possible to deeply love and care for a certain person by simply seeing them. Love has no boundaries, not even death.

Before reading this play for myself all I knew was that the two loved each other and committed suicide as the only form of being together after life. After reading the play I now see how to pressure from the two family ultimately led the two to their suicide. I think that no matter what the two could do there was no way the two could be together peacefully with there family difficulties. The suicide of the two reminded me of the Hunger Games. As Katniss and Peeta were the last to survive. Knowing that only one could survive and the other dead they agreed it would be better both dead than to live without the other. In both cases suicide isn't the logical answer. I think that Romeo and Juliet knew that if they were both dead was the only way to insure that they would forever be together.

C'mon Shakespeare

The ending of Romeo and Juliet had me in two grieving  stages. The first stage is sadness. I was deeply saddened for the tragic ending of the play. Given the challenges Romeo and Juliet had to face, one would think there would be a happy ending. But you know Shakespeare just love to break people's hearts. I had to give a lot of props to these two people for the amount of love that they've created for each other even though, falling in love in just three days is unheard-of. The other stage is anger. I was very mad that Shakespeare decided to end the lives of these two love birds. Like I mentioned above, the ending would have been much better if both were alive.  

 The thing my mind seems to be having trouble puzzling together is how can these two be so in love that they kill for each other. Nowadays, you will be lucky if an individual still texts you after you have met for a week, let alone, die for you. However, most of the marriages that were happening back then was arranged, so I guess it is not really surprising that two people can fall in lover in a matter of days. But let's be honest here, Friar Lawrence is mainly responsible for this chaos. First, he put Juliet to sleep with some magic stuff that made Romeo think that the girl is gone, when he could have just hide Juliet until contact with Romeo is made. Second,  the letter containing what was happening never got to poor Romeo. If only Friar Lawrence went with the USPS priority flat mail to get that letter to Romeo.  

Now, let's talk about the real reason Romeo killed himself. I've developed a wild theory to why my man Romeo decided to kill himself. Most people have the notion that Romeo ended his life because of the love he had for the beautiful Juliet. However, I think Romeo got tired of love itself. Earlier in the play, Romeo was rejected by a girl name Rosaline. Now, that rejection  made Romeo destined to find love. So, when the beautiful Juliet showed interest in my man, he was probably saying to himself "no way I'm letting this one go." That’s the real reason why  Romeo instantly decided to cuff her. So then, after he thought the girl was dead, he just gave up on love and end his life. 

When we were assigned to read Romeo and Juliet, I was planning on just reading the book and hating it again like I did in middle school. However, after the first act I decided it would be worth trying the app version of the book. The app was amazing! It tells the story of Romeo and Juliet the way it was meant. This time around I still cannot say it is my new favorite book, but I appreciated the story and characters more. I believe Romeo and Juliet were foolish beyond belief. Not only do they fall in love only just meeting each other they also kill themselves to be together. One thing that I was thinking while reading the story was that Friar Lawrence was partially responsible for the ending. If he wouldn't have given Juliet the concoction that made every believe she was dead, then Romeo never would have believed her to be dead. Also, he should have insured that Romeo was informed what they were plotting to do before taking action. While I was reading, I became more and more irritated with Friar Lawrence. Speaking of characters that irritated me, Juliet’s father drove me up a wall! I could not stand him and the way he treated his daughter. He had a solid first impression, but with time it becomes clear that it was all just an act. He did not truly want Juliet to choose who she wanted to marry. Her father only wanted to let her believe that she could choose. I noticed from the other blogs I read, and from what I'm writing that this book causes its readers to be frustrated with almost every character. As I was reading I almost wanted to yell "don't do that!" to each one of them. I believe it is important to realize that Romeo and Juliet has the same plot as almost every romance movie we have today. The plot where two people meet fall in love as soon as they lay eyes on each other and the next day they are married. Most movies don't have the in-love couple kill themselves though. I am a chick flick fanatic but I do think it is clear that we idolize love at first sight. In movies, they don't show all the awkward dates or boring conversations about the weather. No one would watch the movie or care! It’s like when Romeo said "As daylight doth a lamp; her eye in heaven Would through the airy region stream so bright That birds would sing and think it were not night." He proclaims his love for Juliet and how beautiful she is in the "balcony scene." Although they knew each other for a whole 2 seconds. However it is clear that this is what we want to see or read about. Most people probably don't believe in love at first sight. I feel that it is almost a dream that everyone has to just experience love at first sight.

If you love this story, I'm sorry...

