Relationship advice from a 16th century playwright.
There is a reason Shakespeares "Romeo and Juliette" is considered a tragedy. Two people from two different worlds meet, fall in love, to then die for trying to be together. Leaving everyone who knew them devastated. Morning them for their deaths caused not only by their naïvete, but also for their sheer desire to be together in life and in death. All this after just a couple days of knowing eachother. 😒
This literary classic is objectively one of his most famous works. Ask anyone on the street if they've ever heard of a dude named Romeo and his crush Juliette and i guarantee they'll be able to give you a solid answer. Because Romeo & Juliette are a cultural icon! They are what most people reference to when they talk about "true love" and the sort.
And yeah all that is fine and dandy but what was shakespear originally trying to say?? I mean it classified as a tragedy so why do people refrence in such a positive way regarding "true love"?
The basic premise is this: Two crazy teenagers born from rivaling families fall in love, get caught, get into trouble, and after a great big misunderstanding commit double suicide after they individually thought they would have to live without the other.
Now then, when i was reading this in high school, im gonna be honest, i didn't really give it much thought. Mainly because, other than the huge plot points, i didn't really pay much attention. But when i actually sat down and thought about it i found the popular interpretation and my own interpretation.
First lets talk about the popular interpretation. From this perspective romeo and Juliette are seen as the free thinkers, the anarchist that are going against societal norms and doing what feels right and makes them happy. But sadly society catches up and metaphorically and literally creates a ridge between them forcing them to take sides after the murder of Juliettes first cousin Tybalt at the hands of Romeo. From this point of view whatever happens to these characters is not seen as their fault but societies fault for forcing them to take sides and pushing them to do what they did. In simple words: if the Montagues and the caplets didn't hate eachother for seamingly no reason then romeo and Juliette could have been able to be together just fine. Which i find it to be a nice messeges. If the families didnt get so caught up in their rivalry they would have been able to see how their actions affected their seemingly uninvolved, but in reality very involved, children.
Its like breaking that societal chain of tradition set by ancestors that restrains people from being free thinkers. This idea is best illustrated in Shirly Jackson's "the lottery" whose basic messeges is if you pass down a tradition long enough it loses its meaning and affects future generations in a very bad way.
And then there's the other interpretation. The one that sees Romeo and Juliette as two naïve teenagers that were trying too hard to make that "true love" real. This is the pessimistic perspective so grab a tissue box ladies and gentlemen. From this point of view we see Romeo and Juliette as two naïve children who are really enthusiastic about each other because its their first real relationship. Their mostly driven by passion and their idea of "true love". But they face difficulties when they realize that they are from two completely different worlds and that they can never be together without there being a major change. And the sad part is that whatever happens is going to be messy. But their idea of "true love conquers all" is present in them up until the very end. Where they take their idea to the grave.
So basically, Romeo and Juliette can be an allegory for what happens when people from two different worlds fall in love. Its a mess, its painful, and it aint pretty. And in heing sight they probably should have never met in the first place.
