The Motif Of Haste In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

Intro: When one thinks of Romeo and Juliet, the tragic story of two star-crossed lovers immediately comes to mind. However, in reality the two teenage characters have made many hasty decisions that result in their tragic death after knowing each other for all but five days.
Thesis: Throughout his play, Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare develops a motif of haste to portray the theme that rushed decisions could lead to terrible consequences.

Body Paragraph 1: To begin, at the start of the play, when Shakespeare writes about Romeo and Juliet seeing each other for the first time, he incorporates a motif of haste throughout his writing. The text states,“JULIET: Go ask his name, and if he is married,/ My wedding bed will likely be my grave.”

However, Shakespeare clearly signifies the moment when his character, Juliet, realizes that she has been acting rashly and her plans with Romeo are “too sudden”. However, despite their awareness of the fact that that their actions are too hurried and impulsive, they get married nonetheless. Shakespeare portrays that their “love” for each other has caused them to carelessly make the decision to get married, and that these actions may result in severe consequences, even if they are unable to see it at the moment. “ROMEO: With Rosaline, my holy father? /I have forgotten her name and all that bother.” (Act Two, Scene 3, Line 47-48) As Romeo converses with Friar Lawrence about Juliet, he completely forgets about his previous “love”, Rosaline. Since Shakespeare uses the words, “all that bother” to refer to Rosaline through Romeo’s point of view, it implies that he could not care less about Rosaline, now that he has found Juliet. Although just a few hours ago he was completely smitten with Rosaline, now, the thought of her doesn’t even cross his mind. His ability to transition between having feelings for Rosaline to being in love with Juliet so quickly, displays how hasty he is being. (Insert Concluding

“ROMEO: Here’s to my love! [Drinks the poison] Oh, honest pharmacist,/ Your drug is quick. I die with a kiss.”(Act Five, Scene 3, Line 119-120) This example of haste in the text proves the central theme Shakespeare is trying to convey to his readers. By showing how such a hasty action can result in such a disastrous fate, he portrays that one should not act before considering the possible consequences. All of the hasty decisions the author made his characters do result in Romeo killing himself after seeing Juliet, seemingly dead. However, if he had just thought his actions through, Juliet would have awakened, and the characters would not have faced such a tragic ending. Through this part in the story, Shakespeare aims to prove that rushed decisions could lead to harsh consequences, which is the overall theme of the story. “JULIET: Noise? Then I’ll hurry. Oh handy dagger, / [She takes Romeo’s dagger, stabs herself, and falls]”(Act Five, Scene 3, Line