Romeo and Juliet Essay

702 Words2 Pages

“Romeo and Juliet”, a tragic love story written by William Shakespeare, is a play that has two main characters who are star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet. The protagonists come from feuding families, the Montagues and Capulets, which forces them to make many risky decisions regarding their love. Juliet especially faces many conflicts between what she wants to do and what others want her to do. This conflict causes her to develop her own will throughout the story as she undergoes a transformation. Although Shakespearian literature is entertaining, it also conveys a deeper meaning. Through the development of Juliet’s will and character, Shakespeare demonstrates themes about the power of love, violence caused by passion, and an individual standing up against society. The power of love can be very overwhelming and cause people to do things that they may not do otherwise. It can be a hard feeling to explain, yet one that some feel so strongly that they cannot even put it into words. People can be so blinded by their feeling of love such that nothing else matters to them but the object of their adoration. Juliet experiences this in her love for Romeo. She starts to develop her own will when she realizes that Romeo is the object of everything that she desires in life, but her family has opposing ideas. She would never deny her family otherwise, but now that they stand in the way of her desires, she is forced to. She has to become independent and make her own decisions. With her newfound will, she decides to deny her name and her family, and direct her focus toward her love and devotion to Romeo. “quote w/ supporting evidence” Passion is a very strong and irresistible emotion, and it can have a dark side, which results in violence and ... ... middle of paper ... ...he power of love, passion and violence, and an individual going against society, as well as sent many messages to readers. These three themes cause individuals to question their own morals, and learn more about themselves as a person. They force people to make opinions on Juliet and her actions, and to also see how her decisions apply to a larger idea. Shakespeare not only wanted to entertain, but he wanted his plays to cause people to think for themselves, and make a change. The three universal themes can easily be applied today. Love still overwhelms people and causes them to make certain decisions. Passion still causes people to be violent because of a cause. Individuals still stand up against society. Even today, Shakespeare has the same effect on readers; he makes them think about where they stand on these issues and have a better understanding of themselves.

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