Another tragedy, again introduced by the nurse, that is not uncommon in many societies today, was proposed to young Juliet even before she had met Romeo. It was only earlier that day that Lady Capulet had summoned her daughter to her chamber. She proposed to Juliet the idea of marriage and furthermore that could she “Like of Paris’s love?” Of course the pantomime dame-like nurse was in attendance for additional tragedies, such as her daughter Susan who is “with God”. The nurse’s husband also is no longer with us hence, “God be with his soul.” We cannot help but laugh at the nurse and her tragedy, perhaps because she has little happiness or it is denied like Juliet. Only would we laugh at Juliet if she became a Mr. Bean like character?
As well as pity Juliet we can observe her lover Romeo and simply laugh or cry at Shakespeare’s brilliance. He has invented the teenager in love who becomes a social recluse before the word teenager was even coined. At the beginning of the play we discover Romeo all shut up and love sick and he says “me sad hours seem long” He was full of dismay and spoke oxymorons such as “heavy lightness” and “serious vanity” Romeo is barely cheered up by seeing his friend, Benvolio. When he is with Juliet he is like a child with a new toy, unbelievably happy and on a total high. Yet later Romeo appears to be the little boy who when he is good he is very good, yet when he is bad (i.e. not in love) he is the pits. In earlier parts of the Act he dearly loves fair Rosaline, but she will forever be his unrequited love. He is and shall be forever loathsome. Like someone looking back at things he could and never did do.
Romeo still shows his teenage qualities when in love with Juliet, he wants to ‘run away from his fears’ when he senses that one of the Capulets may come between Juliet and him. Another thing is that he will always love Rosaline and no one else but her. Then there is Romeo’s childish dreaming which mischievous Mercutio picks up in his speech about Queen Mab. This typifies the play since The Queen Mab may bring happiness as “She gallops night by night, through lovers brains and they dream of love.” The problem being that she also may “Driveth o’er a soldier’s neck, and then dreams he of cutting foreign throats.” Esentially this proclaims that there may be joy and great things in dreaming, but there may be trouble ahead. Could this be speaking about love and relationships? Or is it about thought? I think that it is more about love. Mercutio could be just saying, “Take a chance” like Abba told people. But there is more depth to Queen Mab than just “Take a chance, Take a chance” as it later goes on basically saying “Lets face the music and dance”
As Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time and embrace their happiness is already turning sour as Master Tybalt is chomping at the bit to begin their demise. He is ready to create a tragedy and “strike him dead.” Thankfully Lord Capulet restrains the villain for a time. They then speak the beautiful sonnet, which I have already covered, but then Juliet flows into her unhappiness, and sorrow at her only love being a forbidden love to Romeo. This touching, tragic moment where poor Juliet bleeds emotion, she speaks of “My only love sprung form my only hate” as if saying that through her finding happiness she has found a tragedy. This birth is so short lived as only a few lines earlier we have her proclaiming her death if she cannot have her desired love, “If he be married, my grave is to be my wedding bed.” She has caught love’s incurable disease in her longing for Romeo, yet this injury cannot be treated. Her love is a “prodigious Birth of Love” where when she is concerned love is impossible due to the great divide between the two lovers. Basically as far as Juliet is concerned she has aborted love forever. She shall never be complete, as she doth “love a loathed enemy.”
In the last scene the history of the two families prise the lovers apart and put them back in their places. Surely these lovers are not bigger than a feud? Or are they, as surely many people would rejoice in their happiness? Evidently two warring Italian factions cannot put apart their differences for the two people they will ultimately drop everything for. Romeo and Juliet. These families should put down their weapons and call the argument off. However, it is ironic that they don’t and as most people realise. Yet the feud continues but more positively their love does as well. Thus Romeo and Juliet confirm that Mercutio is wrong, “love is a tender thing” but it is not. Something so tender and weak would not prevail through two battling hordes. It is this human magic which does succeed. The match of Romeo and Juliet was in the stars as the prologue said “Two star-crossed lovers.” It is the stars and their fate to fall in Love but their sacrifice, which made them love for more than a moment. Their perfect moment was in the Capulet house but a terrible thing stopped that. Later in the play there are more tragic moments but sooner or later the two lovers die. It is better to die in Love than to die without Love. As to die in love is to be in love forever, as Samuel Coleridge said to live forever is “a curse in a dead mans eye.”
Through life both happiness and tragedy may be born, sometimes they come hand in hand. Is this because everybody is equal and the world shall stay equal? Some people having it more ‘Equal’ than others. Will we ever find out? That is before we are in the stars, perhaps Romeo & Juliet know? Another solution is the government know, why else would they be preventing euthanasia?
