Felipe Schapinsky Da Rocha Ms. Frisch/Mrs.Smith 9th grade lit 26 April 2024. The Teenage Brain According to Romeo and Juliet, the modern idea of the teenage brain is a complex and chaotic concept that scientists even today still try to understand. William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, in addition to being a tragic love story, remains a poignant study of the impulsivity and chaos of teenage years. Utilizing modern neurological and psychological knowledge, explores the play as a depiction of how we understand teenagers today. The main teenage characters, Romeo and Juliet, share the most common teenage behavior characteristics, such as fast changes of love, impulsive decision-making, and extreme emotions. As modern science explains that the …show more content…
When Romeo comes to the realization of the grim reality of what had happened to his best friend, his emotion changes to “Mercutio’s soul is but a little way above our heads, staying for thine to keep him company. Either thou, or I, or both must go with him”(Shakespeare 3.1.122-125). This portrays the impulsive and emotionally uncontrolled nature of adolescent conflicts, which resulted in the deaths of Mercutio and later Tybalt. The insights of Elizabeth Schafer on violence in youth further enlighten this scene, arguing that "violence committed by children and teenagers, is sparked by an event that upsets or enrages the victimizer"(Schafer,6).The anger of Tybalt at the series of insults that Mercutio hurled at him is sparked by already heightened emotions, and Tybalt being quick to anger, Schafer's observation that violence in youth is frequently triggered by upsetting events. The fight between Romeo and Tybalt symbolizes the big tensions and conflict between the Capulets and Montagues, which portrays the capture of how Romeo, driven by grief and anger by the killing of his best friend Mercutio, took an act of revenge by killing Tybalt as well. It also brings out the impulsiveness and emotionally charged conduct that is often found in the interactions of adolescents today. Romeo and Tybalt's ending also throws light on the pathological results of adolescent impulsivity and aggression, reminding one of the delicate balance between the youthful spirit and the harsh realities of adulthood. Rereading through the lens of modern knowledge, Romeo and Juliet become timeless representations of the complexities of youth experiences, love, and conflict coined in the tumultuous journey of
“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.
Psychology Today declares “...Females generally mature faster in certain cognitive and emotional areas than males during childhood and adolescence.” In Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, it becomes clear that Juliet appears more mature than Romeo. Shakespeare proves that Juliet demonstrates a heightened level of maturity by capturing her reactions to outlandish events, displaying her awareness of sexual realities, and exhibiting her ability to tackle tragic news.
In “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare, two very young people fall in love but cannot be with each other because of the feud in between their families. The feud ends when Romeo and Juliet both kill themselves because of heartbreak over the other. The minor characters Mercutio, Tybalt, and Friar Lawrence serve as foils to Romeo, to help support the theme of patience.
Romeo senses tensions are high with Tybalt, so he states, “I do protest I never injured thee but love thee better than thou canst devise.” (Lines 65-66 Act Three, Scene One). Romeo is trying to diffuse the situation because he realizes that Tybalt is his love's cousin. Mercutio is surprised by Romeo’s behavior, so he decides to fight Tybalt himself. Mercutio’s decision to fight Tybalt leads to his own death. Romeo is angered by the death of Mercutio and states, “Now, Tybalt, take the “villain" back again/ That late thou gavest me; for Mercutio’s soul.” (Lines 123-124 of Act Three, Scene One). Romeo is indicating that Tybalt is the villain now, because he slayed Mercutio. Romeo forgets about his attempt to befriend the Capulets and slays Tybalt. Romeo, murderer of Tybalt, solely focuses on Juliet and states “Ha, banishment? Be merciful, say “death"/For exile hath more terror in his look.” (Lines 12-13 of Act Three, Scene Three). Romeo does not care about Tybalt’s life, but only cares for the way it affects his relationship with Juliet. Romeo’s mother dies out of grief because of his banishment. Romeo’s recklessness in loving Juliet has led to the death of three
What would the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet be if Romeo and Juliet were only a few ages older and not teens? Well, there are a conglomerate of possibilities starting with their impulse control, if Romeo and Juliet met when they were, at the very least, twenty-five they may have not acted as impulsive as they did. Maybe Romeo wouldn’t have kissed Juliet during their first meeting and instead would have courted her. Or maybe if Romeo didn’t propose on their second meeting they could have had a long marriage that united their families, and maybe if Romeo didn’t slay Tybalt he wouldn’t have been banished and wouldn’t have brought about his own demise. As teenagers the two star-crossed
“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.
