Romeo and Juliet

Edward Whymper said,” Do nothing in haste, look well to each step, and from the beginning think what may be the end.” Most teens do not have enough wisdom to follow this council. Romeo and Juliet, by Shakespeare, shows prime examples of teens rushing into a relationship. When they first saw each other, they instantly fell in love and made a hasty decision to be secretly married. All seemed well, until he plan to run away together went horribly wrong, and ended in a tragic death. As in Romeo and Juliet, when teens today move too fast into a relationship, it can end in a tragic way.
Though a few miracle cases exist, most hasty relationships die or end tragically. Take Romeo and Juliet, for example. Their love was so strong it seemed almost impenetrable. But because they were so quick to move forward, they ended up stuck. Everyone saw the grief of the situation, including the prince when he said, “For never was a story of more woe, than this of Juliet, and her Romeo”(5.3.319-320). Teens now need to take this example and learn its message. Sure all hasty relationships won’t end in death, but a tragedy none the less. By remembering and considering this example when entering a relationship, teens could prevent themselves from heartache and tragedies even today. Romeo could have learned a lesson from his own story. People today have learned from it that they should think things through, and not enter a situation with so much haste. If Romeo would have understood this, he could have prevented both his and Juliet’s death. He always made his decisions quickly. In the book, he says, “O true apothecary. Thy drugs are quick, Thus with a kiss, I die.”(5.3.119-120) He decided so fast to commit suicide, that he didn’t have enough time to realize Juliet did not die. Many examples appeared about his quick decisions throughout the play. If he would have just acted with more caution, the story of Romeo and Juliet would no longer seem like a tragedy. People see it every day, relationships between teens that move too fast. Why do teens appear to the world as the ones who move to quickly? Some may think of the situation as a coincidence, but a big part of this is ignorance. They don’t understand the maturity level it takes to take part in a serious relationship. In “Romeo and Juliet”, just minutes after they meet, Romeo says, “Call me but love, and I will be new baptized. Hence forth I never will be Romeo.” (2.2. 52-53) It seems a little ridiculous how fast Romeo would willingly do anything for Juliet. Just like when Shakespeare said, “O let us hence, I stand on sudden haste,” (2.2.98) Many teens today decide that if any relationship comes about, they should jump on it. They think they feel love, when in truth, their excitement of entering a new relationship overcomes them, and sadly most of those kinds of relationships do not last. When Edward Whymper said, “Think from the beginning what will be the end”. Many people would say that it is the point of life to live and learn from your mistakes. Sure that makes sense, but sometimes mistakes people make end in such tragedy that people don’t get the chance to ‘live’ and learn. Friar Lawrence gave wise council when he said, “Therefore love moderately: love doth so; too swift arrives as tardy as too slow” (2.6.14-15). If teens would caution themselves of their decisions, then they would have the chance to prevent a lot of heartache. All people will still make plenty of mistakes so they can learn from them, but at least this way the consequence won’t end in death. After reading, “Romeo and Juliet,” people can learn to enter a relationship with caution, unlike Romeo. If everyone would watch their decisions and think carefully, they would have much better turnouts then the two star-crossed lovers did. As in the play, when teens move too fast in a relationship, it can end in a tragic way.