This play was very enjoyable and a good read. It’s hard to tell how much of the enjoyment comes from its status as the archetypal love story in most Western European countries. Any attempt to discern this would be impossible given my cultural background so I won’t attempt to answer this question.
The play’s prologue is really beautifully worded and sets the scene for a fast paced narrative. It was exciting even though I was fairly familiar with the basic plot. It’s not a strictly realistic play insofar as some elements of the plot belong firmly in the realm of fantasy. The best example of this is the potion that Friar Laurence gives to Juliet to make her appear dead for 42 hours, which is medically impossibility. Another aspect of the plot that I was slightly suspicious of was Juliet’s decision to take this course of action in the first place. Why doesn’t she just run away and join Romeo in exile in Mantua straight away? Going through the rigamarole of pretending to be dead and spending a couple of days in a tomb seems a bit unnecessary. She already knows her parents will disown her if she refuses to marry Paris so in this sense she has nothing to lose. I suppose it is plausible that she fears a retaliation from her family if they find out she has eloped with Tybalt’s murder. In this case it may be safer to fake her own death. Against this, it is possible that news of her reunion with Romeo will reach her family in Verona and she will be discovered in any case. It’s not a major compliant and the play is clearly not supposed to be hyper realistic. This part of the plot is also essential in setting up the climatic tomb scene.
On the whole, the characters and dialogue are much more realistic than the plot. Of course, the speed and intensity with which Romeo and Juliet fall in love could be questioned. As could the willingness of Friar Laurence to lie and scheme on behalf of a couple of teenagers. On the other hand, scenes like the interaction between Juliet, her Nurse and Lady Capulet are excellent and instantly recognisable (Act 1 Scene 3). The Nurse insists on recounting a nostalgic tale about Juliet’s childhood twice, in the true style of a domestic windbag, before being told to shut up by Juliet . Equally, the boisterous, swaggering chatterbox character of Mercutio is very well drawn and his bantering with Romeo in Act 1 Scene 4 also rings true:
ROMEO: I dreamt a dream tonight.
MERCUTIO And so did I.
ROMEO Well, what was yours?
MERCUTIO That dreamers often lie.
ROMEO In bed asleep, while they do dream things true.
And later in the same scene, when Mercutio is recounting a lengthy monologue on the different types of dreams people have according to their tastes and interests, Romeo interrupts him saying:
ROMEO Peace, peace, Mercutio, peace! Thou talkest of nothing.
MERCUTIO True. I talk of dreams; Which are the children of an idle brain, Begot of nothing but vain fantasy; Which is as thin of substance as the air
Mercutio’s bawdy chatter with the Nurse is also a highlight of the more lighthearted sections of the play:
NURSE God ye good-morrow, gentlemen.
MERCUTIO God ye good-e’en, fair gentlewoman.
NURSE Is it good-e’en?
MERCUTIO ’Tis no less, I tell ye. For the bawdy hand of the dial is now upon the prick of noon.
NURSE Out upon you! What a man are you!
(Act 2 Scene 4)
Of course, other sections of dialogue are far more stylised and there are several monologues that could never have a counterpart in natural speech but this is true of almost all theatre. Equally, I feel this type of dialogue conveys the inner life of the characters, something that would be far harder to achieve if they were limited to everyday speech. Some of these sections are extremely beautiful and the language can be a joy to read. For example, when Romeo expresses his agitation to the Friar who is trying to calm him down after the murders of Mercutio and Tybalt:
ROMEO Thou canst not speak of that thou dost not feel.
Wert thou as young as I, Juliet thy love,
An hour but married, Tybalt murderèd,
Doting like me, and like me banishèd,
Then mightst thou speak; then mightst thou tear thy hair, And fall upon the ground, as I do now, Taking the measure of an unmade grave. (Act 3 Scene 3)
Here, one can hardly say the form of speech is realistic but it contains such heartfelt and faithful feeling it seems entirely appropriate and is very effective. Also, throughout the play the dialogue is riddled with gnomic comments and observations. Again, this can hardly be considered true to life but the comments are circumspect and thought-provoking and lead the reader, or theatre goer, into interesting asides. This is one aspect of Shakespeare’s plays that makes them so enjoyable to read; they are rich with ideas and opinions to reflect on. There are too many to quote extensively but a few examples will suffice:
ROMEO The world is not thy friend, nor the world’s law.
