Romeo & Juliet: The Fate of Youth

This was my final essay for my ENG 102 class last semester. The topic was on Romeo and Juliet, which was a pretty simple play. I only had difficulty in a few parts, such as proving how Tybalt's death was foreshadowed from the beginning.

To be honest, I don't even know what I received on it, because I was never given my portfolio back. It was either an A or B, but I don't know which. I am leaning towards the B, because I received a B as my final grade. I believe if this paper was an A paper, it would have tipped my final grade to an A. Oh well... I know I did a pretty fan-fucking-tastic job on this paper. 

Surprisingly, I actually didn't procrastinate as much with this paper either. I started it two days before it was due instead of the usual 12 hours. lol 

So... at least I know I am improving my overall methodology. BTW, I couldn't post it in MLA format, because Blogger is so stupid-retarded.

Anyway, here is my paper on Romeo and Juliet:

Romeo & Juliet: The Fate of Youth

William Shakespeare, a writer born in the 16th century, authored many poems and plays during his life. However, this statement alone is not enough to describe the brilliant mind that was Shakespeare. Shakespeare was one of the most important writers in history, as he created the foundation for most modern dramas. Shakespeare's most notable pieces, among the multitude of his works, are his three plays: “Romeo and Juliet”, “Macbeth”, and “Hamlet”. “Romeo and Juliet”, a comedy of sorts, is a play as legendary and fantastic as its authoring playwright. “Romeo and Juliet” is defined as a tragedy, but this definition of tragedy is not so strict in Shakespeare's works. He often breached literary genres, enabling him to catch the focus of the Elizabethan time period, while also enthralling audiences spanning across time with his inclusion of romance, tragedy, and comedy. “Romeo and Juliet”, includes a fantastic mixture of multiple genres, expressing Shakespeare's motifs of: “impulsive” teenage life and love, foreshadowing future events, and missed timings

intertwining with predestination.

Shakespeare focuses upon teenagers as the main subjects in “Romeo and Juliet”. Shakespeare criticizes teenagers as a whole by expressing their negativity and their misconceptions of love. Shakespeare illuminates lust as being the emotion most often seen as love among teenagers. An example of this is: "Benvolio: ‘Be rul'd by me, forget to think of her.’ Romeo: ‘O, teach me how I should forget to think.’ Benvolio: ‘By giving liberty unto thine eyes; Examine other beauties" (Romeo and Juliet, I: i: 216-218). Benvolio explains to Romeo that he loves Rosaline because he hasn't experienced any other love. That it is his heart's impulsive and naive nature that makes Romeo come to a conclusion of love in lieu of lust. The same thought is again expressed by Benvolio here: "Benvolio: ‘at this same ancient feast of Capulet's Sups the fair Rosaline whom thou so lov'st; With all the admired beauties of Verona. Go thither; and, with unattainted eye, Compare her face with some that I shall show, And I will make thee think thy swan a crow" (I: ii: 84-89). Benvolio continues to express to Romeo that he has not yet experienced the full beauty of women, and it is this fact that leads Benvolio to believe that Romeo is not in love. Benevolio's lessons go unheeded by Romeo, and as a result, these lines foreshadow the majority of the plot. Romeo meets Juliet at the party and his "love" changes its subject from Rosaline to Juliet. Teenagers often confuse the difference between love and lust, and the resulting negativity seems to be prevalent. Romeo, only seeing this one beauty, sees this unrequited love as the worst thing ever. Shakespeare continues to criticize this using negativity as another theme. An example of this criticism is seen here: "Benvolio: 'Why, Romeo, art thou mad?' Romeo: 'Not mad, but bound more than a madman is; Shut up in prison, kept without my food, Whipp'd and tormented and--God-den, good fellow.' Servant: 'God gi' go-den.--I pray, sir, can you read?' Romeo: 'Ay, mine own fortune in my misery.' Servant: 'Perhaps you have learned it without book..." (I: ii: 54-60). Romeo claims that all he can see is his misfortune. This only proves to perpetuate Romeo's misery. This is why the Servant questions if Romeo gets his knowledge from books which could be seen as a comparison between actual experience and dreamt experience. Romeo's depressed nature is also seen here: "Romeo: ‘Give me a torch,--I am not for this ambling; Being but heavy, I will bear the light’. Mercutio: ‘Nay, gentle Romeo, we must have you dance’. Romeo: ‘Not I, believe me: you have dancing shoes, With nimble soles; I have a soul of lead So stakes me to the ground I cannot move" (I: iiii: 11-16). Romeo appears to be in a rut of self-negativity that he cannot be free of, despite both Benvolio's and Mercutio's best efforts. Romeo’s negativity created from his unrequited “love” seems to only further confuse his distinction between love and lust; thus, his negativity was a large factor in his death.