This is my fourth time reading this story, and honestly…every time I read it, I become less and less amused. As is stands in Scene 5, Juliet is believed to be dead, and Romeo wishes to kill himself to be with her (which had me thinking, “Ionow bout all that” the whole time he was talking about it). The one problem I have with this story is the pacing and the underlying reason for all the drama that unfolds throughout the play. Like the posts from last week, the feud between the Montague and Capulate families is completely unknown. I mean…assuming there is some legitimate reason for their feud, Shakespeare does nothing but let this feud be known (no one has done anything to harm the other family). It serves only to further push the plot. In the previous act, Juliet seeks to fake her death by drinking a sleeping potion, so everyone will believe her to be dead, so she can be with Romeo. This is dumb af. She couldn’t leave a note or think of any solid plan to let this man know that she isn’t actually dead? She knew this was a possibility, but she just decides to deal with it later, only to find out that—surprise—Romeo killed himself. A lot of the actions taken in the play are very impulsive. I was told that Shakespeare may have been trying to convey to the reader that love causes people to do dumb, impulsive things. Cool. I just think it’s interesting how this is viewed as a romantic love story or relationship goals or whatever. Another thing that seems really wild is Romeo’s dream. He dreamt that she found him and kissed him awake…from death. Did he not think to run this dream by anyone else first? He walked into the suicide poison store and very condescendingly talked to the apothecary about life like he’s got his shit together, buys an illegal poison (this also begs the question of why the apothecary even has an illegal poison to begin with), and rides off to kill himself. The subjectively irrational decisions made by various characters in the story is just…annoying. Like if everyone had like one or two people to give a second opinion, I think this story would have been very different. However, if you like melodrama, then strap the fuck in.

Romeo and Juliet Impact on Me

It has been awhile since I read Romeo and Juliet in middle school and high school. It was less interesting for me at the time. But know looking back and reading it again as an adult, it is a different and in my opinion a better experience of this story for me. I figured out and understand mostly what was going on in the story and especially now that I get to talk about the story with my fellow students. Last Wednesday in class, I noticed that the more I and my fellow classmates really looked deeper into what each of us thought, the more we all learned and understood the story. 

Now that I am reading this story again, I still don't really like the story much, plus the ways the story is written more like poetry, rather than a narrative way that I am used to. But I understand at this point in my life/age, this story was written in a time when English was spoken differently than today and I took something from experiencing reading this story again. I connected with what I learned and know about history and connected it to the time and place of where the story seems to take place. Though I don't know the year or country, the ways and traditions of that time were very different to how things are now. 

For example, marriages back than were more based on what the two families wanted from each other and the husband and wife were ways of showing that the two families agree and secure their agreements rather than actual love matches between the husband and wife. I must say, that if I did live in that time, I won't force that on anyone, nor would I let anyone force others to do the same, especially since people got married at very young ages, like in their teens if not younger. In the story, Romeo and Juliet, both main characters are like 12 years old, maybe a couple years older. they seem to have such inexperience with love. I remembered when Juliet said that she thought it was too quick to know if Romeo really did love her, and weather she loved him. Juliet said, "It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden, too like the lightning, which doth cease to be Ere one can say "It lightens."(Romeo and Juliet Act 2. sc. 2 page77 #125). It did seem to me that Romeo was forcing his love on her and she seemed overwhelmed. But in time we did seem to love each other.

 I wish they did managed to run away with each other, rather than die at the end. Sorry I this is a spoiler for anyone who doesn't know what happens at the end. This another reason why I don't like this story, nor a story that is a tragedy, whenever I do read a story, I certainly don't like sad endings. Also, although it did serve a purpose in the story, the feud between the families of Rome (Montague) and Juliet (Capulet) with no reason other than they hate each other. That is just foolish and unfortunately, many people both in the past and present tend to want to fight and emotionally feud between each other rather than stop, think, and decide to resolve whatever their grievances are in a peaceful and reasonable manner. But, Shakespeare's purpose of this story, like any story is to play on the audience’s emotions. I have to say, this story was one that did play with my emotions, angry for the two families and sadness for Romeo and Juliet.

All and all, even though I don’t like the story, I do appreciate how the story was written and the experience of reading it and discussing the story with my fellow classmates which makes it enjoyable for me. And I hope it makes it enjoyable for them as well. Romeo and Juliet certainly made an impact on me, my classmates, and anyone else that has seen or read the play/story, each one takes something from it. For me it is a greater appreciation and actual enjoyable experience talking about it with others.  

