Romeo And Juliet Fight Essay

Ba bump. Ba bump. Ba bump. The heartbeat of a boy can be heard from outside his chest. He catches his breath while hiding, watchful, for any approaching enemy. His sword is held close to his chest, ready to take action at any time. He hears them; the soft footsteps along the stone floors of sweet Verona. A sword is drawn from its scabbard and the boy is waiting for the right time. All at once, he jumps out and stabs his opponent in the side, merely wounding him. The blood curdling scream comes next and that is when the action happens. Men from both sides come running and all one can hear is the scraping metal of sword against sword as a great battle begins. No one wishes for death but the with the hatred these two families possess for each
other, it can only be expected. A man is slain. He lies dead, and once his kinsmen look upon him, all they want is revenge. In this part of town, anyone found fighting to the death will be punished, but no one cares anymore. Revenge is clouding their mind. They race at their opponents and it ends with another man dead. In fear and great sadness, both sides drop their swords and run. One however, does not escape. He is banished from the city. The city that held his only love. His only love was his only enemy, and because the two families could not see past their hatred, the young lovers love was fated to fail. In The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare tells of a scene like this in the midst of a heart wrenching story of this forbidden love. He tells of a tale that doesn’t end in happily ever after. A tale that ends in death. Romeo and Juliet were pushed to the point of death because the people surrounding them were only concerned with selfish issues.
By forcing Juliet to marry someone she lacks interest in, Juliet’s parents push her too far and cause her to resort to death. Juliet’s parents find a wealthy man named Count Paris whom they think would suit Juliet, mainly because it would benefit them. It would benefit their wealth and social standard. Juliet’s parents seem to be vicariously living through her and have an ideal image of what they would like her to be. Juliet’s mother expresses to her that “by [her] count, [she] was [her] mother much upon these years that [Juliet is] now a maid” (1.3.73-75). She pressures Juliet into making important life decisions at such a young age. Something like this can weigh heavily on a young mind and put her in a bad mental state. Her father on the other hand, shows his blatant disapproval of Juliet when she does not express interest in marriage, or the man they have picked. Since he so badly wants the benefits from Count Paris, he can not understand why Juliet would not want that too. He gets in a fit of rage toward juliet telling her to “hang thee, young baggage! Disobedient wretch! I tell thee what: get thee to church o' Thursday, or never after look me in the face” (3.5.160-163). These harsh words from a father can also cause much internal pain in a young girl. With all this pressure building up inside, Juliet starts seeking an easy way out, death. Her parents do not realize the impact their selfishness has on their daughter.
Knowing it is not right, Friar Laurence marries Romeo and Juliet as a means to end a feud causing them to push for their love harder, even to the point of death.
Friar Laurence knows just as well as anyone else the great tension between the Montagues and the Capulets. When Romeo, a Montague, comes to the friar asking if he would help him marry Juliet, a Capulet, the friar should have counseled Romeo to take his time. The friar however, seems just as eager as Romeo to rush into things, but his intentions are not bad. In the friars mind, he thinks marriage will bring about an “alliance [that] may so happy prove to turn [their] households' rancor to pure love” (2.3.91-92). He sees Romeo and Juliet’s love as the rope that can bring these families closer together. Maybe their love can outshine the hatred. The Friar though was not living in a fantasy world. He knows that “these violent delights have violent ends and in their triumph die, like fire and powder” (2.6.9-10). He knows that no matter how much he wants this to work, there is always something that might go wrong. He explains that this beautiful plan may blow up and cause more destruction and divide, but to him, the little glimmer of hope is worth it. He is thinking of the big picture and forgets the effects this covenant of marriage may have on the lovers
themselves.
Finally, Romeo, and Juliet lead themselves to their own deaths by putting so much into a new relationship too quickly.
It is a story of love at first sight and unfortunately it was a love that was fated to die. As soon as Juliet finds out who the mysterious boy is, she is heartbroken. She finally found someone she, not her parents love, and all she wants to do is to be with him. She knows however that he is her “only love sprung from [her] only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late! (1.5.138-139). She wishes it could be different but the heart wants what it wants. Now, feeling more pressure to defy her parents forcing of marriage, she is determined for this forbidden love to work. Romeo, having just gotten over the breakup with another girl, is desperately looking for something to take his mind off it. Juliet is the answer. He sees her beauty, and from that moment on, does not care that she is his enemy. As their love for each other grows, they realize it is getting harder to keep it a secret. They know however that they can not openly love each other because of the great divide in their families. Romeo then goes as far as to tell juliet “let me be ta'en. Let me be put to death. I am content, so thou wilt have it so” (3.5.17-18). He expresses that even if their love working out means death, he would go to that extreme without hesitation. His love for her is so great, he would rather die than live without her. Both of them used the other as a means to get their
mind off of something else and nothing good can come from that.
Because of the great and selfish divide in families, two young lovers lives were taken. The actions of a mother and a father, a friar, and of lovers themselves added up to an unbearable weight. Two young people faced challenges most do not face in a lifetime. Hate turned to love and love turned to pain. Blood was shed and lives were lost, all for the sake of a love sprung from hate.