Reviews with content warning for Grief - Romeo and Juliet

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Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

33 reviews

isabel_is_reading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I’m just going to drop my 9th grade essay, bc it basically summarizes my thoughts. But if you don’t wanna read it I’ll just put it in bullet points:

The play is surprisingly funny. Romeo and Mercutio make a lot of jokes and the story seems to not take itself seriously in the beginning, which makes it even more shocking and sad when it takes a tragic turn.
Romeo was a very good and interesting character. The author introduces us to a young boy who is very emotional, and quite charismatic and likable, and we are shown that his overly passionate reaction to events ends up causing his demise. It’s also very sad that he has to be caught up in his families hatred and feud.
Juliet ,at first, doesn’t really think about marriage and doesn’t even seem to want to be married. However, her family at first is fine with waiting until she can get married since she’s very young but later on they actually want to marry her off to Paris. We can talk later about her age actually adds to like the tragedy, but just looking at Juliet as a character we are introduced to her as being innocent and shy, but later when she ends up meeting Romeo, she ends up being a lot more defiant with her actually wanting to escape with Romeo and ends up committing suicide at the end of the play. Juliet displays inner strength, intelligence, bravery, wit, and independence. It is, in fact, Juliet who asks Romeo to marry her.
The cast is adds to the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Both don’t have very strong parental figures other than the nurse and Friar Lawrence. The nurse for Juliet doesn’t really have a lot of powers so she’s not able to really help Juliet with the whole marriage thing. Lawrence only sees Romeo and Juliet’s relationship as a way to end the rivalry between the families and even though he gives some caution to the relationship he ,in the end, just supports it. Mercurio, and Tibble add to the rivalry between the two families and this blind hatred and violence. They play around and fight with each other a bunch but they don’t really seem to have any part into it and when it leaves to tragic consequences, it’s mostly a mistake because they just are doing what they think they’re supposed to do.

My school essay from 9th grade (it was and argumentative essay on whether Romeo and Juliet was a love story):

Your eyes dart around the room as you find someone that keeps your attention. They look at you and you feel seen and loved. You start taking to them, you become enthralled by their beauty, but as time goes by you grow and your feelings change. You find out the glance that begun your relationship created the basis for something shallow and childish. But you learn and find someone you like and love deeply. This situation is the basis for Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet;’ however, the twist is that this childish and fickle love is forced to end in tragedy due to the violence that plagues their families. The play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ has been interpreted as a love story; however, this interpretation is wrong. ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is not a love story, because of how unhealthy the foundation of their relationship is and how the childishness of their dynamic adds to the tragedy that unfolds.

The play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is full of beautifully romantic prose that can cause the reader to ignore how shallow the foundation of their relationship is. For example, in the article titled ‘Romeo and Juliet-Is it really a love story,’ the author points out how Romeo’s deep affections for Rosaline demonstrates how superficial his feelings truly are: “In Romeo’s very first appearance, he laments about his feelings of unrequited love for Rosaline. Yet upon meeting Juliet he declares, ‘Did my heart love till now? Foreswear it, sight! For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night,’ as if he hadn’t just been completely in love with another woman days before” (Barratt, paragraph 2). This reveals a flaw with Romeo’s character that creates an unhealthy foundation for his relationship with Juliet. Romeo is very emotional; he feels extremely and deeply. This leads to him acting drastically and impulsively throughout the play. In the beginning, Romeo decided to attend Capulet's grand ball to see Rosaline once more. Romeo knew that this would be dangerous because the hosts of the party are Romeo’s family’s enemies, but he does not seem to care, because his love for Rosaline went above all the possible consequences. You might think that Romeo would take longer to fall in love with Juliet, but he does not. Romeo immediately moves on to Juliet and foregoes all past feelings with Rosaline. This demonstrates a concerning pattern, Romeo experiences bursts of passionate feelings with individuals without getting to know them. This results in a very unsustainable relationship. Additionally, the author of the text ‘Romeo and Juliet: true love?’ points out the fact that Romeo is shown to fall into these relationships by fawning over his lover’s beauty, ignoring the substance of who they are: “Romeo drones on about Juliet’s beauty in multiple scenes, reflecting that ‘the brightness of her cheek would shame those stars...’ (Shakespeare 2.2.19-20) and “...Beauty too rich for use, for each too dear’ (1.5.54)” (Marseillaise, 4). Throughout the play, Romeo and Juliet express how deeply they care for each other; however, one might notice that when they discuss one another they place a large amount of emphasis on each other's physical appearance. If the play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ were truly a love story, the audience would be shown the characteristics that caused one another to fall in love with each other, but we are not. Romeo and Juliet do not truly know each other and calling them an example of a love story does not reflect the nature of their relationship. Romeo and Juliet are blinded by each other’s beauty and by their emotions which ends with them dying for a relationship that would not have realistically lasted.

