Romeo And Juliet Decisions

Oh What Love Can Do

Love, “an intense feeling of deep affection” (“Love”). This feeling can completely change a person. Love can make one do things that are uncharacteristic. Romeo and Juliet, a play by William Shakespeare, is about two lovers from feuding families. The Capulets and Montagues despise one another. Shakespeare accurately portrays what love can do and its consequences. In the play Romeo and Juliet, the characters’ hasty decisions lead to problems in the play. This tendency is demonstrated through the characters Juliet Capulet and Romeo Montague.

To begin, Juliet made numerous impetuous decisions that caused problems in the play. For Juliet, it was love at first sight with Romeo. They first met each other at the ball, and within

She proceeds to ask where and what time the ceremony will be. This impetuous decision affects Juliet later on in the play. Juiliet’s family does not know that they are married. Juilet’s father arranges for her and Paris to get married. Lord Capulet gave her the choice to either marry Paris or to get out of his house. Juliet cannot marry Paris because she would be breaking her morals and her love for Romeo. Due to her hasty decision, this leaves Juliet in a dreadful position. Shakespearean critic Edward Dowden agrees that Juliet displays haste when she suggests the marriage, and he explains, “Juliet at once takes the lead. It is she that proposes and urges on the sudden marriage. She is impatient for complete self-surrender, eager that the deed should become perfect and irreversible” (Dowden 53). The critic is saying that Juliet is taking control. She is showing that she wants to marry Romeo and does not want to wait. Juliet is not looking at the consequences of this choice. Rather, she is more concerned about her feelings. The critic is explaining that once they get married, Juliet's parents can not do anything about this. Her parents will hate that they are together, but they can not do anything. Lord Capulet wants her to marry Paris yet she is not willing to do so. Since Juliet is married to Romeo, she is left in an inflexible spot. This leads to Juliet in a

He says it is quick acting and goes through your veins. It will take your breath away almost instantly. Romeo's quick act shows how broken he was. This detrimental decision will lead him to his own death. If Romeo was not so quick with his decision, he could have been able to save himself and Juliet. Shakespearean critic Bert Cardullo agrees,“The most obvious example of impulsive behavior on Romeo’s part occurs when, upon hearing from Balthasar that Juliet is dead, he goes immediately to the Apothecary’s to buy poison with which to kill himself at her side, instead of first investigating the circumstances of her ‘death’”(Cardullo 61-62). Cardullo is saying that Romeo was so emotional; he went straight to thinking about his own death rather than seeing if this outrageous statement was even true. From what Romeo knows, Juliet's death could be a rumor, but instead, Romeo's hasty behaviors lead him to his death. Thus, the complications in the play were contributed from Romeo's rash