Hey Lauren,
If you have time, I would really appreciate some feedback for my text response.
Romeo and Juliet were victims of adult foolishness”. Discuss
William Shakespeare’s lachrymose tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, a five-act drama set in the Italian city of Verona shows that feuding results in catastrophic ends. Romeo and Juliet’s elders are indeed to be blamed for the protagonists’ deaths. Romeo and Juliet’s parents are indoctrinated in their historical feud; moreover, their relationship with Romeo and Juliet is shallow and their ancient grudge isolates the two protagonists. While this is the case, Shakespeare’s foremost message rests on the omnipresence of fate and its ability to turn love’s forcefulness into death. Conversely, The Prince of Verona, Prince Escalus, is an authority figure who exacerbates the two lovers’ predicament. Hence, Shakespeare presents a dichotomous view that allocates blame both to the adult, antagonistic characters and to the inescapability of fate.
The parents of the two protagonists leave Romeo and Juliet alone and their disregard for their needs is a key factor in their deaths. Their ancient quarrel was caused by their ancestors and is reinforced by their inability to reconcile with their opposing households. This can be seen in the play’s opening act, where a ruinous brawl takes place, when Abram, servant of the house of Montague says,” Do you bite your thumb at us sir”? Sampson, the servant of the Capulet family, declares “I do bite my thumb at you, sir”. This shows the absurdity of the maleficent quarrel between the two households; such a tokenistic gesture that has no meaning initiates an extraordinary amount of carnage. Shakespeare uses this to illustrate the lunacy of the feud and the preposterousness of violence in general. It is this focus on violence and a prosaic view of love that inhibits the love between Romeo and Juliet. The formality of exchange between Lady Capulet and Juliet can be seen in Act One Scene Three, where Lady Capulet says, Nurse, where’s my daughter? Call her forth to me”. Juliet responds by saying “Madam, I am here. What is your will?” This exchange of a mundane daily nicety highlights the shallowness of the relationship between Juliet and her mother. Thus, Shakespeare’s deliberate ambiguity in concealing the cause of the feud between the Montagues and Capulets is done to accentuate the ridiculousness of the feud. The quarrel between the two households shows Romeo and Juliet’s ancestors bear some responsibility for their deaths.
On the other hand, Shakespeare’s main point rests on the inevitability of fate and its ability to subvert love. Thus, Romeo and Juliet most poignantly examines fate and its omnipresent existence. Fate’s inevitability is pervasive, often directed by the influence of the stars and the influence of the supernatural. As soon as Romeo and his associates plan to gatecrash Capulet’s party Romeo has a premonition of impending doom, and Mercutio, the Prince’s kinsman, insists his dream of doom is caused by a figment of Paganism. The eponymous Queen Mab is depicted as a supernatural character that helps bring Romeo and Juliet to a tragic end because “She is the fairies' midwife, and she comes. In shape no bigger than an agate stone”. This remark is said in the concluding lines of Act One Scene Four and indicates that the supernatural form of fate is a small force, almost unnoticeable; however, its significance is unavoidable. Although Romeo ignores Queen Mab’s invisible influence he is very much aware that she “hath been with him”. Thus, Mercutio’s speech in the concluding lines of Act One Scene Four shows that the supernatural is a force to be reckoned with. The lover’s realisation that they are “star-crossed” is heavily featured and adds to fate’s fickleness. The Chorus says this in the prologue. This major statement indicates that the results of this play are not controllable by humanity. Romeo and Juliet shows, through celestial imagery, that fate is powerful and unstoppable by humanity’s love because of “some consequence yet hanging in the stars”. Therefore, in Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare shows that fate as a supernatural entity is the main factor that inhibits the love of Romeo and Juliet and causes their death.
Moreover, Shakespeare shows that humans are not in control of their dreams and who they are fated to fall in love with. Rather, their love is instigated by chance and not choice because they are “fortune’s fool”. This somewhat nihilistic statement comes from Romeo after he slays Tybalt. This can be seen, at the Capulet Lamas Eve party, at the conclusion of act one, when Lord Capulet says that Romeo “is a virtuous and well governed youth”; thus, showing his high standing in Verona; however, this high standing is unable to help him with his love for Juliet because he is a victim of fate’s inevitability. Shakespeare suggests that the love between Romeo and Juliet loomed only as an outgrowth of happenstance. Yet again Romeo foreshadows his death and indicates his death is a result of fate. Fate separates the lovers from the walls of Verona and leaves them with no true allies. This is evident because Shakespeare only utilizes the soliloquy form in the play for the two lovers. Hence Shakespeare illuminates the loneliness of the two lovers and their inability to choose their destiny. It is through the isolation of the lovers that impedes the love between Romeo and Juliet; thus showing how fate permeates the play. Thus, showing that fate controls the parents of the two lovers; however, the absence of a clear and individual antagonist in the play indicates that not one individual or any catalyst of fate is responsible for the deaths of the two protagonists, but indeed, a combination of factors as is consistent with the nature and pattern of traditional tragedy.
Prince Escalus, The Prince of Verona, aims to restore peace in Verona; however, his actions only exacerbate the quarrel between the Montagues and the Capulets. This is evident, at the play’s climax, when the Prince says,” See, what a scourge is laid upon your hate. And I for winking at your discords too”. Thus, the Prince is admitting that he didn’t understand the extent of the two families’ hatred. As a result, Shakespeare refrains from writing this damning speech in Iambic Pentameter; unlike, the rest of the play, which Shakespeare writes in poetic form. This change in writing style illuminates the speech’s resonance and its condemning tone. The connotations in the Prince’s condemnatory speech indicate that all the townspeople have been and will be punished. This indicates that Shakespeare allocates blame to a variety of characters because the Prince is very much aware of his shortcomings in the matter of Romeo and Juliet; thus, indicating that an adult, authority figure that was supposed to protect the streets of Verona failed in his duty.
Throughout the play numerous adult characters contribute to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Through religious imagery, Shakespeare also refers to fate as the ultimate reason for the tragedy. The Prince is derelict in his duties by allowing the death of the two protagonists. The Montagues and Capulets grand naivety in allowing their feud to continue enables their suicides to eventuate. Holistically, Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet censures these adult inimical characters and the ubiquitous presence of fate for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
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