Did all of the people back in this time talk with such an elegant manner? Also, to add to this question, did the teenagers talk like this also?
Why are the Montagues and Capulets such enemies? Also if they're such enemies why do they live in the same city/town? I would think they would have their own seperate kingdom with walls or something in that vacinity.
What age was Shakespeare married at? Was Shakespeare the young Romeo or the man we saw in the movie today that wishes to wed Juliet?
What is the history behind the Montagues and Capulets? Why do they fight constantly, and does the prince have power over both of them?
Why does Sampson want to be the "master" of the Montagues? Is it only so he can kill the men and rape the women? What is the point of that?
What does "the law of our sides" mean? Does it mean just the rules of their "clan"?
Why is the language so hard to understand? What was the purpose behind this? Or was everyone talking like that at the time?
Why does Romeo talk about love so intensely when he is so young? He is so sad because a woman does not love him back, yet he is only probably 13 or 14. He thinks his life is over, when clearly it is not. Why does he make his state of mind so dramatic?
I think people throw around the word love often and from what we have seen from Romeo so far I think he has mistaken love for an attraction before. Romeo's idea of love is like those we see in movies today like love at first sight and filled with magical moments. I think this is strange because of the way marriage works in his life. People often have arranged marriages that aren't about love at all. Romeo uses opposites a lot when he speaks. He examples of this are "brawling love" "loving hate" and "Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire and sick health."
Act one, scene one of Romeo and Juliet perfectly sets up some major points for the entire play. (And seeing the movie really helped visualizing the play, a lot.) Firstly, we are introduced to the rivalry/complete hatred between the Montagues and the Capulets. And how that feud is not only between the Capulet and Montague themselves, but is represented even by their servants. I am very curious to see if Shakespeare ever tells us how that hatred originated. It's strange to me how the two opposing families are very wary and aware of the law, yet still start brawls in public (whether intentionally or not.) This is a strong example of irony and a prime example of the intensity of the hatred shared between the two families. Also, in this first scene we are introduced to many important and influential characters. But arguably, the most important one Romeo. I agree with Rachel's observation about Romeo, but I also feel like this quality is not accidental and will play an important role in the book. Though it does worry me that Romeo so easily loves, and I hope that throughout the book it is proved to us that he loves Juliet so much that all this former ideas about love were shattered and he found the real thing in Juliet. And that we can easily tell that their love is the real deal. In response to Morgan's last question, I challenge everyone to think of all the 13-16 year old people they know and how dramatic and overreacting and hormonal they are and realize that Romeo is not alone on that one. Though, there will definitely be other reasons for his particular dramatics.
Why does everyone use the language that they do? Why did everyone used to talk with such elegant matter and how did we get from talking like this to talking with the casualness that we do now? It seems like we are so disrespectful compared to how people are in Romeo and Juliet.
1. How did Shakespeare come up with this story? Did he have a personal connection to a certain character in real life? 2. Why is this story one of the greatest plays of all time? What makes it stand out from the others? 3. Why do the servingmen of the Capulets provoke a fight with the Montagues? Why are they foes or enemies? What is the history behind their hate for each other?
I think Shakespeare is trying to portray true love throughout the play so far. Romeo and Juliet are the only ones who seem to understand real love. Love usually leads to marriage, but in this play, characters like Romeo and Juliet are pressured to marry at such a young age whether or not they actually love the person they are marrying. They are pressured to start a family. Most of the time, a woman marries a man the family approves of, such as a person that comes from a good family with money, such as Paris, who wants to marry Juliet. Even Juliet's mother, tells Juliet to "learn to love" Paris. Juliet says she will try. That's just the way things were. You learned to love a person, without really ever knowing what love is. You couldn't know what love is at such a young age, but yet you had to marry someone. Shakespeare makes it apparent that young people don't know what love is because Romeo falls so quickly for anyone he sees, and truly believes he is in love. He was never really in love, until he sees Juliet. But the tragic part about that is most people at this time with the exception of Romeo and Juliet never found true love because they were confined to the person their family choose for them.
Love. What is true love? Something that is very apparent in this play is that many of the characters do not even know what it is. I don't even think that Juliet's mom knows what true love is because she tells Juliet to learn to love, which is probably what she had to do. But learning to love is not really love at all. It seems that they have it all backwards because they are getting married and then "falling in love" when it should be the other way around. I think very few people back them and maybe even today get to experience TRUE love.
