Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
One of the most famous works of all times I have chosen to read was written by William Shakespeare. It is a romantic drama called "Romeo and Juliet". It's about the Capulet and Montague families who have hated each other for a long time. When Mr. Capulet is going to have a big party, Mr Montague's only son, Romeo, got so happy because he was going to meet Rosaline with whom he is in love with. Romeo and some others go to the party where he meets Juliet. They fall in love the moment they see each other. The two get married in the secret. Romeo is thrown out of the city after killing Juliet's cousin. Juliet's parents decide to give her away in marriage. They do not want to live without each other but the story ends with the fact that they both die together.
Romeo is described as a person who thinks the most important thing in life is love. As the only son of Mr Montague, he is very hated by the Capulet's. Mr and Mrs Capulet only have one daughter. Juliet's parents have already found a man for her. Mr and Mrs Capulet are two people who, in my opinion, are the ones that make the most of the damage. I do not doubt that the end would have been completely different if they hadn't acted like they did. Mr. Capulet has an unusually hot temper and does not seem to want to let anything cross his way. Both are described as very important and powerful people.
The work contains almost entirely of dialogues, all of which are in very old language. If someone would talk to me that way, I would undoubtedly start laughing. As expected, the text has been quite incomprehensible, since Romeo has chosen to express itself in metaphors. I think that even the people reading this at the time thought it was difficult to try to understand his words. None of the characters seem to want to speak plainly, which may be interesting at the beginning, but it is also what triggers one. The last replies are quite simple, and it's almost so that I wonder if Shakespeare had forgotten to make them complicated. An example of the language appears at the beginning when Juliet does not seem to want to stop calling Romeo "Pilgrim". Now in the modern age, no one except those who work in the church or so would say something like that.
So, when the story opens, Romeo is desperately in love with Rosaline. But since she has sworn to remain chaste, he's all depressed and heartbroken. Annoying emo style! His boys drag him to a party, and across a crowded room, Romeo spies his really-really for real this time True Love. And it is love, dammit! I mean, they've stared at each other a whole bunch, and had, like, two conversations.
Juliet is 13, yes. And how old is Romeo? Well, he's old enough to kill Juliet's cousin in a sword fight, so...yeah. Probably not 13. But since he's such a punk - with the whining, sobbing, and screaming out poetry - I'm going to assume he's not much older than she is. If I'm wrong, don't correct me. It'll help me sleep tonight.
Anyhoo, this isn't a romance, it's a cautionary tale. And a pretty funny one at that! I originally gave it 3 stars, but I had to give it four stars for making me giggle so much. Between Romeo & Juliet both crying, moping, and twirling around like teenage girls.
We all must die in the end, so wouldn't you want to in the name of love than of an awful disease? Perhaps the two lovers weren't truly in love, but their last living moments were spent believing so, so what does it matter? How can one truly know if one is in love? Is it a feeling? In that case, what is a feeling? If you believe you are in love, then you may as well be, contrary to what others might say.
I personally love this play, purely because it's an escape from this modern world. I'm not saying I like the treatment of women, nor the fighting, but it's like a different world that i'm never going to experience, and reading it through Shakespeare's gorgeous writing makes it all the more romantic.
As I looked over my previously read books and searched for one that was missing a review, Romeo and Juliet stood out. But then I thought about it... who doesn't know about this play? Who hasn't watched a movie version of the classic romance story? And why on earth would anyone care to read another review on it? That said... a few shared thoughts about what I've learned from this play:
1. Parents exist to torture their children. It's a simple fact. If your child wants X, it is your responsibility to keep X away from him/her.
2. Love will always end in disaster. Don't attempt it without proper back-up.
3. Even though someone looks dead, they probably aren't. Kill them again just to be sure.
In all sincerity, I do like the play a lot. I think parts of it are brilliant and parts of it are pure nonsense. Not everything can be perfect when it comes to love. But this play certainly teaches a lot of lessons. And this reader still goes along for the ride.
"Don't waste your love on somebody, who doesn't value it."
"Did my heart love till now? forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night."
"Do not swear by the moon, for she changes constantly. then your love would also change."
I give this a four out of five stars!
