The Drama of it All...

      Prior to reading Romeo and Juliet, I knew it was a tragedy written by Shakespeare.  Romeo and Juliet were young and in love, but they were forbidden to be together.  Their families, the Capulets and the Montagues, have an old feud.  Fate is against their love for each other.  They were so in love they killed themselves rather than living apart.

     After reading Act, 1 I have learned that Romeo did not love Juliet at first.  Instead, he thought he was in love with her cousin, Rosaline.  Romeo is a drama queen.  He thinks that he is in love with many girls.  He is also gets depressed easily when a girl doesn't like him back.  He is extremely impulsive.  Romeo appears to be more in love with the thought of love itself than the girl.  

     “Why, such is love’s transgression. Griefs of mine own lie heavy in my breast, Which thou wilt propagate, to have it pressed With more of thine. This love that thou hast shown Doth add more grief to too much of mine own. Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs; Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes; Being vexed, a sea nourished with loving tears. What is it else? A madness most discreet, A choking gall, and a preserving sweet.”

      This quote shows Romeo’s over-exaggeration of love. He starts off saying that love is sitting heavy on his chest and that Benvolio adding to this sadness is too much.  This makes Romeo seem selfish.  Continuing, he describes love in a very poetic way.  He specifically describes love as “a madness.” 

       I also learned that Juliet is only thirteen years old.  She has not thought about marriage and does not know love.  A kinsman of the Prince, Paris, wishes to marry her. She does not really know how she feels about this, but her parents want her to marry him.  Juliet is being forced to mature quickly.  In her first scene she seems shy and innocent.  She goes along with her mother’s wish to meet Paris.

      “I’ll look to like if looking liking move. But no more deep will I endart mine eye Than your consent gives strength to make it fly.”

      In this quote Juliet is saying that she will look at Paris and try to like him, but she will not like him more than her mother wants her too.  She is very obedient and has obviously never felt love.  Unlike Romeo, she is not impulsive and attracted to every man.  She doesn’t seem to think about falling in love at all.  

      Overall, my first impressions of the play were good.  I enjoyed the storyline once I understood it.  The Shakespearean language is very complicated.  The storyline is also more complicated than I originally expected.  I'm hoping that I will improve my understanding of the language because I am looking forward to learning more about Romeo and Juliet. Learning about Paris and Rosaline has made me curious about how Juliet and Romeo love each other at first sight. 

Source: Google images