The world affords no law to make thee rich. Then be not poor, but break it and take this. (Act 5 Scene 1 to the Apothecary when he hesitates to sell Romeo illegal poison)
JULIET They are but beggars that can count their worth. (Act 2 Scene 6)
FRIAR For naught so vile that on the earth doth live
But to the earth some special good doth give;
Nor aught so good but, strained from that fair use,
Revolts from true birth, stumbling on abuse.
Virtue itself turns vice, being misapplied, And vice sometime’s by action dignified. (Act 2 Scene 3)
There are also myriad sections where the poetry and euphony of the language make it a joy to read regardless of the ideas expressed.
ROMEO The grey-eyed morn smiles on the frowning night, Chequering the eastern clouds with streaks of light, (Act 2 Scene 2)
ROMEO Love goes toward love as schoolboys from their books; But love from love, toward school with heavy looks. (Act 2 Scene 2)
FRIAR Be plain, good son, and homely in thy drift. Riddling confession finds but riddling shrift. (Act 2 Scene 3)
ROMEO O here Will I set up my everlasting rest And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars From this world-wearied flesh. Eyes, look your last! (Act 5 Scene 3)
ROMEO The time and my intents are savage-wild, More fierce and more inexorable far Than empty tigers or the roaring sea. (Act 5 Scene 3)
I really enjoyed reading this and look forward to seeing it again at the theatre now I have a deeper familiarity with the text. As I’ve tried to describe, the language is so rich and pregnant with different meanings; it’s truly polyvalent. Reading, as opposed to watching, the play gives more time to consult the notes and re-read. The plot is maybe a little too fairy story for my tastes but that’s the type of play it is and I really liked it for what it was.
The play’s prologue is really beautifully worded and sets the scene for a fast paced narrative. It was exciting even though I was fairly familiar with the basic plot. It’s not a strictly realistic play insofar as some elements of the plot belong firmly in the realm of fantasy. The best example of this is the potion that Friar Laurence gives to Juliet to make her appear dead for 42 hours, which is medically impossibility. Another aspect of the plot that I was slightly suspicious of was Juliet’s decision to take this course of action in the first place. Why doesn’t she just run away and join Romeo in exile in Mantua straight away? Going through the rigamarole of pretending to be dead and spending a couple of days in a tomb seems a bit unnecessary. She already knows her parents will disown her if she refuses to marry Paris so in this sense she has nothing to lose. I suppose it is plausible that she fears a retaliation from her family if they find out she has eloped with Tybalt’s murder. In this case it may be safer to fake her own death. Against this, it is possible that news of her reunion with Romeo will reach her family in Verona and she will be discovered in any case. It’s not a major compliant and the play is clearly not supposed to be hyper realistic. This part of the plot is also essential in setting up the climatic tomb scene.
On the whole, the characters and dialogue are much more realistic than the plot. Of course, the speed and intensity with which Romeo and Juliet fall in love could be questioned. As could the willingness of Friar Laurence to lie and scheme on behalf of a couple of teenagers. On the other hand, scenes like the interaction between Juliet, her Nurse and Lady Capulet are excellent and instantly recognisable (Act 1 Scene 3). The Nurse insists on recounting a nostalgic tale about Juliet’s childhood twice, in the true style of a domestic windbag, before being told to shut up by Juliet . Equally, the boisterous, swaggering chatterbox character of Mercutio is very well drawn and his bantering with Romeo in Act 1 Scene 4 also rings true:
ROMEO: I dreamt a dream tonight.
MERCUTIO And so did I.
ROMEO Well, what was yours?
