One of my pet peeves is when people say that Shakespeare’s works are useless, outdated and shouldn’t be taught in school. In my opinion, Shakespeare’s works, particularly 'Romeo and Juliet', provide extensive insight into human behaviour. In 'Romeo and Juliet' the characters of Juliet, an intelligent girl who stumbles down a troublesome path, and Capulet, her father, react to a desperate situation in very different ways. The irrational behaviour of both Juliet and Capulet impact heavily on Romeo, Juliet’s husband, and Paris, her father’s selection for a spouse. The story provides a good lesson about the consequences of desperate behaviour, which can help us make the right choices in our own lives. Capulet is an interesting character – he cares deeply about his daughter, and everything he does is in her best interests, but we all know this doesn’t turn out exactly as he hopes. Early in the play, Paris requests to marry Juliet, to which Capulet replies that he doesn't want Juliet to marry yet, his words demonstrating the extent he cherishes Juliet: She’s the hopeful lady of my earth. But woo her, gentle Paris, get her heart. My will to her consent is but a part. An she agreed within her scope of choice, Lies my consent and fair according voice. (Act 1, scene 2) Capulet later decides, as a solution to Juliet’s grief, which he thinks is caused by Tybalt’s death, that Juliet should marry Paris, but this further upsets Juliet. Imagine yourself in Capulet’s situation: you are devastated that your daughter is grieving, you will do anything to cheer her up, but you let your devastation get out of control. This occurs when Capulet threatens Juliet: An you be mine, I’ll give you to my friend. An you be not, hang, beg, starve, die in the streets. (Act 3, scene 5) We were all kids once, and chances are, you’re a parent, so I’m sure you understand Capulet's behaviour. Parents cherish their children, just like Capulet does, and that is why they want to advise them. The exception here is how Capulet threatens Juliet, something which is accepted and normal in his society, but wouldn’t be appropriate in ours. I noticed that Capulet’s words have a definite impact on other characters, such as when he threatens Juliet, fuelling her desperation. This drives Juliet to seek help from Friar Lawrence, a person she trusts to be on her side, and she cries: Give me some present counsel, or, behold, Twixt my extremes and me this bloody knife Shall play the umpire, arbitrating that (Act 4, scene 1) Friar Lawrence, “the helpful adult figure”, offers a solution to deceive her father and allow her to run away with Romeo. Thanks Friar! Juliet returns to her father, lying through her teeth: “Henceforth I am ever ruled by you” (Act 4, scene 2). Juliet thinks she’s won, she’s over the moon. She’s going to run away into the sunset with Romeo, right? Wrong – this failed path impacts the person whom she loves most, Romeo... and consequently, Paris. What a mess! Romeo is desperate to say a final goodbye to his true love, unfortunately arriving in front of the tomb at the same time as Paris. Romeo gives his last warning words to Paris before taking away Paris’ life: “Good gentle youth, tempt not a desperate man.” (Act 5, scene 3). I perceive this hesitation as Romeo allowing Paris a final chance, an indicator that Romeo still has human morals, but they are clouded by his desperation. Goodbye Romeo and Paris. I believe that when desperation is involved, people respond with either fight or flight. If you’re struggling to connect this to today, ask yourself this: how have you seen people around you, including yourself, react to desperation? We’ve all heard the stories in the news of when teenagers run away from home, a typical representation of the ‘flight’ response – classic Juliet. An example of the ‘fight’ response is the well-known case of when a victim of bullying snaps and attacks the bully – typical Romeo. Capulet’s behaviour resembles a struggle of its own, pursing at any cost a stable, joyful future for his daughter, which doesn't exactly result in rational thinking either. In the end, the character’s response to despair translated differently given their perspective of the situation, but commonly, the solution and reaction proffered by the characters were all irrational. So what does Shakespeare teach us? What is clear from 'Romeo and Juliet' is that desperation gives us irrational thought processes which usually have a potential for severe consequences. I’m sure you have heard someone say: "desperate times call for desperate measures", a phrase which explains the sometimes detrimental result of decision making while in an irrational state. Shakespeare further portrays to us that parents will go to extreme measures to give their children a bright future. My advice to you is to get support from someone you trust If you are feeling desperate, as long as they aren’t too much like Friar Lawrence.
If I could write a letter to Shakespeare, I would thank him for his timeless insight into the human psyche. I hope you enjoyed this post! Where do you see Shakespeare’s knowledge of human behaviour in Romeo and Juliet? Make sure you let me know in the comments below.
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AuthorHi! I'm Chelsea, an Australian student and literature enthusiast.
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