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Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet – an Enduring Love Story
The world’s most enduring love story, Romeo and Juliet, continues to have as much relevance for a modern day audience as it did in Shakespeare’s time. It is a masterpiece of lyric poetry. The story of star-crossed lovers, whose struggle for love and happiness in spite of familial opposition ends in senseless death, has been called the greatest work of romantic story ever written.
Romeo and Juliet was written by Shakespeare most probably in 1594 or 1595. It’s still popular after it was written around 400 years ago, because themes are still relevant. We can see them at present time. They are human incentives. Humans live with them and they don’t change by the time. Its film versions made as well. One of the evidence is that we all heard it’s still studied at high school and universities. There other reasons are the plot development and characters and their development.
The action of Romeo and Juliet involves two carefully balanced groups of characters. At the head of the two feuding families of Verona are Lord and Lady Capulet and Lord and Lady Montague. Their children Romeo and Juliet have two cousins who are clearly contrast each other. Both family have servants which represent loyalty theme.
The character development is well-prepared in the play. When we first meet Romeo, he was a moody rejected lover. But he had not always been like this, solitary and withdrawn. The very fact that his father, Benvolio and Mercutio all make so much of his changed ‘humour’ shows that his present behaviour is a drastic alternation and that he was not like the Romeo they used to know; ” Madam, an hour before the worshipp’d sun, peer’d forth the golden windows of the east, a troubled mind drove me to walk abroad, where underneath the grove of sycamore. (That westward rooteth from this city side) So early walking did I see your son. Towards him I made, but he was ware of me, and stole into the covert of the wood. I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, being one too many by my weary self, pursu’d my humour not pursuing his, and gladly sunn’d who gladly fled from me.” (Act1, Scene 1, 116-129). We know that he was well thought in Verona. The Old Capulet says he wasn’t like that before; ” A bears him like a portly gentleman, and to say truth, Verona brags of him to be a virtuous and well-govern’d youth.” (Act 1, Scene 5, 65-68) . The most interesting thing Capulet says is that Romeo is ‘well-govern’d’, clearly, he was not always infatuated with Rosaline, Romeo was a popular, lively and sociable member of the society.
The plot of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is which engages the reader from the very beginning of the play. It’s here that the two families which have an ongoing hatred between each other are revealed to the audience.
Shakespeare’s play explores issues through its contrast of themes such as youth and age, life and death, joy and sadness, and passion and control. What emerges from this analysis is a mix of messages and themes to do with human relationships.
Viewed from this fresh perspective, Shakespeare’s tragic drama of the “star-crossed” young lovers is seen to be an extraordinary work. Romeo and Juliet was an experimental master piece at the time of its composition.
As a result, I think, this is the greatest teenage love story of them all. Shakespeare didn’t invent the tale of the star-crossed lovers, he just did it better than anyone else.
