Thursday, May 20, 2010

Theme : Fate


Fate is probably one of the most prominent themes in Romeo and Juliet. Already, in the prologue, it tells you that in the end, the two lovers will not survive. meaning that there is no happy ending, which is evidently true. It was the fate of Romeo and Juliet to die, and no matter how much they tried, they wouldn't end up being together, because that was how it was meant to be. In the end, they would end up with their fate, sure they could try to take different paths, but in the end, they'll be in the same place where they were supposed to end up.

Some examples of fate would be that:
1) the capulet servant couldn't read, and coincidentally asked Romeo, of all people to help him read the list of names

2) The day that Romeo sees Juliet, where they fall in love, Paris decides to ask Juliet for her hand in marriage.

3)Romeo dies a few minutes earlier than Juliet wakes up.

These were all examples of how fate played a role. They were supposed to meet each other and fall in love, they were supposed to be put against obstacles (famillies and Paris) and in the end die. Their fates were chosen the day they were born, there was no way they could change it.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Themes : Forbidden Love


Forbidden love was a main part to the shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, this is because if their love wasn't forbidden, it wouldn't be the same love story and definitely wouldn't have been a tragedy either. They were not able to be together because of their famillies constant bickering and hate for each other. It is the main reason why Romeo and Juliet had to be married in secret, and had to make plans to be together in private. if it wasn't necessary, there would be no tragedy, Juliet wouldn't have had the problem of Lord Capulet arranging marriage with Paris and they wouldn't have needed to do anything in secrecy.

I think one of the reasons that forbidden love played a bigger part was because, if Juliet had married any other man, i think the Capulets would've been fine with it and there would be no tragedy or problems. But because she fell in love with Romeo, the heir to the Montagues, her family's enemies, they needed to be secretive and also hasty, because nobody knew of their love and she was to be married to Paris, so they needed to be together quick, as they did not want to tell their famillies of their love.

All in all, if their love wasn't forbidden, there simply wouldn't have been a tragedy.




*Note*
my other theme is Love Vs. Lust, and even though i think it is lust more so than love, it was still forbidden either way.

Romeo and Juliet : Marriage Scene


This scene is important because this is the actual act of their rebellion. They have officially married without either famillies knowing, and for the most obvious reason, their famillies are enemies. Also this scene shows you haste in their love, they are now married with only a few hours of knowing each other, making it seem almost like they are marrying out of lust rather than love. Again, this scene has an effect on all scenes yet to come, making it an important part to the play. As well as showing the theme of haste.

The Balcony Scene


The balcony scene of Romeo and Juliet is one of the main events that occur in the play. This is because it is at this moment where Both Romeo and Juliet decide to defy their parents and marry each other. Their plans and, therefore this scene, are important because it is what makes future events go wrong, like the death of Mercutio, and with that, the Death of Tybalt. This scene had a chain reaction effect, if they had not planned the marriage, or rather if this scene did not exist, the deaths would not have occured, and therefore the banishment wouldn't have existed either.



If this scene did not happen, the story of Romeo and Juliet would've been a tragedy. Or at least it wouldn't have been as much of a tragedy.