РефератыИностранный языкRoRomeo And Juliet Influence Essay Research Paper

Romeo And Juliet Influence Essay Research Paper

Romeo And Juliet Influence Essay, Research Paper


William Shakespeare, the English poet and playwright of the 16th -17th


centuries, is known as the best dramatist in the world. He is also known as the


best author who has written in the English language. He has written a lot of


great plays and sonnets, which are read and admired by people all over the


world. The reason for his popularity is his understanding of people and his


ability to create the characters almost mirroring the real life situations,


human feelings and behaviors. Shakespeare could understand the human character


very deeply, therefore he could create characters beyond the time and place of


his plays (The World Book Encyclopedia 17 345). One of his most popular plays is


the tragedy Romeo and Juliet, talking about the tragic ending of the young love


of two teenagers. It is considered the best play about love in the world. The


story takes place in Verona, a city in Italy. Romeo and Juliet are two young


teenagers who love each other indeed but can not realize their dreams because


their families Montagues and Capulets are in a deadly feud. Romeo and Juliet get


secretly married. After the wedding Romeo comes across the Juliets cousin Tybalt,


who challenges him to a fight. But Romeo doesnt want to fight his new relative.


Instead Romeos friend Mercutio fights Tybalt and gets killed. In revenge Romeo


fights and kills Tybalt, for what he is expelled from the city. Meanwhile


Juliets father forces her to marry his friend Paris. To escape this terrible


situation, she asks Friar Lawrence for help, who gives her a drug that puts her


in a deathlike sleep for two days. Romeo hears the bad news about Juliets death


before he gets the message sent by Friar Lawrence and rushes to the tomb where


Juliet was put. Life has no meaning for him anymore, so he takes a poison and


dies near Juliets body. When Juliet awakens from the sleep, she sees her love


dead and doesnt want to live anymore, so she stabs herself. Death of the two


young lovers make the families understand that they must end their feud (The


World Book Encyclopedia 17 358). At that time it was strongly believed that the


true love always struck at first sight and in this play Romeo and Juliet fall in


love from the first sight (Brian C). Some critics say that the idealized love of


Romeo and Juliet is rooted on passionate sexuality. But to Elizabethans sexual


desire was not antithetical to romance; it was the essence of romance (Brian C).


Romeo and Juliet is based on a poem by an English author Arthur Brooke The


Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet ("The World Book Encyclopedia


17" 358). Some critics refer to this as one of the weak points of the play,


saying that Shakespeare didnt write many original plots, he found what he was


looking for ready in Arthur Brookes poem (Rowse 70). But thinking about the


plays interesting plot, the beautiful language full of word-plays, different


characters and at last the love theme which is the basic element that makes it


so interesting, all these things completely make this and the other weak points


and faults found by critics fade out. Many critics have also addressed the


language of the play.

Artificial language, used a lot in the play, was


characteristic for the Elizabethan age ("The World Book Encyclopedia


17" 358). Elizabethans liked those long phrases and fast word-plays, which


become simple conversations if retold in modern word interpretation (Brian C).


But Shakespeare has used some simple language, characteristic for his later


plays, too ("The World Book Encyclopedia 17" 358). Another thing we


should keep in mind is that although the script pas been written for the


performance, its read and understood easily (Brian C). There are a lot of


elements and characteristics in the play that make it popular and successful.


One of the points that gets critics attention is that despite the plays Italian


setting, the language, customs and attitudes are generally English (Brian C).


Another characteristic thing for the Elizabethan age is that there are no sudden


and original plot turns. Elizabethans werent so interested in that, how the


story was told was more important for them (Brian C). The good rhyming lines are


much frequent in the play, which is another positive element (Rowse 68). Music


and references to music are also used a lot in the play. In fact, musical


elements in this play are greater than in any other one (Rowse 73). Romeo and


Juliet is rich of different and contrasting personages, who eventually become


persons and this personality continues throughout the play (Ward 267). One of


these characters is Romeo, who is an excellent example of a person with the


lovesickness and stereotypical attitude towards love (Brian C). Some of the


finest poetry in the play is given by Romeo, when he sees Juliet for the first


time (Brian C). The play also contains a mix of high tragedy and comedy,


displayed in another character – the Juliets nurse (Brian C). Romeo and Juliet


has been a very good target for critics of the past three centuries. Some


critics have praised this play for its beautiful and easy-reading language,


interesting plot and touching theme and characters. Others have found some


faults with certain aspects of the play (Scott 410). But despite these faults,


most of the critics have been saying that Romeo and Juliet is one of the best


works of Shakespeare and it has had a big influence on the development of the


English drama (Scott 410). In general, Romeo and Juliet has been a really good


topic to discuss and criticize. But however it has always been and will remain a


work proving Shakespeares perfect talent and a great love story to read, watch


and admire.


Brian, Paul. Study Guide for Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet. 1997. URL:


http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/love-in-the-arts/romeo.html Rowse, A.L. The


Annotated Shakespeare, Volume 3: The Tragedies and Romances. Romeo and Juliet.


New York: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc./Publishers. 1978. Scott, Mark W.


Shakespearean Criticism, Volume 5. Romeo and Juliet. Detroit: Gale Research


Company. 1987. The World Book Encyclopedia 17: S-Sn. William Shakespeare.


Chicago: World Book, Inc. 1997. Ward, A.W. and A.R.Waller. The Cambridge History


of English Drama, Volume 5: The Drama to 1642, Part 1. Shakespeares Plays.


London: Cambridge University Press. 1970.

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