Within Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare utilizes many forms of dialogue, including both poetry and prose, some of which are seen as to foreshadow future events. Foreshadowing occurs multiple times throughout the play. This foreshadowing is used to describe the inevitable nature of fate, stated to have doomed the lover's almost from line one. The first instance, also being the most notable, is the prologue of the play, one which foreshadows almost the entire plot. The prologue foreshadows multiple events, some of which make up the Climax of the plot. The lines being: "Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;" (Prologue: i: 1-6). The Capulets and the Montagues are destined to continue fighting, while the prologue also foreshadows Tybalt's death. The feud between the two households, described as being previously civil, erupts into "new mutiny" when someone's hands are stained. Both hands are described as being "civil", foreshadowing someone's murder that is to occur in fault of the opposing family. These lines also describe both Romeo and Juliet's ill fated meeting and their resulting suicide. The terms “Star-crossed lovers” are metaphorical descriptions for how their love was predestined to fail, or more poetically, how the universe was to conspire against their love. In addition to the prologue, there are multiple instances of foreshadowing within the first Act of the play. Within the first Act, there are multiple foreshadowed events that are expressed through Benvolio's character. One example of such an event is when Benvolio attempts to dissuade the Capulets from feuding. "Benvolio: ‘I do but keep the peace: put up thy sword, Or manage it to part these men with me’. Tybalt: ‘What, drawn, and talk of peace! I hate the word As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee: Have at thee, coward!" (I: i: 58-62). This first shows the crass nature of Tybalt, which could possibly further foreshadowing his death. It also displays the contempt between the feuding households, showing little hope for peace. Finally, the most important instance of foreshadowing occurs within Mercutio's death scene. "Mercutio:.’A plague o' both your houses!--Zounds, a dog, a rat, a mouse, a cat, to scratch a man to death! braggart, a rogue, a villain, that fights by the book of arithmetic!--Why the devil came you between us? I was hurt under your arm" (III: i: 65-71). Mercutio calls for death upon both the houses of the Capulets and the Montagues. This event is seen by many to begin the climax of the plot. Mercutio's words foreshadow Romeo's ill fate and how both houses will occur some horrible misfortune, beginning the Climax of the plot. The "plague" that Mercutio describes could be viewed as the series of mistimed events that led to both lovers’ demise.

Romeo and Juliet's love affair begins to spiral downward soon after Mercutio’s death scene. This decline expresses the importance of Mercutio’s character within the story. Mercutio can be seen as one of the few characters with his head on straight, even if that straight is still crooked. This downward spiral, almost directly connected with Mercutio’s death, is seen as inevitable and in occurrence with Fate. Fate is a concept that is revered by many humans. By definition, Fate is an event or course of events that are inevitable, often viewed as destiny (Miller). These events largely occur within the Climax of the play, increasing the overall importance of Mercutio's final words. The first example of such a mistiming is: "Romeo: ...’News from Verona!--How now, Balthasar? Dost thou not bring me letters from the friar? How doth my lady? Is my father well? How fares my Juliet? that I ask again; For nothing can be ill if she be well’. Balthasar: ‘Then she is well, and nothing can be ill: Her body sleeps in Capel's monument, And her immortal part with angels lives. I saw her laid low in her kindred's vault, And presently took post to tell it you" (V: i: 12-21). The mistiming here is that Balthasar visits the Capulet's monument, and discovers that Juliet is deceased. News of Juliet's death was then relayed back to Romeo. Romeo's does has neither fate nor fortune in his favor, and this is evident in Friar John not sending Friar Lawrence's letters. Romeo would have received the Friar's letters and would have expected these events had Fate not conspired against him. Fate created this false news which filled Romeo with despair, one that he felt could not be lived through. Shakespeare clearly shows the theme of mistiming in the order in which he presented the final act. The missing letters from Friar Lawrence are not stated by Shakespeare until Act 5, Scene 2. In Scene 2, Shakespeare makes it obvious that both lover's lives are doomed. He makes this clear here: "Friar Lawrence: ‘Who bare my letter, then, to Romeo?’ Friar John: ‘I could not send it,--here it is again,-- Nor get a messenger to bring it thee, So fearful were they of infection’. Friar Lawrence: ‘Unhappy fortune! by my brotherhood, The letter was not nice, but full of charge Of dear import; and the neglecting it May do much danger" (V: ii: 13-21). Shakespeare seems to have purposefully switched the scene order, to express yet another ill-fated mistiming. The final mistiming in the lover's lives occurs in Act 5 focused around Juliet's untimely waking. It is expressed here: "Juliet: ‘ comfortable friar! where is my lord?-- I do remember well where I should be, And there I am:--where is my Romeo?’ Friar: ‘I hear some noise.--Lady, come from that nest Of death, contagion, and unnatural sleep: A greater power than we can contradict Hath thwarted our intents:--come, come away! Thy husband in thy bosom there lies dead;" (V: iiii: 160-167). Juliet awakens from her medicinal slumber shortly after her lover Romeo takes his own life. Juliet, filled with despair, stabs herself with Romeo's dagger. Had Juliet awoken a few moments before, she could have stopped Romeo from drinking the poison, saving both his life and hers. Friar Lawrence even comments upon fate's ill intentions in the passage: “A greater power than we can contradict Hath thwarted our intents“. Fate's disposition for the lover's was sour from square one. Mercutio's declaration only brought fate's intervention to the foreground, shedding clear light upon it. The mistiming seems to be of the same nature as the foreshadowing used earlier in the plot. Mistiming and the foreshadowed events express the general idea that fate is inevitable and predestined. This concept of fate is what gives Romeo and Juliet its foundation within the genre of tragedy.

Shakespeare wrote a masterpiece when he wrote Romeo and Juliet. Branching between so many subject matters and genres, he is able to entertain even modern audiences with his work. Romeo and Juliet is seen as an archetype for most modern romance, and is seen by many as one of Shakespeare's best works. It criticizes topics that can be easily modernized, and is what I would call Shakespeare's critique on teenagers. Not only does it include such alluring characters such as the mysterious Mercutio and the benevolent Benvolio, but Shakespeare delivery makes for a very entertaining spectacle and/or a very interesting read.