martes, 15 de octubre de 2013

Is Romeo and Juliet a love story,or a story about violence?


When we think about Romeo and Juliet the first thing that comes to our minds is the pure love between a young couple that has endured in our minds.But was Romeo and Juliet a love story? First we have to consider that the opening chorus that initiates the play mentions “where civil blood makes civil hands unclean”  in talking about the violence that plagues the streets of Verona, and this is ratified in Act I with the fight between the Montagues’ and the Capulets’ servants. In this scene Sampson and Gregory express their hate for the Montagues while they are talking“ The quarrel I between our masters and us their” and then through insults they provoke a fight with Tybalt, who refuses to keep the peace “  what, drawn and talk peace? I hate the word as I hate hell, Montagues, and thee.” We would expect Benvolio and Tybalt to stop the fight since they are part of the nobility; nevertheless, they take part in it which makes us think that Shakespeare is trying to tell us that no matter the status of a man, violence is part of any person.
Tybalt is also encouraged to violence when he realizes that Romeo was in their party, and he wants to fight Romeo despite his uncle’s supplication to refrain. The hate that burns his soul is so strong that it takes concerted effort to control his emotions. Nevertheless, he takes revenge and his pride and hate lead him to defeat Romeo in a fight that ends in the tragic death of Mercuccio.Mercuccio’s death increases Romeo’s hate and desire for revenge, and so he fights and kills Tybalt.Finally, Romeo and Juliet die as a result of their forbidden love. Love was not strong enough to save them from violence and hate but it pushes them to commit suicide in another act of violence. Thus, we can see that  violence only begets more violence in the play.The only thing the two young lovers could do to escape their fate and break the harsh punishment levied against them by their families was to leave their world the only way they knew how:  through violence.

In my point of view, Shakespeare really wanted to tell us that violence is part of us, violence rules the world and every time we want to change the status quo and install a new world new order, we use violence to do so. There has never been a system or order that was not upset and changed to another, sooner or later.  The winners oppress the losers of each struggle for power and dominance, and then eventually the lossers revolt and depose the winners, and each side switches places, for all time.  Because all humans look for power, as the Capulets and the Montagues each of them wanted power over the other and that can only end in violence, its a vicious cycle that will never end until humans learn to explore the world as the biggest gift of pure love. What do you think about it?  According to you what rules this play, love or violence? 

1 comentario:

  1. I really like your blog. It is both profound and insightful. I agree completely with your notion of man's unending lust for power and dominance over others, and I think that it is for this very reason that true peace will/can never be achieved without some sort of external help (aliens, god, WHO KNOWS?). Imagine if the middle east suddenly stopped creating terrorist, and if the United States ceased invading other countries. Even if these things were to happen, someone ELSE would come along and attempt to control everything. I believe that our economic system and our very way of life is governed by a select group of individuals in power. How can we truly revolt against them if we dont even know their names?

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