Another aspect of this infamous play is that Shakespeare uses Romeo and Juliet’s childishness to construct a powerful and heartbreaking tragedy. To illustrate this point, in an article titled ‘’Romeo and Juliet’ is NOT a love story: CHANGE MY MIND!’ the author points out how different the tone of the play is and how it reveals an uncomfortable truth about the structure of this Shakespearean play: “the audience is exposed to exaggerated personalities, wordplay and often a bit of slapstick here and there. (...) The stakes start relatively low, and the tone is relatively jovial” (Mark York, 4). Throughout the play, the audience is shown how impulsive and childish these characters are. For example, when Romeo tells Friar Lawrence about his relationship with Juliet, he warns him how unwise it is to rush into a relationship, but Romeo does not take this advice to heart. Instead, Romeo asks Friar Lawrence to marry her, despite knowing Juliet for only a few days. This is an interesting dichotomy Shakespeare creates. Romeo is passionate, emotional, impulsive, and young, while Friar Lawrence is wise, logical, and relatively older. The tragedy of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ would not have happened if not for Romeo’s childish and impulsive nature. This bleeds into Romeo’s relationship with Juliet. Yes, they are infatuated with one another, but this infatuation is a product of their immaturity. Additionally, according to the aforementioned article, the author explains how Shakespeare’s clever framing adds to this famous tragedy: “the fairy tale-esque, simplistic romance is a font—a staging device to illuminate tragic truths of its very opposite. The simple love story, the confessions and the sugary sweet laments serve to lull you into a false sense of security” (York, 5). ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is not a love story, it uses the promise of young love to demonstrate how senseless violence and unchecked passion can lead to tragic consequences. When Tybalt accidentally kills Mercutio in a swordfight, Romeo becomes consumed with rage and kills Tybalt. Romeo does not think about the possible consequences of his action, because he is consumed by rage that ultimately ends in violence. Even the Montagues and Capulet’s hatred for each other is void of any reason. They just passionately hate each other, and this passion leads to unwarranted violence. Romeo and Juliet are another example of this, their passionate love leads to their violent deaths by their own hands, but this final act of violence ends the Montagues and Capulet’s animosity towards each other. Romeo and Juliet’s relationship is not powerful because it is a love story, it is powerful because they are the last victim of a senseless family feud.

On the other hand, some might say that ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is a love story because of this passion, a passion that encapsulates the beauty of pure, young love, however the proponents of this argument ignore how Romeo and Juliet’s youth detracts from their supposed ‘love.’ To illustrate this point, in the text ‘Romeo and Juliet: True love?” the author explains how Romeo and Juliet’s youth doesn’t make it pure, instead its corrupted by other problems: “In this famous tale, Romeo is portrayed as impetuous and fickle in his attentions (…) the authenticity of her [Juliet’s] love was limited by her inexperience, age, vulnerability, and inclination to focus her physical attraction with Romeo” (Marseillaise, 3). Calling Romeo and Juliet a love story requires one to completely ignore Romeo and Juliet’s flaws. We are shown in the play that Romeo and Juliet’s actions are completely dictated by their naivety and impulsiveness. Their love is not more authentic because of their youth and calling it a love story ignores all the prior actions that show this. We are shown through Romeo’s feeling of Rosaline that he is prone to passionate, yet unsustainable love. We are shown Romeo’s immaturity through his humor and conversations with his friends. We are told Juliet is not ready for marriage due to her youth by her own father. We are told by wise Friar Lawrence that their relationship is developing too quickly and will not end well if they continue. ’Rome and Juliet’ is clearly not an example of a love story, it is a tragic tale and how passion can lead to horrifying consequences.

In conclusion, ‘Romeo and Juliet’ should not be viewed as a timeless love story because once you examine this play deeper it becomes clear that their relationship is built upon nothing more than impulsiveness and a shallow attraction to one another. Viewing ‘Romeo and Juliet’ as a love story does not only take away from the tragedy, but it can also lead one to romanticize unhealthy behaviors and relationships. When you read this classic, one should take the time to fully understand that it is above all a tragedy with the intended purpose of creating a cautionary tale on how unchecked passion can lead to pointless violence. Ultimately, viewing ‘Romeo and Juliet’ as a love story takes ways from this purpose, while also harming an audience’s view of what love should look like.

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music_girl93's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Content Warnings

k_shimer's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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ayphyx's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Would y’all kill me if i said that this play is probably one of Shakespeare’s most misunderstood works. It’s really not a play about what stupid teenagers do when they’re in love and more about unjustified and senseless violence and how it not only hurts those who perpetrate that violence, but also innocent people, children. The roles that Romeo and Juliet play are forced upon them. They are forced to become child martyrs when all they wanted to be were lovers. Romeo and Juliet’s love did not murder Mercutio, Tybalt, Lady Montague, or even Romeo and Juliet themselves (although an argument could be made for Paris), it was the blood feud between the two houses that set the stage for their deaths. Whether or not the love between Romeo and Juliet was genuine is not the point, the point is that two children should not have to die in order to stop the adults from fighting.

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