Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet: Then And Now

Romeo and Juliet, Then and Now
Although many people may believe that Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is not relevant in the 21st Century, many of its themes are. These themes can be found in movies, everyday life, and books. The Themes being reviewed are love (unrequited and romantic), and rivalry. Movies such as Titanic, West side story and Pretty Woman, are just some of the places where themes from Romeo and Juliet are found.
Perhaps the most relevant Romeo and Juliet theme in modern times is romantic love. This theme is shown in many parts of Romeo and Juliet, one such quote is where Romeo states “the girl I love is the beautiful daughter of the rich Capulet” (Act 2, Scene 3). This theme is in countless movies,

Unrequited love is often shown in real life when someone loves someone else but the beloved does not love the person loving them .Unrequited love is shown in the beginning of Romeo and Juliet when Romeo states “The one I love doesn’t love me”,(Act 1, Scene 1) referring to his unrequited love for Rosaline. A more modern example of unrequited love is shown in the movie Forrest Gump where he asks Jenny to marry him, but she declines and says “you don’t want to marry me”.( Zemekis, 1994) Unrequited love is a very common theme that can be found in many parts of modern

Rivalry can be found in almost anything ranging from sports to entire nations. Rivalry is a very strong theme In Romeo and Juliet and is actually a catalyst for the events that lead to Romeo and Juliet’s death. One example of Rivalry from Romeo and Juliet, is when Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, a Capulet, states “I hate the word peace, like I hate all Montagues”.(Act 1, Scene 1) This rivalry also led to Tybalt and Mercutio’s death. Tybalt and Mercutio had an argument, Romeo tried to intervene, Mercutio was stabbed in the process, Romeo then killed Tybalt in order to get revenge for his friend’s death. A more modern instance of rivalry was the Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier feud. Frazier and Ali’s rivalry masked an ugly feud that was to leave Frazier nursing a grudge for decades.(The Indian Express, 2016) Another modern example of rivalry is shown in the movie Grumpy Old Men. The main characters, John Gustafson and Max Goldman, are enemies and can be frequently seen exchanging offensive comments, as well as pranking each other. It all started when, decades before, John stole Max's childhood sweetheart, May, and married her. Based on the evidence shown, Rivalry is still a pertinent theme in the society of the modern