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What choices do romeo and juliet make in the play
Shakespeare analysis essay
Personal decisions in the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet
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Not knowing how a decision can affect the future is frustrating, but sometimes involving someone who is older, and has been in those shoes before can show a contrasting outlook on that decision. In “ Romeo and Juliet” a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, a pair of star crossed lovers make the decision to take their lives because of a constant feud between their two families. Shakespeare suggests that a person's age can determine how well a decision can be made. Often people who are older will make better decisions because they have more life experience, and have learned from their past. This theory is shown through the use of simile and tone. Shakespeare uses simile throughout the book to show that making a decision can come with multiple …show more content…
perspectives, also people’s differing opinions often influence the decision that will be made. To start off, the Nurse is in Juliet's room with Juliet, sharing her opinion on marrying Romeo, after Juliet had told her the news. The Nurse tells Juliet, “He is not the flower of courtesy, but i’ll warrant him as gentle as a lamb” (pg.40) This short quote can explain that the Nurse, who is much older than Juliet has the ability to see Romeo in many different ways. This is important because Juliet runs to the nurse as a friend as well as a second mother, because in this situation she is not sure what to do. The nurse gives Juliet insight by saying that Romeo, “ is as gentle as a lamb.” Given that the nurse used a simile to compare Romeo to an animal that is gentle, soft, and calm, these aspects can reassure Juliet that she is making the right decision with the right man. To continue, smart decisions should be thought out beforehand, also knowing the consequences is key . Friar Lawrence is in his cell with Romeo and Juliet, he is beginning the marriage ceremony, that only he and the Nurse know about. The Friar preaches, “ These violent delights have violent ends, And in their triumph die, like fire and powder.” (pg.41) The comparison between fire and powder is Shakespeare's approach of having Friar Lawrence imply that sudden joys have sudden endings, they burn up like fire and gunpowder. The Friar has much experience in marriage, as being older in age and marrying many lovers in Verona. As Friar Lawrence makes the comparison between the two objects in front of Romeo and Juliet, he is sharing his opinion on what marriage is really like. It is almost like the Friar is giving Romeo and Juliet a friendly heads up on what it could be like after they had made this bold decision. In conclusion, a simile can help someone see a different view on that subject, it can lead to a good or bad decision. A person that is older may have an easier time seeing a situation that has not been throught out, they are able to detect a bold move/ decision. Shakespeare chose to use simile to show the the character's ability to see a different perspective on Romeo and Juliet's decision making. Moving on, Shakespeare uses tone often show that someone who is older and superior may have a stronger opinion on what decision will be made by using their voice, he also demonstrates that tone can change the direction of a conversation rapidly.
To begin, Lady Capulet is in Juliet's room, she is with Juliet and is having a conversation with her about demanding for her to marry Paris and not Romeo. She speaks, “ Marry my child, early next Thursday morn, The gallant, young, and noble gentleman, The county Paris, at Saint Peter’s Church, Shall happily make thee there a joyful bride.” (pg.62) Lady Capulet changes her tone after calling Romeo a villain earlier in the conversation, she changes the tone in her voice as she realizes that Juliet will not listen to her or even take her opinion into consideration if she is yelling at her, and calling her lover names. Instead she begins to describe Paris in the most perfect way, trying to entice Juliette into seeing that Paris is the package. Continuing, Shakespeare still progresses by using tone to show that adults have a clearer decision than younger people, and how a powerful voice can make a decision on its own. Capulet is with Juliet, Lady Capulet, and the Nurse in Juliet's room. He is explaining his anger over Juliet’s decision to marry Romeo over Paris. He shouts “ Hang thee, young baggage! Disobedient wretch! I tell thee what; get thee to church o’ thursday, or never look me in the face. Speak not. Reply not. Do not answer me.” (pg.63) Shakespeare displays the dramatic controversy over who Juliet will marry, he captures the moment by representing Capulet as this furious, mad father by changing the tone of the conversation. He is an older man, as well as a husband and father. In Capulet’s eyes he only knows what is best for his Juliet. He could be protecting Juliet by making this decision, Capulet could have the ability to see into Juliet’s future and realizing that this could all be a mistake if she marries Romeo.
