The Hidden Lesson of Shakespeare
In life, one may notice pairs of people, often teenagers, who are quite naive and tend to confuse love and infatuation. These people usually act quite foolishly, as a result of their “love.” In the Shakespearean play, Romeo and Juliet, that behavior can be seen again and again. The play starts with an older teenager, Romeo Montague, and his sadness over not being with his love interest, Rosaline. When Romeo meets thirteen year-old Juliet, he forgets Rosaline altogether. Juliet is a member of the Capulet family, which just happens to be the enemy of the Montague family. Romeo and Juliet are unwilling to give up their love for family rivalry, so they marry the day after they meet. In an act of revenge, Romeo kills Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt, and is banished. Because of…show more content… There are multiple problems in the story that could have been solved if Romeo and Juliet had done a little thinking and not reacted entirely on impulse. For instance, Romeo was so blinded by his friendly love for Mercutio that he killed Tybalt in revenge. This was so bad that Romeo was banished, and the Prince stated that he was to “hence in haste” (III. ii. 204) or when he was found in Verona he’d be killed. Tybalt would have been arrested instead if Romeo had not let blind love and emotion cloud his judgement. Romantic love clouded his judgement, too. When Juliet faked her death, Romeo rushed to her side, ready to kill himself at once. He had no regard for anyone around him and didn’t bother to let her woeful tale be known. Because of his haste to kill himself, he missed Juliet’s awakening by mere moments. Had he waited a little longer, or just gone to visit her and not killed himself, they could have had their happy ending. Unfortunately, Romeo was naive. This conflict was put in place by Shakespeare to show that it didn’t have to happen, if only love hadn’t replaced Romeo’s common