One of the most complicated puzzles that have faced our society and you, the parents, is that of the teenage brain. The reason that this has been stumping our heads is because this puzzle isn’t even complete. The adolescent brain is developed from back to front creating many complications for their decisions. This both helps and damages us. With this ability, we have an easier ability to learn new things, easier time adapting to our environment, and we seek new thrilling experiences. The ways this hinders us is that we have bad decision making, emotions controlling our decisions, sensitivity to social and emotional information, and the seeking of immediate rewards. Although a teenager’s brain is not fully
Many characters want Romeo to pay for what he has done, whereas Juliet is heartbroken because she might never be able to see Romeo again. The destructive forces of love are shown through Romeo’s love towards Mercutio, as it presents chaos when Romeo is banished, leaving all characters in despair. In addition, Tybalt’s destructive love of family honour brings out chaos and worry throughout the Capulet household. Tybalt displays a destructive love of family honour, as he shows a hatred towards all Montague. When Tybalt first lays eyes on Benvolio at the beginning of the play, he begins to scold him, beginning a fight between the two of them.
In William Shakespeare’s most well-known play, “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet”, Shakespeare illustrates an emotional tragedy by using through the behaviors of Romeo and Juliet’s behavior. Doomed upon falling in from love at first sight, the lives of two teenage lovers were eventually lost. Modern studies suggest that teenage behavior can be explained by is created due to the dramatic changes the brain undergoes at the age of adolescence. Since decision- making is vital in the teenage years, more options and opportunities tend to lead to better choices.
One of the most common character tropes is the moody, teenage sibling who’s always in trouble and fighting with the parents. Teenagers are often stereotyped as reckless and emotional. They take too many chances and act like everything is the end of the world. Young adults are constantly experimenting and taking risks, but what is the force behind their actions? During adolescence, the areas in the brain controlling reward processing and control begin to change. According to neuroscientist Laurence Steinburg, the shift creates an imbalance between emotion and restraint (Sukel, 46). The play, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, focuses on the teenager, Romeo, during a dramatic period of his life. He faces many difficult situations involving love
Consequently, Romeo and Juliet fall in love when they first meet each other at a party. Because of the family feud, they cannot let their parents know about their love, so Juliet and Romeo marry in secret. Also, Juliet’s father, Lord Capulet, promises Juliet’s hand to Paris. Many researchers have found out that the human brain is not fully developed until the early 20s, the way in which a teen’s decision-making circuit integrates information may put him or her at a higher risk of making decisions the teen could later regret” (Teens and Decision Making: What Brain Science Reveals 2).
Romeo and Juliet’s Actions Based on Their Brain Development The human brain isn’t the quickest maturing organ in the body. The brain has many parts to it, this complex organ matures at its own pace and so do the parts of the brain. Meaning all the parts of the brain mature at a different pace, some mature quicker some mature slower.
As already shown, both Romeo and Juliet are horrified to discover that they were family enemies. Despite of this, they both choose to devote their love for eachother. Given this point, it is unrequited love that brings Romeo and Juliet together. But this also means that they would have to get over the fact that their families hate each other. This eventually leads them to forgiving the rival family for all the hateful acts that have occurred against one another. This is not the only forgiveness that is experienced in this play. Tybalt is a Montague with a fiery attitude. After catching Romeo at a party he was not supposed to be at, Tybalt had it out for Romeo. Just after Romeo and Juliet’s wedding, Tybalt comes looking for him wanting to fight. Romeo does not want to fight because he now loves Tybalt since he is family to him, but neither Tybalt or anyone else knows this reason. Quickly Mercutio steps in and tells Tybalt that he will fight him in honour of Romeo. Sadly this leads to the death of Mercutio. Romeo is angry and in need of revenge, which creates an intense fight between Tybalt and Romeo. Romeo wins this battle, killing Tybalt. He leaves in a hurry, only to discover that he would be banished from Verona. The death of Tybalt is absolutely devastating to Juliet. Her cousin was murdered by her husband. But she did not hesitate to forgive Romeo, she did so right away. She knew that Romeo had a reason for this incident and decides to
Through the flaws in the characterization of his characters, Shakespeare allows their weakness to manipulate and cloud their judgment. This fundamentally leads to the outcome of Romeo and Juliet, with each weakness presenting a conflict that alters the characters fate. Being especially true with the star-crossed lovers, William Shakespeare leads their perfect love into tragedy with these conflicts. In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet, Friar Lawrence, and Tybalt all contribute to conflicts that enhance the plot. From destructive flaws in their characterizations, Juliet, Friar Lawrence, and Tybalt are all consequently controlled by their weakness, therefore affecting the outcome of the play.
A Psychological Analysis of Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet was obviously not written to fit the psychoanalytic model, as the theories of Freud were not developed for centuries after Shakespeare. Shakespeare wrote about Renaissance England, a culture so heavily steeped in Christianity, that it would have blushed at the instinctual and sexual thrust of Freud’s theory. However, in order to keep literature alive and relevant, a culture must continually reinterpret the themes and ideas of past works. While contextual readings assure cultural precision, often these readings guarantee the death of a particular work. Homer’s Iliad, a monument among classical works, is currently not as renowned as Romeo and Juliet because it is so heavily dependent on its cultural context.