Shallow Romeo and Stupid Juliet
We just finished reading the play Romeo and Juliet by William
Shakespeare. In this play we are introduced to the tragic story of their
forbidden "love" which ultimately leads to their deaths. Although Romeo and
Juliet is considered to be a timeless love story, I find Romeo to be too
immature for this to be so.
When we are first introduced to Romeo, he is involved with a girl by
the name of Rosaline. Benvolio inquired about Romeo's situation with her to
see if she was the cause for his melancholiness, when he discovered she was, he
advised him to forget her and move on to another girl.
"Tut man, one fire burns out another's burning;
One pain is lessened by another's anguish.
Turn giddy, and be helped by backward turning.
One desperate grief cures with another's languish.
Take thou some new infection to thy eye,
And the rank poison of the old will die."
Romeo takes the advise Benvolio offered, and not another word about loving
Rosaline is spoken.
On the same day, Romeo, Benvolio, and Mercutio went to the Capulet's
party dressed in masks so their identities wouldn't be known. At the party,
Romeo saw a beautiful girl dancing with Paris and instantly fell in love with
her. He asked a servingman what her name was but he didn't know.
"O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!
It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night
As rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear-
Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear.
So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows
As yonder lady o'er her fellows shows.
The measure done, I'll watch her place of stand
And, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand.
Did my heart love till now? Forsweare it, sight,
For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night."
I find this hard to believe that Romeo could instantly fall in love
with Juliet by her looks alone. Even harder to believe, is that if he was
love with Juliet. He is also kind enough to Romeo to agree to help him
(HOOK) How can one grave mistake made by a character eventually accumulate and have an immense impact on the plot of a storyline? Depending on the piece of literature, certain characters can create setbacks through their actions and choices. (CI) Likewise, a pair of star-crossed lovers face challenging obstacles based on certain decisions made by characters. (GS1) The protagonist of the play, Romeo Montague, generates various dilemmas because of the severe choices he makes, especially his decision to kill Tybalt. (GS2) Meanwhile, Mercutio, Romeo’s best friend, is another character who causes impactful changes in the play with his overdramatic personality. (GS3) Additionally, the character Friar Laurence ultimately makes the most drastic choice
In 1837 a smallpox epidemic almost completely wiped out the Mandan tribe leaving only 125 out if 1600 Mandan’s alive. In 1845 the surviving members of the Mandan tribe moved to Fort Berthold Reservation. The last Okipa ceremony was held in 1890, after that the army officer in charge of the Fort Berthold Reservation banned the ceremony and although it was lifted in 1934 the Okipa ceremony was never held again.
Romeo and Juliet are madly in love with each other and will go to any lengths to be together.
A character goes through many changes that depend on the kind of events they experience. The play “Romeo and Juliet” written by William Shakespeare, uses different tones and language that shows the readers that Juliet, a Protagonist, changes over time, proving the idea that she is a dynamic character. At the beginning of the play, we are introduced to a young, innocent and inexperienced girl, Juliet the daughter of Lord Capulet . She has not yet seen the real world and is raised by the person she trusts most, her nurse. Juliet begins as a naive child who has thought little about love and marriage, but she grows up quickly upon falling in love with Romeo, the son of her family’s great enemy. Due to the fact that Juliet is a girl in an aristocratic family, she has none of the freedom Romeo has to rome around the city, climb over walls in the middle of the night, or get into swordfights. As we begin to learn more about the character of Juliet, we learn that Juliet is not the girl she used to be anymore. She is more courageous and willing to break the rules. She goes against her and her family beliefs. In the beginning of the play she obeys her parents. But as the play descends Juliet is disregarding of what her parents say. She is no longer the innocent girl she use to be. Shakespeare use of language helps the reader to see the change in a character that makes them a dynamic character.
Just as the Friar says in the beginning of the Shakespeare play, Romeo and Juliet, “Wisely and slowly, they stumble that run fast.” (II.iii.94). this was a sign of foreshadowing for for the death of the lovers, Romeo and Juliet. Even though fate was a factor that had contributed to a tragic end, there was also personal choice involved, and ultimately, the story may have had a different ending if it weren’t for the flaws of the lovers and their inability to have a grip on reality in dire circumstances. Over the course of the play, the lovers from the conflicting households have not matured and remain rather static in development. Furthermore, in this tragedy, the only son of the montages remains rather childlike, Juliet still seems immature and their relationship over all seems more like a play act on lover rather then something mature and sustainable. Overall, from start to finish, Romeo and Juliet were living in the moment, being absurd and silly rather then focusing on the future and trying to work problems out effectively.