MERCUTIO That dreamers often lie.
ROMEO In bed asleep, while they do dream things true.
And later in the same scene, when Mercutio is recounting a lengthy monologue on the different types of dreams people have according to their tastes and interests, Romeo interrupts him saying:
ROMEO Peace, peace, Mercutio, peace! Thou talkest of nothing.
MERCUTIO True. I talk of dreams; Which are the children of an idle brain, Begot of nothing but vain fantasy; Which is as thin of substance as the air
Mercutio’s bawdy chatter with the Nurse is also a highlight of the more lighthearted sections of the play:
NURSE God ye good-morrow, gentlemen.
MERCUTIO God ye good-e’en, fair gentlewoman.
NURSE Is it good-e’en?
MERCUTIO ’Tis no less, I tell ye. For the bawdy hand of the dial is now upon the prick of noon.
NURSE Out upon you! What a man are you!
(Act 2 Scene 4)
Of course, other sections of dialogue are far more stylised and there are several monologues that could never have a counterpart in natural speech but this is true of almost all theatre. Equally, I feel this type of dialogue conveys the inner life of the characters, something that would be far harder to achieve if they were limited to everyday speech. Some of these sections are extremely beautiful and the language can be a joy to read. For example, when Romeo expresses his agitation to the Friar who is trying to calm him down after the murders of Mercutio and Tybalt:
ROMEO Thou canst not speak of that thou dost not feel.
Wert thou as young as I, Juliet thy love,
An hour but married, Tybalt murderèd,
Doting like me, and like me banishèd,
Then mightst thou speak; then mightst thou tear thy hair, And fall upon the ground, as I do now, Taking the measure of an unmade grave. (Act 3 Scene 3)
Here, one can hardly say the form of speech is realistic but it contains such heartfelt and faithful feeling it seems entirely appropriate and is very effective. Also, throughout the play the dialogue is riddled with gnomic comments and observations. Again, this can hardly be considered true to life but the comments are circumspect and thought-provoking and lead the reader, or theatre goer, into interesting asides. This is one aspect of Shakespeare’s plays that makes them so enjoyable to read; they are rich with ideas and opinions to reflect on. There are too many to quote extensively but a few examples will suffice:
ROMEO The world is not thy friend, nor the world’s law.
The world affords no law to make thee rich. Then be not poor, but break it and take this. (Act 5 Scene 1 to the Apothecary when he hesitates to sell Romeo illegal poison)
JULIET They are but beggars that can count their worth. (Act 2 Scene 6)
FRIAR For naught so vile that on the earth doth live
But to the earth some special good doth give;
Nor aught so good but, strained from that fair use,
Revolts from true birth, stumbling on abuse.
Virtue itself turns vice, being misapplied, And vice sometime’s by action dignified. (Act 2 Scene 3)
There are also myriad sections where the poetry and euphony of the language make it a joy to read regardless of the ideas expressed.
ROMEO The grey-eyed morn smiles on the frowning night, Chequering the eastern clouds with streaks of light, (Act 2 Scene 2)
ROMEO Love goes toward love as schoolboys from their books; But love from love, toward school with heavy looks. (Act 2 Scene 2)
FRIAR Be plain, good son, and homely in thy drift. Riddling confession finds but riddling shrift. (Act 2 Scene 3)
ROMEO O here Will I set up my everlasting rest And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars From this world-wearied flesh. Eyes, look your last! (Act 5 Scene 3)
ROMEO The time and my intents are savage-wild, More fierce and more inexorable far Than empty tigers or the roaring sea. (Act 5 Scene 3)
I really enjoyed reading this and look forward to seeing it again at the theatre now I have a deeper familiarity with the text. As I’ve tried to describe, the language is so rich and pregnant with different meanings; it’s truly polyvalent. Reading, as opposed to watching, the play gives more time to consult the notes and re-read. The plot is maybe a little too fairy story for my tastes but that’s the type of play it is and I really liked it for what it was.
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