Romeo And Juliet Flaws

Norman Rush once said “literature is humanity talking to itself.” Literature in general, especially old literature is there to mock humanities faults and mistakes in their history. Rush explains that it is a sort of talking to humanity of what not to do, to not repeat its past mistakes. Shakespeare’s plays, like in Romeo and Juliet, expose histories faults as modern society still grapples with the same issues that plagued his characters. Conflicts in his play such as irrational violence and arranged marriages are still seen today in senseless school shootings like the one in Santa Fe, Texas, and in Florida. Although critics say that the rich, dense language of Shakespeare’s work is too difficult for students to interpret, the various themes

One of his charters, Juliet, also grapples with the idea of arranged marriages when she has already found her true love and the conflict that follows is a struggle that is still seen today. In modern day arranged marriages occur in culturally infused countries, however there is backlash and violence that occurs as a result. An article titled “The Progressive case for Teaching Shakespeare” states that the “jarring disparities between then and now can open up a political imagination that is foreclosed by living purely within the confines of current social and political thinking.” Current social and political thinking is based on assumptions that weren’t fully formed in eras like in Romeo and Juliet. When students read any of Shakespeare’s plays, they begin to contemplate the harsh truth that humanity hasn’t changed since Shakespeare's era. Histories’ faults bleed and stain modern society. People still fight over irrational ideas like the Capulets and Montagues did and today there are still disputes between two people from opposite ‘groups’ loving one another, such as inter-racial marriages, inter-religious marriages, and poor marrying rich. Shakespeare provides a roadmap of what not to do and his plays provide a solution to minimizing conflict. Students need this resource to instill their connections to modern society and apply this knowledge to modern change. Not only does the novel mock our modern faults, it makes students critical thinkers. Shakespeare's plays make students ask questions that they probably didn’t think they had. In “Why Shakespeare Still Matters” from the University of Melbourne, David McInnis states “in wrestling with the provocative questions and scenarios Shakespeare has created, we question our own assumptions and beliefs, clarify our thoughts, and become better thinkers.” The complexity of Shakespeare's plays are the reason