I think it is very ironic that the only person Romeo and Juliet will truly love is they natural enemy. I guess the saying that opposites attract is true after all.
Love is mentioned many times through the story but the first time we actually see it is in the balcony scene. I think that scene was so sweet. They were both extremely sincere and loving. They love each other so much that they will give up their family name to be with each other. And Romeo even said he rather die than to live without Juliet love. Now that is what I would consider true love, giving your all for the person you love and not caring what other people think about it.
What gave Romeo the confidence to go into Juliet's garden? Did he know she loved him if they have only had just a short encounter? Why does the nurse interrupt the balcony scene? Is there a significance behind this?
I've noticed that Romeo and Juliet already say they are in love even though they have barely talked to each other. Also Romeo states that he loves Juliet even more than Rosaline, but yet he thought he was madly in love with her. I just wonder if people can be in love so young. I mean I guess it can happen, but she's only fourteen. I don't believe that anybody I know has been in true, deep love at an age so young.
Also at the end of the section of reading that we were assigned, Juliet tells Romeo that she will send a messanger to figure out where and when they will be married when Romeo decides. I want to know if Juliet and Romeo think their parents will approve. I mean the guard will know that they plan to get married when he recieves the message from Romeo. Does Juliet think both parents of the children will approve, or will does she plan to run off into the sunset and marry Romeo without the families knowing. From what we have seen so far from the character Tybalt, I think he is going to have a big impact on the relationship between Romeo and Juliet. I sense some trouble in the future of the plot from this character. I think Tybalt is going to be the person who tells the parents about Romeo and Juliet. I have a feeling that this character is going to be the antagonist in the story, who will cause alot of mischief and conflicts in the story.
Throughout Act two scenes 1-4, we see the true love of Romeo and Juliet flourish. I agree with Kaylee that Shakespeare is using irony in this play. Romeo and Juliet are born into families who hate each other, suggesting that true love may really come from true hate. But, I wonder how they know their love is true. They are so young and have only known each other for a short period of time. Romeo was so heartbroken after Rosaline didn't love him back, which prompts the question, is Romeo falling too hard too fast? I agree with Meredith questioning Romeo and Juliets's claims of true love, but we have to remember times were different. At fourteen, a woman was expected to start a family and be married. Lifespans were shorter. I am excited to keep reading and discover how the families react to this unexpected marriage of the children of two enemies.
Why do Romeo and juliet rush into their relationship so quickly? You would think they would take time and let their love flourish, but it seems like Shakespeare is rushing these young lovers into a very serious relationship.
Also, why would Juliet tell the nurse about her deep love for Romeo if she knows that their families are enemies? And why would Romeo tell his family about it as well? If they know that their families are forbidden to love each other, why would they ever want anyone to know about their relationship?
How does Peter not know what is going on with Romeo and Juliet? Because he was with the nurse when she went to speak to Romeo and he got a the part of the conversation when the nurse got back to Juliet because Juliet was asking what Romeo said and then asked for Peter to stay behind. So how does he know put the two together.
What will the families think when they discover Romeo and Juliet are married? Like Madison said they are enemies and they parents are most likely not going to be to happy about the arangment.
Also what are Romeo and Juliet going to do once they get married are they going to immediately tell their parents or will they run off together? If they choose to run off will the the nurse and friar Lawrence tell the families?
Shakespeare uses a lot of foreshadowing in this play is it just to remind us that there is not a happily ever after? And would this play be as famous as it is if there was a happily ever after and they ended up together and their families worked everything out?
I was very surprised when Friar Lawrence agreed to marry Romeo and Juliet in secret. Why did he agree so easily? I thought he would be one of the characters that despised the opposing family, but instead he said maybe a marriage between the families is just what everyone needs, to bury the hate. Why is he so willing and supportive of Romeo? Why does he believe Romeo when he says he is truly in love with Juliet, when only hours earlier he swore he was in love with Rosaline? Why does Romeo fall in love so easily and quickly? What defines true love as true love? Everyone seems to have their own opinion to this question. Is there really an answer?
