For some odd reason unknown to me, Romeo and Juliet has been labeled as one of the greatest romances of all time. The big question though is "why?". Anyone who calls it "one of the greats" has obviously never read it. How that is possible though, I have no idea, seeing as it's pretty much mandatory that you read it in school. Now before I start, I would like to ask you to please not misunderstand me - I am not dissing Romeo and Juliet because it is a sad story. Sad stories are great, I like them. There's nothing better than curling up on the couch and reading a sad story, or if reading isn't your thing, curling up on the couch with a box of tissues and watching a sad movie. (Okay, so I lied, there are many things better than that....... but you know what I mean (My second favorite movie is "Million Dollar Baby", just so you know. I can do sad stuff. Yup)). My reason for my passionate dislike for Romeo and Juliet is this - it's disturbing. Majorly disturbing.
Everyone knows the story of Romeo and Juliet, right? You've read the story or watched some form of it on TV. But.... have you ever really thought about it? Let me show you.
The story starts out in the large city of Verona, explaining that there are two very wealthy families with large names in that city, both hating the other family more than anything ever imagined. *Pause* So, in modern day, these people would be the Mafia, right? The Mafia. Two wealthy families with trained killers in their households who live in a big city and hate each other. There we go, the mafia. *Moving on*
In this city, we have our lovesick (but ignored by his beloved) Romeo, heir in on of the mafia families (Montague). His best friend convinces him to go to a party hosted by the other mafia family to see if he can find another girl that catches his eye. And so he does - the daughter of the head member in the opposite mafia (Capulet). Here is where the whole "Love at first sight" thing comes into play... they fall madly in love, right there, on the dance floor. After leaving the party, Romeo sits in Juliet's garden and watches and listens to her, Juliet not knowing that he is there. *Pause* Okay, that is stalking, okay? Stalking. That's not sexy, that's creepy, okay? I don't care who you are... If I met a guy one night at a dance and became completely crazy about him... no matter HOW obsessed I was with him that evening, I would NOT like to discover him sitting in my garden, staring at me in my pajamas, watching my every move. What a creeper. *Moving on*
Juliet soon discovers him though, and they confess their love to each other.... they then decide to get married, so they do. *Pause* Okay, so... these two people have known each other of a total of one day. One day. They know nothing about each other, all they know is that they love each other. Supposedly, anyway. But how can you truly love someone if you don't KNOW them? When you are in love, you fall in love with ALL of them, not just their body. How can you know someones personality, their feelings, their innermost thoughts if you have only known them less than a day? Secondly, I might just remind you that Juliet is "nearly fourteen". Thirteen years old here, people... thirteen. To the average female, that's not even childbearing age. That is gross, okay? She's a child. And Romeo isn't much better, I might add. Shakespeare never mentions his exact age, but he mentions several times that he is a youth. Two children, getting married. Majorly wrong. *Moving on*
Not long after they are married in secret (less than 12 hours, to be exact), Romeo murders Juliet's cousin out of revenge for her cousin killing Romeo's best friend and is sentenced to banishment from the fair city of Verona, and to ne'er return. Juliet mourns not so much for her cousin's death, but for her husband leaving her. Her husband that she has known for 2 days. Before he goes though, Romeo and Juliet consummate their marriage. The morning after, Romeo leaves. Not long after, Juliet's father betroths her to Count Paris... Juliet, not having the guts to inform her father that she is already married, decides to fake her death to get out of it. Her message (which she had someone ELSE send to Romeo) never gets to her beloved. When Romeo finds that his wife is dead, he travels to see her, planning to kill himself after seeing her lifeless body. When he arrives at her tomb, he discovers Paris there. He and Paris begin to duel and Romeo slays Paris, and continues into the tomb, sees his wife who "looks as though she's only sleeping" and kills himself. *Pause* If she looks so alive, why didn't he just check her pulse, hm? *Continuing*
Juliet then rises from her slumber, sees that her husband killed himself and then does the same. Both mafia families come to see what has happened, hearing that something weird is going on in the graveyard and realize what happened, and decided to forgive each other and become friends rather than enemies. End of story.
So......... first of all, the story really isn't about the "lovers". Am I the only one who realizes this? That was only the set-up of the story. It is about the bringing together of two families. Rivals coming together because of one thing. People learning how to overcome feuds and such. That's what it's REALLY about. It is about the two families becoming one and overcoming a tragedy, making everything ending peacefully. That is it - it is about peace. No one gets that though.
