Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet Still Relevant Today

"A theatre, a literature, an artistic expression that does not speak for its own time has no relevance” - Dario Fo. The amount of time a story as been around does not change how relevant the story is. Many people argue that a work of literature written before 1900 is outdated and has nothing to contribute to modern society. Others argue that classic works are timeless in what they say about human nature. The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is a relevant work for a person in modern times due to its theme of true love at first sight, dramatic tendencies, and showing that nothing good comes from violence and hatred.
The first way Romeo and Juliet is relevant to today is the idea of love at first sight. An example of this comes from Juliet “My only love, sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late! Prodigious birth of love it is to me that I must love a loathed enemy”(Shakespeare 1062). Juliet fell in love before she knew the person, much like many characters from today. People in this day and age are still very wrapped up in the ideas of love at first sight. Though it may not be very realistic love at first sight as been part of stories for centuries, and

The dramaticness of characters can be seen when Juliet finds Romeo dead, “... What’s here? A cup, closed in my true love’s hand? Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end. O churl! Drunk all, and left no friendly drop to help me after? I will kiss thy lips. Haply some poison yet doth hang on them to make me die with a restorative…” (Shakespeare 1141). Juliet wishing to kill herself after finding Romeo dead definitely qualifies as dramatic. In modern day life and entertainment people are still dramatic, especially when someone they love is involved. Although the dramatic tendencies my not be as extreme as killing yourself when the person you love dies, the dramatic tendencies are still