The Importance Of Hasty Decisions In Romeo And Juliet

Often in life, people are told to think twice before they do something, as hasty decisions could have terrible repercussions. This advice is forgotten by Romeo Montague, one of the main characters in William Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet. Many times throughout the play, Romeo acts impulsively and irrationally, without thinking of the consequences of his actions. His irresponsibility and hasty decisions result in several unfortunate situations. It is obvious to the reader that much of the misfortune in the play is a result of his over dramatic personality. Many undesirable situations occur due to his incapability to listen to his conscience, the influence his emotions have on his decision making and his stubborn refusal to listen to people’s advice.

Firstly, Romeo repeatedly ignores his conscience, and does things that he knows he should not do. For example, Romeo goes to the Capulet ball, regardless of the fact that he knows he should not have gone. He completely ignores his inner voice, telling him there will be dire consequences if he attends the ball. He speaks of his worries to Benvolio and Mercutio shortly before they attend the masquerade. “I fear too early, for my mind misgives Some consequence yet hanging

Therefore, he does not take the time to further analyze the situation. He notices that she does not in fact look dead, a significant observation that would’ve stopped him from hastily killing himself, had he not let his sadness take over his reason. Had he not taken his own life so soon, he would have seen Juliet wake up and her plan would have worked. However, Romeo does not wait, he drinks the poison. Juliet, of course, wakes up and sees his dead body, killing herself as a result. Romeo’s impulsiveness and lack of emotional stability ruined his chance of a happy life with Juliet. This decision caused both of their deaths, therefore provoking much of the misfortune in the