The story takes place in Verona, Italy. At this time most people were Catholic. From what I know about Christianity, you aren't supposed to have sex until you are married. Why is it that most everything they say has to do with having sex or a reference to it? Were they not christians like the most of medieval Italy? Friar Lawerence talks about Moderation vs. Excess when he says "These violent delights have violent ends And in their triumph die, like fire and powder, Which, as they kiss, consume. The sweetest honey Is loathsome in his own deliciousness And in the taste confounds the appetite. Therefore love moderately. Long love doth so. Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow." This is kind of foreshadowing to the rest of the play. Romeo and Juliet loved each other with excess and soon something bad will happen. Too fast is bad and so is too slow.
1. In scenes five and six of act two, I have to wonder if Friar Lawrence and Romeo have some kind of history. He hurries them into marriage with only a warning to love in moderation. He says that loving too much too soon or loving too slow will not make a marriage successful. Why did he trust Romeo and so quickly rush them into marriage? 2. Why does Juliet's nurse keep Juliet's love for Romeo a secret? I know Juliet and her nurse are close, but I thought Lady Capulet and her were also quite close. 3. Which family will be more upset over the secret marriage? Or will they both be equally angry? Will the lovers be punished by not being permitted to see eachother? Will their be consequences of their secret marriage?
Romeo knows what love is supposed to be, what is expected when you're in love and so on. But he only thinks he knows what love is, he's "in love" with Juliet and marrying her after one day so I doubt he really knows what being in love is. To answer Morgan's question there really isn't a definition to true love. So no, there really isn't an answer. Maybe only a handful of people know what true love is, maybe everyone does, maybe no one, or maybe people just think they do. Just as we don't yet know what love is I doubt we will know if everyone knows what love is or no one.
I think that Friar Lawrence picking the herbs and plants is foreshadowing as well as creating a distant view on things in life. When Friar Lawrence is picking the herbs and plants, he states that while this plant may make you feel all better inside if smelled, it will kill you if you eat it. I know what happens in the end of this book, I think many people do. (IF YOU DO NOT KNOW THE ENDING OF THIS BOOK DO NOT READ ON) I think the herbs and plants Friar Lawrence is picking will later be the plants used to create the poison Juliet drinks later on in the story. Now I don't know if the poison is made by the help of Friar Lawrence, but I have a feeling these ingredients may contribute to the posinous concoction later on. Also, when Friar Lawrence is talking about how the plant is good when smelt, but deadly if tasted can also be linked to a greater idea in life. In life, some things are good when in small amounts, or not taken advantage of. Sometimes something good can become bad if there is too much of. This can be gathered from this statement made by Friar Lawrence. Today in class we discussed as honesty being a virtue that can be good but also bad.
Like Rachel said, if they are Catholic, why do the boys make these sexual jokes and why do Romeo and Juliet show so much affection for each other? I know that Shakespeare is trying to describe how in love these young people are but if they are Catholic, and they should be abstinent until marriage, should this really be included? And what Meredith said about the end of the book, I think her prediction could be correct. I have seen this movie before so I know what happens but I never connected it to the flowers used in this scene. Good prediction Meredith:) Also, if Romeo is in love with Juliet, wouldn't he want the best for her? I think if he wanted the best, he would wait longer than a day before proposing marriage to young Juliet. But I can also see why he would want to rush with the marriage because of the family feuds.
Why do Romeo and Juliet's parents seem so absent? Romeo and Juliet often need the help of adults to intellectually plan their action. Today we look to our parents for guidence, at least I do, so this kind of seems odd to me. Do Romeo and Juliet meet again? I think they won't be alive next time they meet because of this passage "Methinks I see thee, now thou art, as low, as one dead in the bottom of a tomb" Is Mercutio's funny persona just an act or is that really him? He seems to become serious after he is stabbed. I think this is kind of like the story "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" because no one believes him because he has been joking around the whole time and no one has ever really seen a serious side of him.
Just as a dog could be 10 in dog years he is 70 in human years. But dogs mature faster than humans. When this play is based the life span is around 40 years while now it is closer to 80. So a 14 year old then would be a 28 year old now. But humans don't mature at a faster rate just because their life span is longer. In Romeo and Juliet we seem them talk of love, marriage and we see that Romeo's friends are allowed to drink just as 28 year olds now can do. But 28 year olds now have more experience and maturity than a 14 year old would. But they both have the same opportunities. So in Romeo and Juliet while Romeo has few years of experience he is making a decision that seems like it would require more. And as we see through the book, he is in over his head and the results are tragic.