Tragedy Love Feuding and the Pursuit of Happpiness

I remember first reading Romeo & Juliet in middle school. It was my first year at Walkersville Middle, eighth grade. I was the new kid. I was so nerdy and book-oriented. I remember, though, how much I hated going to English class while we read Romeo & Juliet. I remember when our teacher assigned us having to come up and deliver a soliloquy to her, and only three of us did the harder version which offered extra credit, but also made us stand out as everyone else whined about having to do it. Our soliloquy was Juliet’s soliloquy, a rose by any other name.

O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father, and refuse thy name;
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.	40
Jul.  ’Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself though, not a Montague.
What’s Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part	45
Belonging to a man. O! be some other name:
What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes	50
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name;
And for that name, which is no part of thee,
Take all myself.

Reading all that at eighth grade in front of a room of my peers was probably the hardest thing I'd ever done. It was also the most rewarding. But back to the star-crossed lovers. Romeo & Juliet was considered to be a “romantic story” in middle school. That was back when kids thought each other had coodies still, or at least in my class. Reading these lines aloud to one another, was so very, painfully awkward.

That being said, that wasn’t my last dance with Shakespeare’s work. In high school, we put on the Twelfth Night. A year later, another school presented the Twelfth Night. The two were so different, though, as our school took a more Shakespearean approach, more towards the period of the play, where the other school set the show in a Hawaiian luau theme.

Linganore High School's Twelfth Night

To me, people understood the other school’s show better than ours and were more engaged. People sat forward in their seats, laughing at swords which were plastic flamingos and really tuning in to what was going on. So while I haven’t seen Romeo & Juliet on stage, I can say that how any Shakespeare play is presented really changes the story. But in all actuality, they would be different. Every director has a love for the show they are putting on, and each one wants to portray it a certain way. These range from vaguely similar to widely different and unique. I never could have pictured Shakespeare as a luau.

The same year of the other school’s production, in my senior English class, I watched the Hollywood Romeo & Juliet movie, which largely left me wanting to be sitting in a theater watching a live school production rather than… well, that. Taking away lines or changing lines from characters in a play that is already meant to have succinct lines just takes away from how the characters develop and our understanding of what is going on.

Really? An angel falls for a knight in shining armor?

Maybe I’m old fashioned like that. Why fix what’s not broken? Why change what works well already. Then again, I think about doomed or tragic love. I’ve made it to a point in my life where all my friends from before college are getting engaged, are married or are having babies. I’ve watched very good friends have their relationships shredded by pointless family fights or because of a traditional ideal. My best friend, who is like a brother to me, had his fiancee leave him on Friday night. When he first asked her father for her hand, her father said no. Talk about doomed and tragic love.

What I take from this and why I share this very personal insight, is because my friend told me in all reality it wasn’t her father’s decision, just as it's not my mother’s when I reach that point. It’s about are you happy in the relationship. How does that tie to Romeo & Juliet? Well, in the end, I believe if things hadn’t gone south, that Romeo had started to appreciate Juliet for her grace and smarts. I believe if he hadn’t been as melodramatic they could’ve had a good chance at happiness. But they focused more on their families opinions more than their own happiness. It is not about the name in the end, which goes back to what my friend told me. It's about are you happy.

I believe Shakespeare’s works hold over so much because he imparts more than just face-value stories. Even though we aren’t being forced into marriage at sixteen anymore, maybe, just maybe, we can still find ways to relate to the two doomed, star-crossed lovers.

Destined for Love and to Death

     When I originally read this play in the ninth grade, the main thing that was emphasized was the suicide of Romeo and Juliet. However, after reading this play as a college student for the second time, I was able to view this text from a modern perspective. In essence, Romeo and Juliet’s love affair was pretty much doomed from the start because of a generational family feud. Now, let’s focus on the topic of “doomed love” and analyze a different perspective from a modern point of view. However, you might have to be patient with me because I am a proud history major.

Interracial Dating

     Before the Civil Rights era, African Americans and Whites were forbidden from getting married. Therefore, if an African American and a white person were in love, they most likely had to hide their feelings. In fact, more than likely, there friends and family would have disgraced them. Also, this was against the law. So what were their options?

Now, back to Romeo and Juliet. So when reading this text, it was easier for me to accept the love that Romeo and Juliet shared, but it was difficult to accept their suicide. However, when I read this text again, I imagined that Romeo and Juliet were an interracial couple during the 1930’s who had extremely racist parents. Since marriage was illegal, their relationship would be essentially doomed. Think about it! Say Romeo was African-American and Juliet was white. Under those circumstances, Romeo would be lynched and hung, while Juliet lives and faces ridicule and hate from her family. Essentially, this is a lose-lose scenario in which both lovers would face a significant amount of pain.

