Every story has a theme. It may not be very prevalent, but it is still there. Themes help characters and the reader learn lessons in clever ways. Most themes can be applied to any time period and to any person. Take the famous story “The Tortoise and the Hare”. The theme of this short story is slow and steady wins the race. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare has many themes scattered throughout the play in very interesting ways. The most prominent universal theme in Romeo and Juliet are the intensity of teenage love, individual vs. society, and love as a cause of violence.
The most universal theme in Romeo and Juliet is the intensity of teenage love. Teens are known for their ability to quickly “fall in love”. This is especially seen in Romeo and Juliet. From the first time they meet, Romeo and Juliet are infatuated with each other. In fact, before Romeo even meets Juliet, he says “Oh, she doth teaches the torches to burn bright!” (Rom. 1.5.44). After being introduced for just a few minutes, they kiss and were willing to die for one another. This play is, debatably, a bit dramatic in its intensity of teenage love, but the point still gets across. Another instance of this theme is when Juliet tells her parents that she would rather die than marry Paris instead of Romeo. “Ay, sir, but she will none, she gives you thanks./ I would the fool were married to her grave!” (Rom. 3.5.139-140). Juliet loves Romeo so much that she was willing to die if she could not be with Romeo. The article “ Cerebral Cortex, which is responsible for emotions, isn’t fully developed during adolescence. This results in emotional teens falling in love very quickly. Knowing this, the reader can understand the psychology of teenage love. Another theme in Romeo and Juliet is individual vs. society. Throughout the entire play, Romeo and Juliet are trying to “fight …show more content…
Most of the characters in this play die as a result of Romeo and Juliet’s love. From Paris to Mercutio, to Romeo and Juliet themselves, they all die as a result of Romeo and Juliet’s relationship. None of these deaths would have happened if Romeo and Juliet had not been so “in love”. Most of these deaths were accidents and/or not “directly” related to their relationship, but if you tear back the layers, you can clearly see that these deaths were caused by Romeo and Juliet’s relationship. Take Mercutio’s death for example. Romeo does not want to fight Tybalt because he is a close relative and friend to the Capulet’s, and if they fight then there definitely will not be a way for Romeo to marry Juliet. Unfortunately, Mercutio takes this as Romeo just being weak and scared. He steps forward to fight Tybalt, resulting in Mercutio’s death. Mercutio's last words are “Ay, ay, a scratch, a scratch. Marry, ’tis enough./ Where is my page?—Go, villain, fetch a surgeon.” (3.1.62-63). To get revenge on Tybalt for killed Mercutio, Romeo kills Tybalt. At this point in the story, Their relationship has a body count of two, which is two too many. Another instance of Romeo and Juliet’s love being a cause of violence is their own deaths. Juliet was given a sleeping potion so that she could fake her death and run away with Romeo. Sadly, Romeo didn’t hear that she had not really died. Romeo kills
The most universal theme in Romeo and Juliet is the intensity of teenage love. Teens are known for their ability to quickly “fall in love”. This is especially seen in Romeo and Juliet. From the first time they meet, Romeo and Juliet are infatuated with each other. In fact, before Romeo even meets Juliet, he says “Oh, she doth teaches the torches to burn bright!” (Rom. 1.5.44). After being introduced for just a few minutes, they kiss and were willing to die for one another. This play is, debatably, a bit dramatic in its intensity of teenage love, but the point still gets across. Another instance of this theme is when Juliet tells her parents that she would rather die than marry Paris instead of Romeo. “Ay, sir, but she will none, she gives you thanks./ I would the fool were married to her grave!” (Rom. 3.5.139-140). Juliet loves Romeo so much that she was willing to die if she could not be with Romeo. The article “ Cerebral Cortex, which is responsible for emotions, isn’t fully developed during adolescence. This results in emotional teens falling in love very quickly. Knowing this, the reader can understand the psychology of teenage love. Another theme in Romeo and Juliet is individual vs. society. Throughout the entire play, Romeo and Juliet are trying to “fight …show more content…
Most of the characters in this play die as a result of Romeo and Juliet’s love. From Paris to Mercutio, to Romeo and Juliet themselves, they all die as a result of Romeo and Juliet’s relationship. None of these deaths would have happened if Romeo and Juliet had not been so “in love”. Most of these deaths were accidents and/or not “directly” related to their relationship, but if you tear back the layers, you can clearly see that these deaths were caused by Romeo and Juliet’s relationship. Take Mercutio’s death for example. Romeo does not want to fight Tybalt because he is a close relative and friend to the Capulet’s, and if they fight then there definitely will not be a way for Romeo to marry Juliet. Unfortunately, Mercutio takes this as Romeo just being weak and scared. He steps forward to fight Tybalt, resulting in Mercutio’s death. Mercutio's last words are “Ay, ay, a scratch, a scratch. Marry, ’tis enough./ Where is my page?—Go, villain, fetch a surgeon.” (3.1.62-63). To get revenge on Tybalt for killed Mercutio, Romeo kills Tybalt. At this point in the story, Their relationship has a body count of two, which is two too many. Another instance of Romeo and Juliet’s love being a cause of violence is their own deaths. Juliet was given a sleeping potion so that she could fake her death and run away with Romeo. Sadly, Romeo didn’t hear that she had not really died. Romeo kills