Romeo And Juliet Violations

The United Nations came together in 1948 to create The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which allows people to live freely and fairly. In The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, many of these rights appear to be broken. Romeo and Juliet are two teenage lovers in Verona, Italy who face the challenges of their families and their fate. In an attempt to live a life together, Romeo and Juliet face many problems. Throughout the play, many of these problems lead to the violation of human rights.

In The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, one of the rights Juliet is denied is the freedom of expression. As defined in Article 19 of the Declaration of Human Rights, “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right

Article 16 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states “Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.” In Act 3, Capulet gives Juliet the ultimatum of marrying Paris or being kicked out of the house. “I tell thee what–get thee to church a Thursday, or never after look me in the face” (Act 3.5.162-163). Capulet says this after Juliet does not oblige with his plan. This is not fair as Juliet may not have the desire to marry Paris. You should have the right to marry whoever as it is who you will spend your life with. Who you marry is an impactful life decision that one should be allowed to make freely. Juliet being denied the right to marriage is life-altering as it could impair her pursuit of

According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 10 states, “Everyone is entitled to in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.” Following Romeo and Tybalt’s battle, the Prince quickly banishes Romeo to Mantua. “Immediately we do exile him hence… I will be deaf to pleading and excuses”(Act 3.1.185-190). Romeo is not given a chance to defend himself in front of a judge and a jury. The Prince even outright says that he is not open to any objections. The decision to exile Romeo is made before he is proven guilty, meaning Romeo may be innocent despite the Prince’s punishment. It is unfair to punish an innocent person, this right helps to prevent these situations. Romeo should be allowed a trial as the suspect must be given a chance to defend themselves against an accusation before they are