Romeo and Juliet : The story of two young star-crossed lovers.
One of the greatest romantic tragedies, written by William Shakespeare, is Romeo and Juliet. This play is based on love and fate. Originally this story was an Old Italian tale that in the 16th century was translated into English.
This tragic love story in one line can be expressed as the story of two young star-crossed lovers whose death resulted in uniting of their feuding families. Romeo and Juliet is a play that is commonly taught in schools and colleges. And on many occasions, the Romeo and Juliet play is very frequently performed.
The name of the play is based on the two male and female protagonists respectively, i.e. Romeo and Juliet. Both Romeo and Juliet belonged to the two influential but feuding families. Romeo belonged to the house of Montague, and Juliet was of the house of Capulet. The bad blood between the two families was so deep-rooted that even the servants of both houses involved in the fight.
Throughout the play, celestial imagery references like the stars, sun, moon, and heavens are used to express a different view of human responsibility. Just like in the prologue, the protagonists are referred to as ‘star-crossed lovers’ which represents the common belief that celestial bodies have the power to control the events occurring on Earth. The destiny often seemed to be associated with stars as if both Romeo and Juliet were inescapably destined to fall in love with each other.
Again in Act 1, Scene 4, when the gang is approaching the Capulet’s ball, Romeo expresses his fear that the consequences of their actions are “hanging in the stars”, which refers to the astrological power of the stars that are used to predict destiny.
However, in the very next mention of stars in the play, Romeo doesn’t talk about their astrological connection; instead, he uses the stars to describe the otherworldly beauty of Juliet. Similarly, from Romeo’s love-struck comparison of Juliet to the Sun, Juliet also expresses her wish to cut Romeo into stars when he dies. These celestial images are associated through the play in this vein, and these images were often associated with Romeo and Juliet than with the divine fate.
Romeo, as a character, was very impulsive as his rash actions often got him and his beloved Juliet in a lot of trouble. For example, Romeo on the night he met Juliet, he climbed over Juliet’s wall to press her to bind her to himself. Another incident when Romeo’s rash action arguably drives the entire play towards tragedy is when he killed Tybalt out of blind rage. Then at the end of the play, Romeo poisoned himself after rushing into the conclusion that Juliet is dead.
The play concludes with strong condemnation of the actions of the character. The closing frame of the play portrays the Montagues and Capulets unitedly gathering around the tomb of the protagonists to witness the consequences of the tragic incident. The story ended with a realization that it was not fate or Gods who caused this tragedy, but the situation was solely driven by the blind hatred between the two families.