1. Why does Capulet, Juliet's father, get so furious when Juliet seemingly politely refuses to marry Paris? Obviously marriage meant a lot more back then, though I am still confused.
2. Why does the Nurse suddenly change her mind about Romeo? What role does this play in the play?
Throughout Romeo and Juliet, the book, Shakespeare has used irony. For example when the servants fight more than the family members about the family feud, or when the Nurse describes Romeo(usually a man describes a woman) and so on. In scene 4 Paris states that "For Venus smiles not in a hous of tears." In modern English this means that Romantic love doesn't happen when people are in mourning. I find this statement very ironic. I find it funny that Paris thinks that romantic love is going to even happen by just marrying Juliet because of her father's wishes. Usually romantic love doesn't occur during mourning, but it sure won't occur through the way Paris is doing it. Paris (and many people back in these times) believes that him and Juliet will fall in love if they marry. I don't believe this is true. I find it ironic this is what he believes. For Juliet is mourning about the loss of her lover, friend, and husband. I don't think by marrying Paris that it will make the situation any better. Through this, we can see another example of irony in this play.
Even though we discussed a completely different meaning to the poem, “To An Athlete Dying Young” in class, when I first read this poem, it made me think back to my eighth-grade year at my old school, Westminster. In my English class last year, we read a story called, “Soldiers Home.” This story was about a soldier returning from World War I. This soldier had come home to what he thought would be a great-big welcoming, but there wasn’t. This soldier came back depressed, welcomed with no celebration, with no desire or determination to carry on with his life-definitely not like before he departed for War World I. When I read the first stanza of this poem, I think of the soldiers who returned towards the beginning of the war. When these soldiers returned, they were greeted with crowds and cheering. (This is also shown in “Soldiers Home.”) Then in the second stanza it is talking about how the person is being carried to their grave in a stiller town. When I see the word “stiller” I think of a quiet/ sort of deserted town with no one near. This makes me think to the atmosphere when Harold Krebs returns home. When he returned home, there was no one to greet him or to say, “good job!” By the end of the war, people do not welcome the soldiers or hold celebration. In the second line of the fifth stanza it says, “Of lads that wore their honours out.” Even though we discussed this poem had a different meaning, I also related this to “Soldiers Home.” In the poem where it says, “where glory does not stay,” it is like how at the beginning soldiers were emotionally stable, and people gave them glory once returned, then the people were unappreciative to the returning soldiers towards the end of the war. Even though we discussed a different meaning to this story in class, this is what I received from the poem before our discussion.
Did all of the people back in this time talk with such an elegant manner? Also, to add to this question, did the teenagers talk like this also?
ReplyDeleteWhy are the Montagues and Capulets such enemies? Also if they're such enemies why do they live in the same city/town? I would think they would have their own seperate kingdom with walls or something in that vacinity.
What age was Shakespeare married at? Was Shakespeare the young Romeo or the man we saw in the movie today that wishes to wed Juliet?
What is the history behind the Montagues and Capulets? Why do they fight constantly, and does the prince have power over both of them?
ReplyDeleteWhy does Sampson want to be the "master" of the Montagues? Is it only so he can kill the men and rape the women? What is the point of that?
What does "the law of our sides" mean? Does it mean just the rules of their "clan"?
Why is the language so hard to understand? What was the purpose behind this? Or was everyone talking like that at the time?
Why does Romeo talk about love so intensely when he is so young? He is so sad because a woman does not love him back, yet he is only probably 13 or 14. He thinks his life is over, when clearly it is not.
Why does he make his state of mind so dramatic?
I think people throw around the word love often and from what we have seen from Romeo so far I think he has mistaken love for an attraction before. Romeo's idea of love is like those we see in movies today like love at first sight and filled with magical moments. I think this is strange because of the way marriage works in his life. People often have arranged marriages that aren't about love at all. Romeo uses opposites a lot when he speaks. He examples of this are "brawling love" "loving hate" and "Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire and sick health."
