Disclaimer: This is a warning stating that the following article may contain spoilers about the play “Romeo and Juliet” written by William Shakespeare.
“Romeo and Juliet”, a play written by the famous William Shakespeare, is a story so popular that practically makes the disclaimer useless. Almost everyone, especially if they are interested in literature, knows about the tragedy that Romeo and Juliet face in the story. The story itself is a whole collection of unfortunate events for Romeo and Juliet and this article will cover the conflicts from Romeo’s point of view.
Romeo, a sixteen-year-old boy, meets the love of his life (The Information Architects). Some, assuming that the love of his life is an ordinary person, may wonder what the problem is since he can just marry her. However, the crucial problem of this love is that his destiny is Juliet, the daughter of the Capulets. Capulets are the known rival family of Romeo’s family, and Romeo, as a quiet, nonviolent boy, cannot dare to declare his love for someone that his family hates so much. In response to this conflict, Romeo and Juliet decide to hold a secret wedding between the two of them.
The second conflict occurs when Juliet faked death and Romeo did not know that it was a faked one. After Romeo sees Juliet seemingly lying dead in the tomb, he cannot bear the fact that the love of his life is gone. He sobs and kills everyone who tries to ruin his last moment with her. At last, Romeo gives up handling this situation and decides to commit suicide.
If I were Romeo, I would have done the exact opposite of what Romeo did when he faced the two conflicts. First, I would have chosen my family over the love of my life. Despite my strong love for Juliet (or whoever that will be), I will still choose my family and believe that they have logical, appropriate reasons to dislike the person I love. Second, I would have never chosen to commit suicide even after I find out that my lover has passed away. I am not only scared of the pain I would have to go through to commit suicide, but also the type of person who would rather live the rest of my life well so that I will not be ashamed to meet the people who passed away faster than I did.
Of course, however, if Romeo did make more logical choices like mine, then Romeo would not be Romeo and the play would not be the great play that everyone in the twenty-first century knows. The choices made by Romeo cannot be said to be the wisest choices in real life, but they may be the wisest choices of a character in a play.
Works Cited
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Romeo and Juliet: Facts & Related Content.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/facts/Romeo-and-Juliet.
Persson, Johan. West End Review: Kenneth Branagh’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ With Richard Madden, Lily James, 26 May 2016, https://variety.com/2016/legit/reviews/romeo-and-juliet-review-richard-madden-kenneth-branagh-1201783707/. Accessed 31 May 2022.
By. Miso Kim