Really, Capulet has had more experience in love, and in life than Juliet has ever had, in this situation he chooses to portray and speak his message by yelling at Juliet and making sure that she does not make the decision her father does not stand behind. To summarize, an older person's opinion can often be displayed as harsh through their tone or even irrelevant, but older people do have more life and love experience, it is hard for them to sit back and watch a younger person not know any better and soon make the wrong decision To conclude, Shakespeare proposes that when having other people join in on decision making, the older people in the group may have a surprisingly different outlook on the situation than everyone else. Involving others into decision making, especially ones that are mentors, older people, or even parents may lead to a better decision making process, because they are able to provide thoughts and views that have never crossed a mind before. Yes, there are many mature young individuals but everyones ability to make a decision is different, sometimes including someone that is not the same age or much older can be purely resourceful.
What Capulet is saying is Juliet is far too young to be married, and that Paris could have her when she reaches a suitable age. Here, he is being a good dad, looking out for his daughters’ best interest. However, after the death of Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt, Capulet considers it might be good for Juliet to have a husband, that it might be a good healing technique. Keep in mind that this is after the night of the party when Romeo and Juliet fell in love. He is convinced and is excited for Juliet to get married, when she says no. She refuses, for obvious reasons, and he throws a huge temper tantrum. His harsh reaction leads readers to look at him as a bit of a tyrant and his entire “good daddy” persona is flushed down the toilet when he starts threatening Juliet. He states that he is willing to beat her or throw her out on the...
Lady Capulet is very materialistic and she wants Juliet to gain wealth and status by marrying Paris ‘’Share all that he doth possess’’. In addition, because she got married at a young age, therefore she thinks it’s right for Juliet to be married at a young age ‘’I was likely your mother at just about your age’’. Moreover, she constantly urges Juliet to marry Paris without any sense of consideration for Juliet’s opinions or feelings, about the alliance of the marriage. Furthermore, this illustrates her cold attitude towards love and marriage as she only talks about Paris Social position and wealth.
“Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare is a play about two lovers from different families that have an internal feud between them. It ends in both lovers, Romeo and Juliet, committing suicide as they could not openly live with each other. An important idea in this play is that of the impetuosity of youth and the rash decisions that young people may make. This idea is continuously brought up throughout the play and is explored through the concepts of overreacting and being blinded by anger, desperation in forbidden love and taking your life for love.
When there is a fight in the market place, Capulet rushes to fight for his honor, “my sword I say, old Montague is come...” Capulet denies Paris’ request to marry Juliet “ and too soon marred are those so early made,” acting for his own good because he wants Juliet to produce many offspring to carry on the Capulets bloodline, since she is his only surviving child. When at the ball Capulet demands Tybalt to let Romeo be,” content thee, gentle coz, let him alone,” but this just fuels Tybalts anger towards Romeo, which eventually ends up in Tybalt causing his own death. Capulet believes he is giving his child the best when he announces her engagement to Paris” she shall be married to this noble earl,” and believes Paris will make a good husband for Juliet. When Juliet refuses Capulet thinks it best to threaten her, “I will drag thee,” but this just makes Juliet turn to more drastic measures.
Lord Capulet is a loving father who deeply cares for Juliet. When he arranges the marriage between her and Paris, he is just trying to do what he feels is best for her. He knows Paris, being handsome and rich, will make a good husband to Juliet. When she refuses to marry Paris he goes into a violent rage, saying things he doesn’t mean. “Hang thee, young baggage, disobedient wretch! / I tell thee what: get thee to church o’Thursday, / Or never after look me in the face.”(3.5.166-168). He feels that the marriage of the two will be beneficial for Juliet and he loves her so much that he doesn’t mean to hurt her feelings. When Juliet “dies” he laments. “Despised, distressed, hated, martyred, killed! / Uncomfortable time, why cam’st thou now/ To murder, murder our solemnity? / O child! O child! My soul and not my child! / Dead art thou! Alack, my child is dead, / And with my child my joys are buried.” (4.5.65-70). He cries out in a pain and anguish for his lost daughter Juliet. By showing emotion on account of her death and for her disobedience, Capulet shows that he really does care for Juliet and that he is a good father, wanting the best for her.
