Phoebus and Phaeton vs. Romeo and Juliet

The story of Phoebus and Phaeton is much like the story of Romeo and Juliet. Phoebus had a chariot of fire, which Phaeton, his son, borrowed one day to speed toward the heavens. But Phaeton drove carelessly and lost control of the horses. As a result, the chariot flew too near the earth, and several mountain ranges were set on fire. Zeus, the ruler of the gods saw the destruction caused by the blazing Chariot. To save the world, Zeus struck down the chariot. Phaeton died as the chariot plunged to the ground.

In the Capulet house, Juliet longs for night to fall so that Romeo will come to her. Suddenly, the Nurse rushes into her bedroom with the news of the recent fight between Romeo, Tybalt, and Mercutio. The Nurse is so anxious; however, she stumbles over some of the words, making it sound as if Romeo is dead. Juliet assumes that Romeo has killed himself and proclaims that she will kill herself as well. Then, the Nurse begins to moan about Tybalt's death making Juliet fear that both Romeo and Tybalt are dead. When the story is finally straight and Juliet understands that Tybalt killed Mercutio causing Romeo to kill Tybalt and Romeo has been sentenced to exile, she curses fate for how it put Romeo in such a horrible position. Juliet laments that she will die without a wedding night, a maiden-widow. The Nurse assures her that she knows where Romeo is hiding and will see to it that Romeo comes to her for their wedding night.

These two stories both teach the same lesson. This lesson is that death can result from youthful passion and impatience. In the story of Phoebus and Phaeton, Phaeton meets his demise when he is too eager to ride through the heavens and carelessly looses control. In Romeo and Juliet, the Nurse is so anxious that she stumbles over words and makes Juliet assume that Romeo and Tybalt are both dead and she has lost both her cousin and her