Shakespeares Masterpiece Has Influenced Todays Society

Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”
Shakespeare’s master piece “Romeo and Juliet” is both relevant and irrelevant to today’s modern audiences. The values, morals and beliefs of society have greatly changed in the past centuries. Although many changes have been made the study of Shakespeare and all of his plays are still appreciated and heavily used today. There are also many people who can relate to the power of love and violence that is expressed by the two young lovers. The use of Shakespeare’s many themes has also helped to shape the play and give a deeper meaning to the story line.
The themes love and violence have a huge effect on the outcome of the play. At first their love is innocent and silly like a first crush but later on we see how their relationship evolves and tear the two families apart. A lot of people nowadays can relate to the passion and lust the young pair had for each other but at the same time have enough control to stop everything that happened in the film from happening in their real life situation. The play focuses on romantic love, especially the intense heat between Romeo and Juliet. In this specific film love is also a violent, overpowering, controlling force that subsides any loyalty the teenagers have for their family. The love is so strong that the pair are driven to defy their entire upbringing. “Deny thy father and refuse thy name; or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I’ll no longer be a Capulet”. This is the famous balcony scene where they are expressing their love for each other.
Fate is another huge theme throughout all of Romeo and Juliet. Fate is not a vital part of today’s society as not many people believe in its true power. Back in Shakespeare’s time fate was predetermined by god and was your destiny or personal fortune. Fate was seen as something that you could never escape or avoid. It followed you everywhere you went and any events that happened were obviously fate. It was such a big deal that your fate was apparently aligned with the stars. There was also free will which was when someone made their own decisions and took control of their own destiny. This was seen as a sin. In the play fate is unavoidable and the quote “From fourth the fatal loins of these two foes, a pair of star crossed lovers take their lives” deeply expresses how oblivious the lovers were to the rest of their lives and responsibilities.
Everybody has different values, morals and beliefs. In Australia, in this century you are not expected to be married off at the age of twelve or thirteen, you are not expected to marry a rich lord, your families don’t generally own castles which you will later inherit and you have the right to fall in love and marry whomever you want. Well Juliet Capulet did not have these rights. She was forced into getting married young and had absolutely no say in the man she had to marry. This is just one example of how things have changed. In the scene where Capulet and lady Capulet are telling Juliet she must marry these are just some of the things she said. “Good father, I beseech you on my knees, here me with patience but to speak a word”, “Is there no pity sitting in the clouds, that sees into the bottom of my grief? O sweet my mother, cast me not away! Delay this marriage for a month, a week, or if you do not, make the bridal bed, in that dim monument where Tybalt lies”. These are just some of the pleas Juliet made when being told she had no say in her life’s decisions.
In conclusion it is in my opinion that Shakespeare has both had relevance and irrelevance to today’s society. Although the morals and values have changed for the better I believe that our beliefs are still the same in a small way. We may not all agree on the decisions that were made whilst the pair were in love but we agree that they were in fact in love and that’s something really special. Many people may still not know what fate is or even what it means, but we like a handful of people in Shakespeare’s time all know what free will is. We will all experience love at least once in our lives and know that behind love there really isn’t anything better. We forgive the decisions Romeo and Juliet made and we forget about the heart ache that happened in the process and that’s what love is all about.

BY: Serena