Romeo and Juliet

Impression of the Play “Romeo and Juliet” By William Shakespeare

 About the author

                 William Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, and died on April 23, 1616. He was a renowned English poet, playwright, dramatist, and actor. He was called England’s national poet and considered the greatest dramatist of all time. He belonged to the Renaissance/Elizabethan age. He writes plays, poems, and sonnets. Shakespeare’s works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, and many poems.  His literary career began in London where his first printed works were published. In London, he becomes a member of the lord chamberlain’s men, which is a company of actors. Shakespeare had secured a reputation in the world of English literature. The genre of drama get flourished in the Elizabethan age and Shakespeare has a major contribution to it. He wrote different kinds of plays such as comedies, tragedies, and historical plays. Here I will discuss one of his famous tragedy, “Romeo and Juliet”.

 

          About the play

               “Romeo and Juliet” is one of the most renowned and admirable tragedies of Shakespeare. It is set in 5th C Verona. It is a love story of Romeo and Juliet. The rivalry of the two families is the major hurdle in their love. Romeo belongs to the Montague family and Juliet belongs to Capulet. Their relationships were never accepted by their families.  Their love meets a tragic end and they committed suicide. Their love story is widely admired and read worldwide.

Impression of the play

                Whenever there is a discussion on love then most probably we discuss the love story of Romeo and Juliet because it has created a mark in literature and the story becomes a legend. The story takes place in 5th C, yet it has its influence in the contemporary era. It has secured a place in the memory of its readers. There is a well-known quote from Shakespeare in the play, “Midsummer Night’s Dream” that says, “The course of true love never did run smooth”.This quotation applies to Romeo and Juliet as there were stumbling blocks in their love. Family is the major hurdle in the meeting of true lovers. They tried every possible way to separate the lovers such as Romeo being sent to exile, and Juliet’s marriage is fixed with someone else. The true lover did not give up on love no matter how hard it gets. Indeed, the journey of true love is very hard because it is full of challenges, pain, sacrifice, and suffering.

             Although I am fond of all the plays by Shakespeare, this is one of my favorite plays. The unique thing about the play is that it began as a comedy and end up in a tragedy. The immortal love makes the play immortal as well. Generation after generation will remember and praise this love story. In contemporary society, the idea of such true love seems an ideal concept.

           The readers of this play perceive it in different ways based on their perceptions. One perception is that it motivates and inspires true lovers because it makes them believe that how true love attains immortality.  Obstacles can’t stop true love as it will always find a way. No such force exists which separates true lovers. On the other hand, one may perceive it as a utopian idea that the idea of true love is an ideal and in reality doesn’t exist. They believed that the fate of true love is always tragic. The true lovers suffer then why does someone choose to suffer. I support the first perception that true love is something very pure and precious. It can overcome any obstacle and is willing to face any challenge. True lovers are willing to sacrifice their life for their love and such an example is set by Romeo and Juliet.

            Although Romeo is a true lover, one thing I did not like about his character is his melodramatic and quickly changeable nature.  He is not consistent in love. At the beginning of the play, he loves Rosaline before meeting Juliet. Then he saw Juliet and fell in love at first sight. One of the tragic flaws of Romeo is that he was over-emotional which led to tragedy. He takes the poison in over emotion without confirming that Juliet does not die but rather is unconscious.  If he has control of his emotions and feeling and shows patience then he might not meet the tragic end. On the other hand, Juliet remains consistent in her love. She is willing to do anything for her love.  She has a clash with her overbearing parents as they try to arrange a socially and monetarily fortuitous match for her. She denied the marriage. She is waiting for her lover with patience and has hope for his return from exile. She is optimistic, truthful, honest, and consistent.

                 Different kinds of love have been discussed in the play. Firstly, shallow love is immature infatuation. Secondly, friendly love is love for friends and it holds the friendship.  Finally, Romantic love is passionate love involving commitment to marriage, for example, the love of Romeo and Juliet. Their love is fate; their love is given a cosmic significance, which implies that the universe plays a role in the creation of deep romantic love. After reading this play I came to know about the power and value of true love. For Romeo,  love is a liberating force. Love gives him not just wings, but “light wings” and the power to overcome all “stony limits’ as he said, “With love’s light wings did I o’erperch these walls, For stony limits cannot hold love out”. In a nutshell, we can say that true love never has an end. Although Romeo and Juliet are no more, their love remains forever. Even death can’t diminish their love. It is an immortal love story.