We have now read both Pyramus and Thisbe, and Romeo and Juliet. The question we have yet to answer is what has a greater impact on what happened, destiny, or personal choice? We believe that personal choice affected the characters more because they chose to fall in love, Romeo and Juliet rushed into marriage, Pyramus and Thisbe left home on their own terms, and in both stories, the main characters decided to commit suicide. This is something that cannot be determined by the stars, your choices determine what happens, not some mystical prophecy. Though that is what we believe, it is also believed that destiny has a greater impact because they were doomed from the stars.
The house of the Capulets invites loyalty among the people but also hot tempers. Through the inability to understand Juliet and put aside their anger they may have been the cause for the events that transpired during the story. Lord Capulet, patriarch of the Capulets, is a man that demands respect and has quite the temper. When his character is introduced he is a reasonable father, taking Juliet’s age into consideration the first time he is approached by Paris about marriage. He allows Romeo to take part of his party after Tybalt discovers him. This seems to take a complete 180 later on when Juliet disobeys her father, after her cousin’s death, he threatens to hurt her. “I tell thee what: get thee to church o' Thursday, or never after look me in the face. Speak not. Reply not. Do not answer me. My fingers itch.” Act 3, scene 5,
These two scenes introduce Paris as Capulet's pick for Juliet's husband and, more broadly, establish the theme of parental influence over a child's happiness. In the last scene, it was shown how the hatred Capulet and Montague bear for each other flows down to affect the rest of their households and results in violent conflict, but here the influence is more subtle and mundane. Paris is a nobleman and a worthy choice to be Juliet's husband; there is no reason why she should not want to marry him. Capulet himself defers to her ability to choose for herself ("My will to her consent is but a part"), but his power to force her into a marriage if he feels it necessary is implicitly present. It is significant that Paris speaks to Juliet's father before he ever shows her any indication of his feelings, and apparently before he even gets to know her particularly well. Lady Capulet, for her part, offers her entire support to her husband's plan for their daughter, and begins to put pressure on Juliet to think about Paris as a husband before Juliet begins to think about marriage at all on her own. Juliet even says to Lady Capulet in scene 3 how important her influence is to her in this matter: "I'll look to like, looking liking move; / But no more deep will I endart mine eye / Than your consent gives strength to make it fly.
Life is filled with difficult situations and tough choices to make. The question is, should we choose to make them ourselves? Some people feel it's best to do things alone, while others do not. For example, most of the characters in The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare that are analyzed in the text, “What’s the Rush?: Young Brains Cause Doomed Love” by Lexi Tucker, do not consider other’s opinions at all. However, the opinions of people who love us positively affect our choices so it would be smart to consider them in most cases, but not in those that are very personal.
Lady Capulet has just announced that Capulet has made a decision for Juliet and Paris to get married in a few days. Juliet speaking to Lady Capulet says fiercely, “Now, by Saint Peter’s Church and Peter too,/ He shall not make me there a joyful bride” (3.5.116 and 117). This supports the claim because she is not letting her parents tell her what to do, she wants to make her own decisions of who to marry. She demands angrily that she will not marry Paris, no matter who tells her too. Capulet knows that Juliet has been at the Friar’s cell but doesn’t know what for. He thinks that she’s going for some common sense and to tell the Friar what happened. But what he doesn’t know is that their creating a plan. Juliet apologizes to Capulet by, “Where I have learned me to repent the sin, Of disobedient opposition/ To you and your behavests,... Pardon, I beseech you!/ Henceforward I am ruled by you” (4.2.18-20, 24 and 25). This supports the claim because she realized what she said and has done to her family, she feels bad and wants to apologize. But this is all part of her plan to not marry Paris, but make her family think she will. I am sorry I disobeyed you and I want your forgiveness. Juliet not listening to her parents and her apology shows how she’s becoming mature and doesn’t want her parents advice anymore which directly impacts her parents and
Capulet of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Overview Capulet displays a mixture of qualities rather than conveying a sense steady action. He is concerned with maintaining order in his own house, especially after the prince's promise to execute any disturbers of the peace. He is motivated by desire to fulfill Juliet’s needs, if she obtains his approval. However, he is also motivated by increasing the power and influence this marriage will create for his family and his line. The relationship between Capulet and Lady Capulet In the play we see how Capulet and Lady Capulet’s relationship is influenced by situations, but how does Lady Capulet really feel about her husband?