ReplyDeleteAct one, scene one of Romeo and Juliet perfectly sets up some major points for the entire play. (And seeing the movie really helped visualizing the play, a lot.) Firstly, we are introduced to the rivalry/complete hatred between the Montagues and the Capulets. And how that feud is not only between the Capulet and Montague themselves, but is represented even by their servants. I am very curious to see if Shakespeare ever tells us how that hatred originated. It's strange to me how the two opposing families are very wary and aware of the law, yet still start brawls in public (whether intentionally or not.) This is a strong example of irony and a prime example of the intensity of the hatred shared between the two families. Also, in this first scene we are introduced to many important and influential characters. But arguably, the most important one Romeo. I agree with Rachel's observation about Romeo, but I also feel like this quality is not accidental and will play an important role in the book. Though it does worry me that Romeo so easily loves, and I hope that throughout the book it is proved to us that he loves Juliet so much that all this former ideas about love were shattered and he found the real thing in Juliet. And that we can easily tell that their love is the real deal. In response to Morgan's last question, I challenge everyone to think of all the 13-16 year old people they know and how dramatic and overreacting and hormonal they are and realize that Romeo is not alone on that one. Though, there will definitely be other reasons for his particular dramatics.
ReplyDeleteWhy does everyone use the language that they do? Why did everyone used to talk with such elegant matter and how did we get from talking like this to talking with the casualness that we do now? It seems like we are so disrespectful compared to how people are in Romeo and Juliet.
ReplyDeleteRomeo and Juliet Questions-
ReplyDelete1. How did Shakespeare come up with this story? Did he have a personal connection to a certain character in real life?
2. Why is this story one of the greatest plays of all time? What makes it stand out from the others?
3. Why do the servingmen of the Capulets provoke a fight with the Montagues? Why are they foes or enemies? What is the history behind their hate for each other?
-madison garrett
I think Shakespeare is trying to portray true love throughout the play so far. Romeo and Juliet are the only ones who seem to understand real love. Love usually leads to marriage, but in this play, characters like Romeo and Juliet are pressured to marry at such a young age whether or not they actually love the person they are marrying. They are pressured to start a family. Most of the time, a woman marries a man the family approves of, such as a person that comes from a good family with money, such as Paris, who wants to marry Juliet. Even Juliet's mother, tells Juliet to "learn to love" Paris. Juliet says she will try. That's just the way things were. You learned to love a person, without really ever knowing what love is. You couldn't know what love is at such a young age, but yet you had to marry someone. Shakespeare makes it apparent that young people don't know what love is because Romeo falls so quickly for anyone he sees, and truly believes he is in love. He was never really in love, until he sees Juliet. But the tragic part about that is most people at this time with the exception of Romeo and Juliet never found true love because they were confined to the person their family choose for them.
ReplyDeleteLove. What is true love? Something that is very apparent in this play is that many of the characters do not even know what it is. I don't even think that Juliet's mom knows what true love is because she tells Juliet to learn to love, which is probably what she had to do. But learning to love is not really love at all. It seems that they have it all backwards because they are getting married and then "falling in love" when it should be the other way around. I think very few people back them and maybe even today get to experience TRUE love.
ReplyDeleteI think it is very ironic that the only person Romeo and Juliet will truly love is they natural enemy. I guess the saying that opposites attract is true after all.
Love is mentioned many times through the story but the first time we actually see it is in the balcony scene. I think that scene was so sweet. They were both extremely sincere and loving. They love each other so much that they will give up their family name to be with each other. And Romeo even said he rather die than to live without Juliet love. Now that is what I would consider true love, giving your all for the person you love and not caring what other people think about it.
What gave Romeo the confidence to go into Juliet's garden? Did he know she loved him if they have only had just a short encounter? Why does the nurse interrupt the balcony scene? Is there a significance behind this?
ReplyDeleteI've noticed that Romeo and Juliet already say they are in love even though they have barely talked to each other. Also Romeo states that he loves Juliet even more than Rosaline, but yet he thought he was madly in love with her. I just wonder if people can be in love so young. I mean I guess it can happen, but she's only fourteen. I don't believe that anybody I know has been in true, deep love at an age so young.
