Shakespeare’s Romeo And Juliet Is Not Meant To Be Read As A Love Story.
When talking about fictional love stories, one never fails mentioning Shakespeare’s Romeo And Juliet. I unfortunately don’t view the iconic play in the light of a love story. In this article, I’ll elaborate my reasons for my differing opinion, and explain my alternative reading and interpretation of this tale as old as time.
The play: “Romeo And Juliet” by William Shakespeare is about two rival families: the Montagues and the Capulets. Romeo and Juliet belong to these two feuding families, respectively. Capulet arranges a ball for his daughter Juliet, with the intention of introducing her to a young man named Paris, who she is going to be betrothed to. Romeo finds out about this ball, and decides to go there in disguise with the hopes of meeting a young woman named Rosaline; in whom he is romantically interested in, and who has been rejecting Romeo’s constant advances. But, he meets Juliet at this ball; and is instantly infatuated with her. Juliet also reciprocates his infatuation, unlike Rosaline. The only issue is that both of their families are feuding, and would never accept, or approve of, their relationship. So, they have to keep their romance a secret from their families. But things are not going to end well for them.
The plot will not be as important to this article; the only thing you need to know is that things end with terrible consequences for both families, with the deaths of Romeo, Juliet, Paris, Romeo’s mother, Juliet’s cousin Tybalt, and Romeo’s friend Mercutio. The reason for so much death, is primarily the hatred between our two central families. Their feud and rivalry has been inter-generational, no one knows why and when it even begun. Infact, the very first scene of the play introduces us to two of the servants, one is a servant of the montagues and the other is a servant of the Capulets; who are having a purposeless fight over nothing. It is meant to be a humourous scene, probably implying how ridiculous the conflict between the two families actually is!
Our main couple: Romeo and Juliet are too young to be in love. It seems more like an infatuation, which is a common and normal thing experienced by most teenagers even today. If their families hadn’t been so hateful of each other, their deaths and the deaths of many more people could have been avoided. Romeo and Juliet feel like innocent victims of their families’ useless and blind hatred of each other; rather than the example of a perfect romantic pairing. The lives of these children are sacrificed as a consequence of the petty actions of the adults of the play. Let me remind you that Juliet is barely 14, and Romeo is 17; these kids are have their whole lives ahead of them. Obviously, some responsibility for their death lies on their shoulders too! But the primary reason is still their family feud.
It takes so many deaths, including Capulet and Montague losing their only children, to realise their mistakes. Contrary to the opening scene, the closing scene carries a somber tone, and ends with Capulet and Montague realizing that their hatred has not helped them gain anything; on the contrary, it has taken everything from them. Including their only children. They ask for each other’s forgiveness, and make peace with each other.
Overall, I think Romeo And Juliet is an anti-conflict story. It’s intention seems to me to illustrate how disastrous of a consequence carrying hatred across generations might have. It also, in my opinion, re-emphasizes the importance of peace and forgiveness. I think it was on purpose that the first scene introduced us to the conflict between the two families, and the last scene ended with the resolution of that conflict. That seems to be the main focus of the play, rather than the love story.
If you interpret Romeo And Juliet as a romance; that’s fine too! Remember that all interpretations are valid. This is just my interpretation. Have you read Romeo And Juliet? If so, do share your opinions and thoughts on it with me.
I’d love to hear from you guys!
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