He did not give much thought on how Juliet feels about the marriage and agrees to marry the two even though Juliet had not given him consent. For example, when Paris asks Capulet if Juliet would love him; Capulet responds, "Of my child 's love: I think she will be ruled. In all respects by me; nay, more, I doubt it not." (4.3.13-14). Capulet’s relationship with Juliet is superficial; he does not understand or know his daughter well. By creating the wedding, he causes Juliet to become desperate as she would be marrying someone she doesn’t love. To add to the matter, instead of trying to understand his daughter’s perspective, he becomes aggressive and gives her with an ultimatum. Capulet shouts, “Disobedient wretch! I tell thee what: get thee to church o 'Thursday, Or never after look me in the face.” (3.5.160-163). By forcing Juliet into marriage, she becomes desperate and causes her to begin considering death as a way out. "I 'll to the friar, to know his remedy; If all else fail, myself have power to die." (3.5.241-242). Capulet’s controlling and aggressive parenting forces Juliet to marry someone she does not love. Furthermore, this causes Juliet to starts considering suicide as a way out. Capulet’s actions to forcefully marry Juliet to Paris brings her death because it results in the Friar’s potion plan which would cause the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. If Capulet did not
When one looks closely at the story of Romeo and Juliet, one will see that it is a story with many ethical aspects. The first ethical concern was the two feuding families. How moral is it to hate someone only because they have a certain family name? This all come from a time period when people were fairly focused on religion, which teaches us not to hate. I also question this because I think it is ironic that both Romeo and Juliet seem to be fairly religious, since the first person Romeo went to for help was Friar Lawrence, and a few scenes in the play took place in or around the church. I think that this hatred is especially bad in the case of the Capulets and the Montagues, because I was always under the impression that the families had been feuding for so long that no one really knew why they hated each other anymore. This was the beginning of the problems for Romeo and Juliet. They had a moral decision to make. Should they stay true to their families, and deny their love, or should they stay true to their feelings and disgrace their families? In order to resolve this dilemma, Romeo turns to Friar Lawrence, who perhaps could be seen as the most moral character, to begin with. Because he was a holy man, he was the most logical confidant of anyone in the play. People see men of the cloth as reliable and a good source of advice. Of course, Friar Lawrence has every intention of helping the two lovers, also hoping that he could reunite the feuding families. However, unbeknownst to him, everything he will do throughout the play will have an unnerving consequence. No matter what he did to correct what he had done wrong, it only drug him deeper into trouble. Who ever would have thought that by marrying the two young lovers, he would have caused all of this heartache for the families, and really for all of Verona? No one ever considered the fact that two young people wanting to get married would have affected the entire city. Friar Lawrence was only trying to be a good friend and ally, but everything he did just ended up backfiring for him.
And Lord Capulet doesn’t consider Juliet's feelings when she opposes Paris. Out of anger, instead he says to Juliet “Hang thee, young baggage! disobedient wretch! I tell thee what: get thee to church o' Thursday, or never after look me in the face: Speak not, reply not, do not answer me; My fingers itch. Wife, we scarce thought us blest that God had lent us but this only child; But now I see this one is one too much, and that we have a curse in having her: Out on her, hilding!” (Act III. V). He immediately calls Juliet horrid names that an understanding and aware parent wouldn’t call their child. ‘Authoritative parenting have rules for their children they expect them to follow. However, they keep in mind of their children’s feelings on the rules and use consequences instead of punishment when the child breaks the rule’ (Morin). Unfortunately, Lord Capulet is not an authoritative parent so when Juliet disobeyed his wishes he grew angry and harsh towards
Juliet’s arranged marriage with Paris, as well as the ancient feud between Capulets and Montagues, eventually contributed to the deaths of their children. In Act 1 Scene 2, Paris asks Capulet, ‘But now, my lord, what say you to my suit?’ which shows that Capulet and Paris are discussing Juliet’s possible marriage without consulting her, perhaps implying they think she is too nave to decide on her future. They are arranging her marriage for her, which implies that men are very controlling of women’s lives, especially those of their daughters. The scene establishes how Juliet is subject to parental influence, and how she is very constrained since her father can force her to marry whoever he wants. Juliet’s status as a woman leaves her with no power or choice in the decision of whom she should marry.