Now, on top of that all, I would just like to add something even MORE disturbing. There is a sex scene in Romeo and Juliet. In Shakespeare's time, women were not allowed to act, only men. So, there were two men acting out the sex scene together... not just the mushy balcony scene, and exchanging of vows, but actual sex. Am I the ONLY one who finds that disturbing? And, on a further note, wouldn't Romeo and Juliet have been banned back then, because of that? I mean, come on... "Catch-22" was banned in 1970's for it's supposed "content". The 70's. And yet Romeo and Juliet wasn't banned for it's content back in the late 1500's/early 1600's? I find that hard to believe.
Everyone knows the story of Romeo and Juliet, right? You've read the story or watched some form of it on TV. But.... have you ever really thought about it? Let me show you.
The story starts out in the large city of Verona, explaining that there are two very wealthy families with large names in that city, both hating the other family more than anything ever imagined. *Pause* So, in modern day, these people would be the Mafia, right? The Mafia. Two wealthy families with trained killers in their households who live in a big city and hate each other. There we go, the mafia. *Moving on*
In this city, we have our lovesick (but ignored by his beloved) Romeo, heir in on of the mafia families (Montague). His best friend convinces him to go to a party hosted by the other mafia family to see if he can find another girl that catches his eye. And so he does - the daughter of the head member in the opposite mafia (Capulet). Here is where the whole "Love at first sight" thing comes into play... they fall madly in love, right there, on the dance floor. After leaving the party, Romeo sits in Juliet's garden and watches and listens to her, Juliet not knowing that he is there. *Pause* Okay, that is stalking, okay? Stalking. That's not sexy, that's creepy, okay? I don't care who you are... If I met a guy one night at a dance and became completely crazy about him... no matter HOW obsessed I was with him that evening, I would NOT like to discover him sitting in my garden, staring at me in my pajamas, watching my every move. What a creeper. *Moving on*
Juliet soon discovers him though, and they confess their love to each other.... they then decide to get married, so they do. *Pause* Okay, so... these two people have known each other of a total of one day. One day. They know nothing about each other, all they know is that they love each other. Supposedly, anyway. But how can you truly love someone if you don't KNOW them? When you are in love, you fall in love with ALL of them, not just their body. How can you know someones personality, their feelings, their innermost thoughts if you have only known them less than a day? Secondly, I might just remind you that Juliet is "nearly fourteen". Thirteen years old here, people... thirteen. To the average female, that's not even childbearing age. That is gross, okay? She's a child. And Romeo isn't much better, I might add. Shakespeare never mentions his exact age, but he mentions several times that he is a youth. Two children, getting married. Majorly wrong. *Moving on*
Not long after they are married in secret (less than 12 hours, to be exact), Romeo murders Juliet's cousin out of revenge for her cousin killing Romeo's best friend and is sentenced to banishment from the fair city of Verona, and to ne'er return. Juliet mourns not so much for her cousin's death, but for her husband leaving her. Her husband that she has known for 2 days. Before he goes though, Romeo and Juliet consummate their marriage. The morning after, Romeo leaves. Not long after, Juliet's father betroths her to Count Paris... Juliet, not having the guts to inform her father that she is already married, decides to fake her death to get out of it. Her message (which she had someone ELSE send to Romeo) never gets to her beloved. When Romeo finds that his wife is dead, he travels to see her, planning to kill himself after seeing her lifeless body. When he arrives at her tomb, he discovers Paris there. He and Paris begin to duel and Romeo slays Paris, and continues into the tomb, sees his wife who "looks as though she's only sleeping" and kills himself. *Pause* If she looks so alive, why didn't he just check her pulse, hm? *Continuing*
Juliet then rises from her slumber, sees that her husband killed himself and then does the same. Both mafia families come to see what has happened, hearing that something weird is going on in the graveyard and realize what happened, and decided to forgive each other and become friends rather than enemies. End of story.
So......... first of all, the story really isn't about the "lovers". Am I the only one who realizes this? That was only the set-up of the story. It is about the bringing together of two families. Rivals coming together because of one thing. People learning how to overcome feuds and such. That's what it's REALLY about. It is about the two families becoming one and overcoming a tragedy, making everything ending peacefully. That is it - it is about peace. No one gets that though.
Now, on top of that all, I would just like to add something even MORE disturbing. There is a sex scene in Romeo and Juliet. In Shakespeare's time, women were not allowed to act, only men. So, there were two men acting out the sex scene together... not just the mushy balcony scene, and exchanging of vows, but actual sex. Am I the ONLY one who finds that disturbing? And, on a further note, wouldn't Romeo and Juliet have been banned back then, because of that? I mean, come on... "Catch-22" was banned in 1970's for it's supposed "content". The 70's. And yet Romeo and Juliet wasn't banned for it's content back in the late 1500's/early 1600's? I find that hard to believe.
What do YOU think? Leave a comment!
Until later,
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