A popular topic of discussion for Shakespearian critics is whether or not Hamlet is sane at various points in the play. Usually, this digresses into a question of at what point Hamlet crosses the fine line which marks the bounds of sanity into the realm of insanity. This is a confusing matter to sort out, due to the fact that it is hard to tell when the prince is acting, and when he is really and truly out of his mind. The matter of determining the time of crossing over is further complicated by the fact that everyone around him is constantly speaking of madness. At the end we must either conclude that Hamlet is an extremely talented actor capable of staying in character under the most trying circumstances, or that he is human and as a result his sanity gives way to the many external emotional barrages coming his way. The more likely conclusion is that Hamlet is at some point insane. What is left to discover is at what point does this crossover occur, and second, what are the main contributing factors in his mental collapse. I will ignore the issue of the point of crossover, and let another paper consider that point. Rather, I propose that Hamlet's religious beliefs, acquired at the University of Wittenberg, heavily contributed to the loss of his sanity.
The proverb goes that “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” In the classic play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, this proverb reflects Friar Lawrence’s preeminent role in the tragedy of the two teenage lovers, each belonging to feuding families in Verona. Though Friar Lawrence’s motives are filled with good intentions, he does not always use the moral approach to reach them. In his play, Friar Lawrence is the most responsible character for Romeo and Juliet’s deaths because he is not only political, but also irresponsible and deceptive.
It is key to grasp the meaning of madness in order to understand Hamlet’s audacity to utilize it as well as to why he unconsciously fell into his own act. Madness is a condition of the mind that abolishes all rational thought leaving an individual with no accurate compreh...
Romeo and Juliet is a play written by William Shakespeare, where a boy and a girl fall in love with each other during a party hosted by Juliet’s father, Lord Capulet. The two teenager decide to get marry, despite their family's hate for each other and only meeting each other a few hours ago. However, the Montagues (Romeo’s Parents) and the Capulets end their feud after they discover that their children killed themselves. Romeo and Juliet’s death was caused by Juliet’s parents, Juliet, and Friar Lawrence.
William Shakespeare’s creation of the character of Hamlet within the tragedy of that name left open the question of whether the madness of the protagonist is entirely feigned or not. This essay will treat this aspect of the drama.
Hamlet has had several things in his life trigger his madness. Hamlet feigns madness in order to discover the truth behind his father’s death. Upon Hamlets arrival home from Denmark he learns of his father’s death and his mother’s remarriage to Claudius, the late Kings brother. All of these things are enough to make a person mad. Later on he meets with the ghost of his father and learns that his father was murdered by his own brother, in Claudius’s attempt to take the throne and become the new King of Denmark. All of this news overwhelms ...
Hamlet once said, “for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so”(2.2.253). The way a person thinks determines their being. Yes, once again just as many critics, I want to dissect the sanity of Hamlet. We will never know the truth behind his actions but along with the ideas of several other critics we can find answers to confirm his sanity. While exploring Davis’s thoughts on the sanity of Hamlet she quickly drew my attention with making the point, “His own testimony could not be regarded as conclusive-for, if he were truly mad, we could hardly accept his word for it; while if he seemed mad merely, we could hardly believe a present protestation that the appearance was all a sham”(Davis). Hamlet was not insane. He may have had conscious and unconscious emotional breaks throughout the play due to his tragic life events. On the contrary too call him mad or say that his actions stem from insanity seems like a scapegoat for not only his family but also the audience.
In the play Hamlet, the author, Shakespeare portrays madness or insanity through most of its characters. What is madness, it is a state of mind in which doesn’t let ones ideas flow normally or think with a clear mind. In this case it is evident that there is something wrong with almost all the main characters. All the characters in the play in some form or fashion display madness either through thoughts, actions or words.
Throughout the play you feel bad for Macbeth, he is truly someone you can relate to and show remorse for. Early in the play in order for Macbeth to become king of Cawdor, Macbeth must kill the king at the time Duncan. Macbeth does not want to do the deed but is forced to go through with the plan by his lady. “If the assassination could trammel up the consequence, and catch his surcease” (I.vii.2-4). Macbeth is starting to rethink the deed he is going to commit by killing Duncan; Macbeth is given the idea that there will be no consequences for his actions. Readers start to see perfect examples of hubris in Macbeth; Macbeth starts to believe he is above everyone and can get out of any situation he is put into. With all of the murders Macbeth commits through out the play he begins to display that he is above fait and he is able to outwit karma. Readers start to think something is truly wrong mentally with Macbeth; the man no longer values the lives of others. “They pluck out mine eyes! Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hands?”(II.ii.60). even after the empty feeling and disgusting feeling of murder after killing Duncan, Macbeth seems shaken by the event that just took place. Soon after, Macbeth is ready to commit another murder. This time the murder of someone closer to his heart, Banqou and his son Fleance. ...