Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is a well-known play written by the famous William Shakespeare in the 16th centuries about two lovers (Romeo & Juliet) who impulsively falls in love, but cannot be together because of the long feud between their families (the Montague and Capulet families) so they decide to turn their backs on their families and have a secret marriage. Unfortunately for them, depict all their effort and sufferance. All there is at the end for them is death. Many may see this play is seen as just a love story- since the main theme is love, I see this play as a reflection of Shakespeare’s ideas on love which is portrayed in many different ways between different characters such as the motherly love between the Nurse and Juliet and the brotherly love between Romeo and calvados And also how love is influence e.g. love between Romeo and Juliet Romantic was influenced by their families which resulted in death, the unrequited love Romeo experienced with Rosaline influenced his state of mind; making him congest with his feelings and overdramatic. I think William Shakespeare message throughout Romeo and Juliet is that that young love is irrational and powerful and although there are many different types of love, they can all lead to disaster if rushed which I agree with because the romantic love between Romeo and Juliet ended in tragedy because it was rushed, impulsive and irrational, the unrequited love between Romeo and Rosaline only had a negative effect on Romeo because he refused to admit that Rosaline didn’t loved him and the brotherly love of Romeo and Benvolio was misunderstood because secrets was keep from each other. I think the reason why this play has remained popular for this long is because people can relate to this story. “Sonnet 18” and “Message” are poems also exploring the theme of love like Romeo and Juliet. Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare is a sonnet about a man comparing a woman’s beauty to a summer day which is revealed to us by a rhetorical question at the start of the poem: “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” Message by Wendy Cope (1984) is a poem about a woman desperately expressing her feelings and desires though poetry to a man; this would of being unusual in the 16th century when sonnet 18 and Romeo & Juliet was written because it was unacceptable by society for a woman to reveal her emotions so easily and shamelessly which is shown in Romeo and Juliet when Romeo over hear Juliet expressing her felling towards him and felt embarrass and started blushing when she found out Romeo overheard: “Thou know'st the mask of night is on my face, Else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheekFor that which thou hast heard me speak to-night” This shows that the 16th century society would have expected women to act more like Rosaline and not be so open like the woman in “Message” because it was seen as got manner as Juliet said “Fain would I dwell on form. Fain, fain deny what I have spoke”. I think “Romeo & Juliet” and “Message” have more in common with each other then they have with “Sonnet 18” because although all three texts explores the theme of unrequired loved, written in iambic pentameter, alternate rhyming scheme and uses a lot of metaphors, comparisons and similes. “Sonnet 18” is to regular and lack originality like “Romeo & Juliet” and “Message” because “Romeo & Juliet” sonnet is a duet between both parties involved which I believe was the first of its kind and “message” sonnet is one of a woman expressing her love to a man which is abnormal and daring because it might not be accepted by society who is used to sonnets being about a man expressing his feeling. If I was to choose my favourite text between the three, I would choose “message” because it’s humorous and I can relate to it at an extend; I know how it feels to want something really bad and feel desperate for it. From reading both “Romeo & Juliet” and “Message”, it seems that women from 20th century had more freedom in their love lives them they had in the 16th century, especially if they were rich or nobles like Juliet from “Romeo & Juliet” because marriage for rich/nobles is presented to us as a way to gain more wealth and power by William Shakespeare since in “Romeo & Juliet” Juliet’s father Mr Capulet tried to force his daughter Juliet to marry Paris for more fame, money and greater influence over the Montague, but went Juliet refuse to marry Paris, Mr Capulet shamelessly threatens to disown her “An you be mine, I’ll give you to my friend. An you be not, hang, beg, starve, die in the streets, For, by my soul, I’ll ne'er acknowledge thee” To the 20th and 21th century audience, this type of beaver would of being outrages but to a 16th century audience, this type of beaver seemed normal and expected which how society has changed during +6 centuries.