ReplyDeleteAlso at the end of the section of reading that we were assigned, Juliet tells Romeo that she will send a messanger to figure out where and when they will be married when Romeo decides. I want to know if Juliet and Romeo think their parents will approve. I mean the guard will know that they plan to get married when he recieves the message from Romeo. Does Juliet think both parents of the children will approve, or will does she plan to run off into the sunset and marry Romeo without the families knowing. From what we have seen so far from the character Tybalt, I think he is going to have a big impact on the relationship between Romeo and Juliet. I sense some trouble in the future of the plot from this character. I think Tybalt is going to be the person who tells the parents about Romeo and Juliet. I have a feeling that this character is going to be the antagonist in the story, who will cause alot of mischief and conflicts in the story.
Throughout Act two scenes 1-4, we see the true love of Romeo and Juliet flourish. I agree with Kaylee that Shakespeare is using irony in this play. Romeo and Juliet are born into families who hate each other, suggesting that true love may really come from true hate. But, I wonder how they know their love is true. They are so young and have only known each other for a short period of time. Romeo was so heartbroken after Rosaline didn't love him back, which prompts the question, is Romeo falling too hard too fast? I agree with Meredith questioning Romeo and Juliets's claims of true love, but we have to remember times were different. At fourteen, a woman was expected to start a family and be married. Lifespans were shorter. I am excited to keep reading and discover how the families react to this unexpected marriage of the children of two enemies.
ReplyDeleteWhy do Romeo and juliet rush into their relationship so quickly? You would think they would take time and let their love flourish, but it seems like Shakespeare is rushing these young lovers into a very serious relationship.
ReplyDeleteAlso, why would Juliet tell the nurse about her deep love for Romeo if she knows that their families are enemies? And why would Romeo tell his family about it as well? If they know that their families are forbidden to love each other, why would they ever want anyone to know about their relationship?
How does Peter not know what is going on with Romeo and Juliet? Because he was with the nurse when she went to speak to Romeo and he got a the part of the conversation when the nurse got back to Juliet because Juliet was asking what Romeo said and then asked for Peter to stay behind. So how does he know put the two together.
ReplyDeleteWhat will the families think when they discover Romeo and Juliet are married? Like Madison said they are enemies and they parents are most likely not going to be to happy about the arangment.
ReplyDeleteAlso what are Romeo and Juliet going to do once they get married are they going to immediately tell their parents or will they run off together? If they choose to run off will the the nurse and friar Lawrence tell the families?
Shakespeare uses a lot of foreshadowing in this play is it just to remind us that there is not a happily ever after? And would this play be as famous as it is if there was a happily ever after and they ended up together and their families worked everything out?
I was very surprised when Friar Lawrence agreed to marry Romeo and Juliet in secret. Why did he agree so easily? I thought he would be one of the characters that despised the opposing family, but instead he said maybe a marriage between the families is just what everyone needs, to bury the hate. Why is he so willing and supportive of Romeo? Why does he believe Romeo when he says he is truly in love with Juliet, when only hours earlier he swore he was in love with Rosaline? Why does Romeo fall in love so easily and quickly? What defines true love as true love? Everyone seems to have their own opinion to this question. Is there really an answer?
ReplyDeleteThe story takes place in Verona, Italy. At this time most people were Catholic. From what I know about Christianity, you aren't supposed to have sex until you are married. Why is it that most everything they say has to do with having sex or a reference to it? Were they not christians like the most of medieval Italy? Friar Lawerence talks about Moderation vs. Excess when he says "These violent delights have violent ends
ReplyDeleteAnd in their triumph die, like fire and powder,
Which, as they kiss, consume. The sweetest honey
Is loathsome in his own deliciousness
And in the taste confounds the appetite.
Therefore love moderately. Long love doth so.
Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow." This is kind of foreshadowing to the rest of the play. Romeo and Juliet loved each other with excess and soon something bad will happen. Too fast is bad and so is too slow.
1. In scenes five and six of act two, I have to wonder if Friar Lawrence and Romeo have some kind of history. He hurries them into marriage with only a warning to love in moderation. He says that loving too much too soon or loving too slow will not make a marriage successful. Why did he trust Romeo and so quickly rush them into marriage?
ReplyDelete2. Why does Juliet's nurse keep Juliet's love for Romeo a secret? I know Juliet and her nurse are close, but I thought Lady Capulet and her were also quite close.
3. Which family will be more upset over the secret marriage? Or will they both be equally angry? Will the lovers be punished by not being permitted to see eachother? Will their be consequences of their secret marriage?
