Romeo And Juliet Impulse Analysis

Have you ever felt the impulse to do something? The word impulse means a sudden strong and unreflective urge or desire to act. The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare expresses what it means to act on impulse. This story tells about two young adults, Romeo and Juliet, who belong to two feuding families in Verona, the Capulets and Montagues. They fall in love at first sight and decide to get married the next day acting on impulses. Their marriage is performed by a man named Friar Lawrence who hopes this will end the feud between their families. However, things take a turn for the worst when Romeo becomes banished from Verona. The Friar devises a plan so Romeo and Juliet will be able to be together. The plan goes horribly

wrong and Romeo and Juliet both end up dead. The three people who solely act on their impulses and cause the death of many people are Romeo, Juliet, and Friar Lawrence.
Romeo’s impulsive actions do not benefit him.

He is often quick to act or make assumptions about people. Romeo’s first sign of impulsiveness is when he falls in love with Juliet at first sight. He disregards everything of his former love Rosaline and just looks in awe of his new love. Before he even says anything to her he says to himself, “I ne’er saw true beauty till this night”(I.II.51). That night he sits under Juliet’s balcony and hears her asking herself, “O be some other man!”(II.I.42). Romeo can not bear listening to this anymore and proclaims, “Henceforth I will never be Romeo.”(II.I.51). This scene proves how Romeo acts impulsively without thinking of the trouble this will eventually lead him into. The next day Romeo and Juliet get married by a man named Friar Lawrence. Soon after they are married Romeo is walking the street of Verona and sees Mercutio, Benvolio, and Tybalt arguing. Romeo tries to break up the scuffle, but this ends up getting his friend killed. Because of Mercutio’s death, Romeo picks up Mercutio’s sword and kills Tybalt without even thinking of what will happen next. Romeo decides that he wants to say one final goodbye to Juliet before he kills himself. After Romeo drinks the poison he cries, “Here’s to my love!”(V.IV.119). By this action it shows that he loved Juliet so much he could not live without her. All of these impulsive actions of Romeo lead to his

demise.
Some may think that a young Juliet had nothing to do with the deaths because she seems innocent. However that is not the case. She, also like Romeo, acts on her impulses and eventually ends up dead. Juliet falls in love instantaneously with Romeo and kisses him saying, “Then have my lips the sin they have took”(I.V.106). Keep in mind that she does this without even knowing who Romeo actually is, a Montague. This quote shows that Juliet is also quick to think and does not think things through. She also shows her impulsive nature when she agrees to marry Romeo the day after they meet. She tells Romeo, “If that thy bent of love be honorable, thy purpose marriage, send me word, by one that I’ll procure to come to thee”(II.II.143-145). Juliet is the one who told Romeo to propose marriage to her and he did. From this a conclusion can be made that it is also Juliet’s fault for pushing him into the marriage. Juliet loved Romeo so much that she could not bear life without him. She decided to take a knife in the tomb stabbing herself crying, “O happy dagger, this is my sheath there rust, and let me die”(V.III.169-170). She acted impulsively, and just like Romeo she could not bear living without the other and she died.
The final person, who also acts impulsively, is Friar Lawrence. Although Friar Lawrence is a member of a religious order, he too is also to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. The Friar can be described of quick to think or secretive. This is because he he does not even second guess himself before marrying Romeo and Juliet. He agrees to marry them without even informing the parents what is about to happen. Friar Lawrence says to Romeo before the marriage, “So smile the heavens upon this holy act, that after-hours with sorrow chide us not!” this can show us that Friar Lawrence, the adult in the situation, has not thought about the harsh consequences all of them would face by acting impulsively (II.VI.1-2). He even had the secrecy to hide from both families. He knew that the two families were not fond of each other, but still thought it was right for him to marry them without notifying the parents. If Friar Lawrence had decided to inform the parents that Romeo and Juliet were going to be married, he would not be in this mess. Near the end of the play Friar Lawrence realizes the mistake he made by marrying Romeo and Juliet. He admits to his actions saying, “Miscarried by my fault, let my old life be sacrific’d some hour before this time, unto the rigor of severest law”(V.III.267-269). Friar Lawrence took the blame for his impulsive actions because he knew it was mainly his fault for marrying Romeo and Juliet , and did not want to feel guilty for the rest of his life. Although Friar does not die, he is going to be put in jail for the actions he did.