Fatal Connections Between Teenagers In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

Boy meets girl, boy kisses girl seconds later, boy marries girl, boy kills himself, girl kills herself, and there’s a sword fight somewhere in between. When reading Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, it may be difficult to relate to any of the characters because of how outdated the ideas and actions are. Making behavioral connections between teenagers today and Romeo and Juliet can help bring a stronger understanding of the play. Significant parallels can be seen between Romeo and Juliet and most teens in the twenty-first century, as both parties are impulsive, rebellious, and overdramatic. Romeo and Juliet are extremely impulsive, which is a trait that can be seen in most modern day teenagers. When Tybalt kills Mercutio, Romeo immediately …show more content…
In an argument with her mother, Juliet tells her “I will not marry yet; and when I do, I swear/It shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate,/Rather than Paris. These are news indeed!”(3.5.122-124). At this point in the play, Juliet and Romeo are both secretly married yet Juliet’s parents want her to marry Paris. In the heat of the moment, Juliet tells her mother that she doesn't want to be married, and just to make her mother angry, she throws in the fact that she’d rather marry Romeo. The fact that Juliet intentionally says this to anger her mom shows her rebellious side. Romeo definitely has a rebellious side as well. When Juliet hears him outside of her window and asks for Romeo’s name, he answers her with, “My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself/Because it is an enemy to thee./Had I it written, I would tear the word.” He basically tells Juliet that he hates his family name because his family is an enemy to her family. Given the opportunity, he’d like to change it and disown his family name due simply to his infatuation with her. This shows that Romeo is rebellious, at least to some degree, because he doesn’t care at all about making his family happy or obeying his parents’ wishes. He cares so little about impressing his family that, in an instant, he is prepared to completely separate himself from the rest of his family. It’s not only rebellious but selfish as well. Modern day …show more content…
In the beginning of the play Romeo is nowhere to be found, but it is soon explained by his father that “Away from light steals home my heavy son/And private in his chamber pens himself,/Shuts up his windows, locks fair daylight out.”(1.1.133-135). Montague is saying here that Romeo has locked himself in his room and has been crying all day. Later, Romeo comes out of his bedroom and explains that the reason he’d been crying is that Rosaline, a girl he had been interested in, did not want to have sex with him and, therefore, she did not love him. This shows that locking himself in his room all day is a complete overreaction. For most people, being unable to have sex is upsetting, but not completely devastating. This is not the case for Romeo however. Long after in the story, Juliet turns to Friar Lawrence after Romeo is banished and demands, “Do thou but call my resolution wise/And with this knife I’ll help it presently.”(4.1.53-54). She basically tells the Friar that if he has no good advice for her, she will kill herself. Juliet is threatening to commit suicide because she has become attached to a boy that she met only a few days ago, making this quite possibly the most overdramatic scene in the play. Nowadays, teens will become just as emotional as Romeo and Juliet are in these situations over the smallest of problems. Whether it’s a bad breakup or a revoked