Theme Of Romeo And Juliet Act 2

Bethany Younis
Mrs. Harwood
ENG2D
March 8, 2023

Theme Analysis of Act Two of Romeo and Juliet

A theme is a vital component that exists in every well-written story. Themes are messages or broad ideas that go over important topics such as life, society, human nature, or any other timeless and universal ideas. However, themes are not always so easy to find. Themes are not directly stated, but rather implied. One would need to “read between the lines” in order to find the underlying message or “life lesson”. The well known playwright, William Shakespeare, included many different themes in his play, Romeo and Juliet. Some of the main themes in the second act of Romeo and Juliet that will be explored are: love, violence, impulsivity, and youth

Both Romeo and Juliet’s tragic flaw is impulsivity. Their rashness in making decisions, that most often comes from their emotions instead of rationality, is what causes them to both experience truly tragic deaths. One of the first examples of impulsivity from one of two characters can be seen in this act from Romeo. Just as Romeo previously promised Juliet, he planned a wedding, and is currently waiting for Juliet to arrive. Despite just meeting her, he is ecstatic about getting married, and expresses that to Friar Lawrence by stating, “Do thou but close our hands with holy words,/ Then love-devouring death do what he dare;/ It is enough I may call her mine.” (2.6.6-8). In this quote, Romeo reminds Friar Lawrence, who is currently feeling anxious about performing this marriage, that all he has to do is join the two lovers together with holy words, and that any consequence to come would be from “love-devouring” death. Romeo says this in the hopes to make the Friar feel better, and more confident in going through with this marriage. This quote features the theme of impulsivity as it presents Romeo’s desire to be married to Juliet regardless of knowing her for such a short period of time. The theme of impulsivity is such an important component of this act as this specific impulsive action is what starts the chain of many more impulsive decisions which ultimately leads to his downfall. If this act did not contain the theme of impulsivity, then the story of Romeo and Juliet would have a completely different ending. William Shakespeare chose to include this theme in this act with the intention of progressively revealing impulsivity as the tragic flaws of Romeo and Juliet. As Shakespeare wants the audience to be well aware as to why Romeo and Juliet died, he displays their tragic flaw that causes their deaths from the beginning of the play, so that the audience gets to see how their flaw transforms them.