Back to the Play

     This line by Friar Laurence stuck out to me as I read, “These violent delights have violent ends and in their triumph die like fire and powder, which as they kiss consume” (II. vi. 9-10). As I was reading this, it is almost like this scene is foreshadowing what is to come: the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. In fact, before Friar says this, Romeo says  “ Do thou but close our hands with holy words,  Then love-devouring death do what he dare; It is enough I may but call her mine” (II. vi. 6-8).  Basically, it is almost as if Romeo knows there will be a penalty that accompanies his love for Juliet.

Was there a need for suicide? From a logical point of view, no. However, what do you think would have happened if they got caught? Especially considering the fact that the Friar and Romeo have stated that Romeo and Juliet’s relationship will produce a violent end?

The Beginning of the End

The end of this story is always the most talked about. Romeo and Juliet are two immature children who kill themselves just to be with each other (just crazy!). How can you love someone you have only known for a few days?  The relationship between these two is based off of lust more than love because the attraction is superficial, they do not know each other well enough to be in love. This is shown earlier in the story based on Romeo's relationship with Rosaline; once he realized she wasn't interested in him, he fell out of love with her very quickly,and once he saw Juliet he was immediately in love with her.

If there is anyone to blame it would definitely be Friar Lawrence. Romeo and Juliet were young and looked to Friar Lawrence for help; however, the Friar ended up getting them both killed. The Friar should have been more of the voice of reason instead of coming up with a plan that could go wrong in so many ways. He could have hidden Juliet until Romeo could come for her instead of staging her death. Communication was  much more difficult back then so the fact that the letter didn't make it to Romeo isn't all that surprising. Also if he had made it to the tomb quicker then he would have intercepted Romeo and been able to explain the situation before he drank the poison.

Friar Lawrence even got Paris killed in the process of this plan. Paris was one of the innocent ones in this story. He was minding his own business, going through the proper procedure to marry his wife. Romeo just came in and stole Juliet. I do not agree with arranged marriages but given the time period it was pretty common. Paris was just collateral damage in the mess of events that surrounded Romeo and Juliet's short-lived love story.

Lastly, the matter of the two families. How can the feud end so quickly after years and years? I guess both of the families new the feud was pointless but were just keeping it going because it was almost a tradition? The death of both of their children may have finally forced them to admit that neither side really knew the reason for the feud and they just decided to end it. Once again this is a side of the story where Shakespeare leaves out details because they aren't as important to the main plot of the story. What happened after that night? Did Friar Lawrence get arrested for assisting in the "murders"? Just a few questions that are left unanswered by Shakespeare.

Friar Lawrence is EVIL

Hey everybody, how we doing? I am surprisingly excited to talk about Romeo and Juliet right now because I personally think acts 3, 4, and 5 are utterly insane. After having Shakespeare thrown in my face all throughout high school and even late middle school, I have finally found an interest in one of his plays. I am not necessarily sure whether I even like Romeo and Juliet, but I definitely find it compelling.

Friar Lawrence: I find this gentleman to be very, very suspicious. I think Juliet is insane for even considering Friar Lawrence’s reckless plan for uniting her and Romeo. These characters did not live in a world where you could practically spawn a private conversation to explain things to people like what we have in cell phones today. Trusting a hand-written message to successfully transfer to the hands of Romeo is very irresponsible, especially for a man that Shakespeare writes to appear as a wise man.

Plot twist: Shakespeare shows no obvious evidence to convey that Friar Lawrence is evil, but maybe I missed something? Maybe Shakespeare hid a side story (like Star Wars’ Rogue One) of Friar Lawrence in his home that gave more of his backstory to prove that he is evil and wants trouble and death for the immature couple.

The Death/End: I find Romeo to be one really dumb guy. First, he is in love with a very young girl (gross), and he proves how immature he is in the very beginning of the story. In the beginning of the story, it is apparent that he is head over heels in love with a woman named Rosaline. Romeo is quite devastated that Rosaline does not love him back. It is mind boggling to think that after a few hours of mourning the forbidden love of Rosaline, he falls back in love with another woman! The worst part is that he even goes as far as to kill himself over the young girl he was in love with for a few days. I love that there was an epic sword fight scene at the end between the two Juliet lovers. Although the reader naturally roots for Romeo, I find myself feeling bad for Paris. Paris was very dumb and even arrogant, but he never did anything out of line in my eyes. I believe he truly was in love with Juliet and it is a damn shame that he got ‘played’ all throughout the story.