Romeo And Juliet's Suffering

In the Shakespearean tragedy Romeo and Juliet, the two lovers, Romeo and Juliet, both suffer greatly from misfortunes happening in their lives. Juliet’s suffering, however, is greater than Romeo’s. While Romeo suffers just from his problems with love, Juliet is grieving the loss of her cousin in addition to her own problems with love; her father is forcing her to marry Count Paris even though she is in love with Romeo. During the play, Romeo kills Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt, in an act of vengeance. Juliet “weeps for Tybalt’s death” when she finds out he has been killed, demonstrating her grief for him (4.1.6). This anguish makes Juliet’s suffering greater than Romeo’s, as he is not mourning anyone. Furthermore, Juliet’s father has planned to
wed her to Count Paris when she is already in love with, and secretly married to Romeo. Juliet emphasizes her dislike towards this arrangement when she proclaims, “O, bid me leap, rather than marry Paris, from off the battlements of any tower” (4.1.78-79). When she learns that she will be forced into marriage, her suffering is increased. With this inclusion of grief and an unwanted marriage, Juliet’s suffering exceeds Romeo’s. In short, even though Romeo and Juliet both suffer during the course of the play, Juliet’s suffering is greater than that of Romeo’s. The recent killing of her cousin, which has given her immense grief and sorrow, and her arranged marriage to someone she does not want to marry increase her amount of suffering.