Blaming Justice (Looking at the theme of justice in Romeo and Juliet)
William Shakespeares epic play Romeo and Juliet is considered by many to be historys greatest love story. It takes two star-crossed lovers and places their emotions against all odds and most certainly against much hate and violence. Romeo and Juliets love is obstructed by a long-standing blood feud between the Montagues and the Capulets. Coming from opposite sides of the feud, Romeo and Juliet must keep their love and eventual marriage a secret. In the end both families who cannot come to a reasonable conclusion to their feuding are struck by the double suicide of Romeo and Juliet committed in the name of love. This tragic ending has raised much controversy and discussion to both the purpose and cause of the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
The constant and tremendous volume of violence in Shakespeares play in many instances overshadows the love found between the main characters. The hate found in the feud takes center stage in Shakespeares play as the feud is the subject of the very first words of the play (Weller, n.d.). The great emphasis that is granted to violence and hate throughout the play downplays the love story between Romeo and Juliet and portrays it to only serve as a device to bring about an end to the feud and show how terrible the consequences can be of such violent and vindictive behavior (Kerschen, 2005). The deaths of Romeo and Juliet served as a punishment to the families for continuing their pointless feuding. In turn the demands of justice can be blamed for the death of Romeo and Juliet.
A STORY ABOUT HATEA key component necessary to place the blame of the deaths of Romeo and Juliet on justice is establishing that the violence and hate associated with the feud is the main aspect of Shakespeares play. The first thing that has to be recognized is that the feud is directly responsible for making the love affair between Romeo and Juliet a condemned one. The feud controls the love story and not the other way around. This is a good indication that the
The constant and tremendous volume of violence in Shakespeares play in many instances overshadows the love found between the main characters. The hate found in the feud takes center stage in Shakespeares play as the feud is the subject of the very first words of the play (Weller, n.d.). The great emphasis that is granted to violence and hate throughout the play downplays the love story between Romeo and Juliet and portrays it to only serve as a device to bring about an end to the feud and show how terrible the consequences can be of such violent and vindictive behavior (Kerschen, 2005). The deaths of Romeo and Juliet served as a punishment to the families for continuing their pointless feuding. In turn the demands of justice can be blamed for the death of Romeo and Juliet.
A STORY ABOUT HATEA key component necessary to place the blame of the deaths of Romeo and Juliet on justice is establishing that the violence and hate associated with the feud is the main aspect of Shakespeares play. The first thing that has to be recognized is that the feud is directly responsible for making the love affair between Romeo and Juliet a condemned one. The feud controls the love story and not the other way around. This is a good indication that the
References: erschen, L. (2005). Romeo and Juliet: Criticism. Retrieved January28, 2009 from Answers.com website: http://www.answers.com/topic/romeo-and-juliet-play-7 (Reprinted from Drama for Students, Thomson Gale.)Learning Themes: Romeo and Juliet. (n.d.) Retrieved January 28, 2009 from RoyalShakespeare Academy UK website: http://www.rsc.org.uk/romeo/learning/themes.htmlShakespeare, W. (1595 / 2004). Romeo and Juliet. Folger Library ed. New York:Simon & Schuster. Weller, P. (n.d.) The Feud: Romeo and Juliet. Retrieved January 28, 2009 fromShakespeare Navigators website: http://www.clicknotes.com/romeo/Feud.html