Shakespeare’s protagonist characters Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet are from to very influential families which are engaged in a blood thirsty feud. When Romeo and Juliet first meet, very swiftly, they instantly fall head over heels in love without thought. When Juliet discovers Romeo is a Montague she at first expresses grief to the fact that he is her archenemies lonesome son but then through her tenderness of age decides to ignore their social barriers. Through out the book the two conduct many acts which are very risky and dangerous highlighting there tender age and maturity. The greatest act of riskiness I thought was there marriage without consent from their parents, eventually this act cost them a great deal. Romeo and Juliet are portrayed as two foolish and abrupt adolescents who not as wise in there acts as they should be.
Throughout the book Romeo and Juliet’s love combined with the family feud cause the loss of many young lives. Through the play we observe the deaths of Mercutio, Tybalt, Paris, Lady Montague, and the most substantial Romeo and Juliet. These deaths can be viewed as a direct cause of the foolishness of youth, though some may view these deaths also as a result of the family feud but the family feud seemed to ignite as a result of Romeo and Juliet’s love for each other. In Romeo and Juliet there are many instances where suicidal topics are discussed and even carried out which also highlights the unwise nature of adolescence for the reason that Romeo and Juliet are ready to die for each other instantly and see no possibility of life without each other. All deaths are caused by one another in the way that Tybalt killing Mercutio outrages Romeo into killing Tybalt of which a result he is exiled from Verona and from this his mother dies. Juliet’s appearance of death causes Paris to come to Juliet’s death place where Romeo also goes to, at this confrontation Paris is killed and Romeo commits suicide and when Juliet wakes up to discover the deaths she also commits suicide. Shakespeare weaves a poignant and tragic story and doing so highlights the foolishness of adolescence.
Shakespeare shows us the wisdom of mature figures by means of the Friar Lawrence and the Nurse. Throughout Romeo and Juliet the Nurse and Friar Lawrence are portrayed as the authoritative figures over Romeo and Juliet. The Nurse and Friar Lawrence also take many risks but they are much wiser in planning and thinking about what they are getting into, something that is different from the acts of Romeo and Juliet. Though what the Nurse and Friar Lawrence do seems foolish they seem to discuss the topics positives and negatives also observing the affect of their act which highlights there maturity. Overall Shakespeare did a exemplary job in highlighting the riskiness of youth and caution of age.
The unwise nature of adolescence is observable even in today’s world though adolescents may not have as many rights as they did in the past they still are led to believe they are invincible and in there doing so make many unwise choices and judgments. The inexperience and lack of wisdom in early adolescent years causes adolescents to feel invincible which causes them to take unwise and foolish choices, however as one grows one feels more and more vulnerable and through life becomes wiser leading to sensible choices. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is acclaimed even today as a demanding piece of literature and drama. Shakespeare is commendable for writing perhaps times most poignant and tragic story.