Romeo knows what love is supposed to be, what is expected when you're in love and so on. But he only thinks he knows what love is, he's "in love" with Juliet and marrying her after one day so I doubt he really knows what being in love is. To answer Morgan's question there really isn't a definition to true love. So no, there really isn't an answer. Maybe only a handful of people know what true love is, maybe everyone does, maybe no one, or maybe people just think they do. Just as we don't yet know what love is I doubt we will know if everyone knows what love is or no one.
ReplyDeleteI think that Friar Lawrence picking the herbs and plants is foreshadowing as well as creating a distant view on things in life. When Friar Lawrence is picking the herbs and plants, he states that while this plant may make you feel all better inside if smelled, it will kill you if you eat it. I know what happens in the end of this book, I think many people do. (IF YOU DO NOT KNOW THE ENDING OF THIS BOOK DO NOT READ ON) I think the herbs and plants Friar Lawrence is picking will later be the plants used to create the poison Juliet drinks later on in the story. Now I don't know if the poison is made by the help of Friar Lawrence, but I have a feeling these ingredients may contribute to the posinous concoction later on. Also, when Friar Lawrence is talking about how the plant is good when smelt, but deadly if tasted can also be linked to a greater idea in life. In life, some things are good when in small amounts, or not taken advantage of. Sometimes something good can become bad if there is too much of. This can be gathered from this statement made by Friar Lawrence. Today in class we discussed as honesty being a virtue that can be good but also bad.
ReplyDeleteLike Rachel said, if they are Catholic, why do the boys make these sexual jokes and why do Romeo and Juliet show so much affection for each other? I know that Shakespeare is trying to describe how in love these young people are but if they are Catholic, and they should be abstinent until marriage, should this really be included? And what Meredith said about the end of the book, I think her prediction could be correct. I have seen this movie before so I know what happens but I never connected it to the flowers used in this scene. Good prediction Meredith:) Also, if Romeo is in love with Juliet, wouldn't he want the best for her? I think if he wanted the best, he would wait longer than a day before proposing marriage to young Juliet. But I can also see why he would want to rush with the marriage because of the family feuds.
ReplyDeleteWhy do Romeo and Juliet's parents seem so absent? Romeo and Juliet often need the help of adults to intellectually plan their action. Today we look to our parents for guidence, at least I do, so this kind of seems odd to me. Do Romeo and Juliet meet again? I think they won't be alive next time they meet because of this passage "Methinks I see thee, now thou art, as low, as one dead in the bottom of a tomb" Is Mercutio's funny persona just an act or is that really him? He seems to become serious after he is stabbed. I think this is kind of like the story "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" because no one believes him because he has been joking around the whole time and no one has ever really seen a serious side of him.
ReplyDeleteJust as a dog could be 10 in dog years he is 70 in human years. But dogs mature faster than humans. When this play is based the life span is around 40 years while now it is closer to 80. So a 14 year old then would be a 28 year old now. But humans don't mature at a faster rate just because their life span is longer. In Romeo and Juliet we seem them talk of love, marriage and we see that Romeo's friends are allowed to drink just as 28 year olds now can do. But 28 year olds now have more experience and maturity than a 14 year old would. But they both have the same opportunities. So in Romeo and Juliet while Romeo has few years of experience he is making a decision that seems like it would require more. And as we see through the book, he is in over his head and the results are tragic.
ReplyDelete1. Why does Capulet, Juliet's father, get so furious when Juliet seemingly politely refuses to marry Paris? Obviously marriage meant a lot more back then, though I am still confused.
ReplyDelete2. Why does the Nurse suddenly change her mind about Romeo? What role does this play in the play?
Throughout Romeo and Juliet, the book, Shakespeare has used irony. For example when the servants fight more than the family members about the family feud, or when the Nurse describes Romeo(usually a man describes a woman) and so on. In scene 4 Paris states that "For Venus smiles not in a hous of tears." In modern English this means that Romantic love doesn't happen when people are in mourning. I find this statement very ironic. I find it funny that Paris thinks that romantic love is going to even happen by just marrying Juliet because of her father's wishes. Usually romantic love doesn't occur during mourning, but it sure won't occur through the way Paris is doing it. Paris (and many people back in these times) believes that him and Juliet will fall in love if they marry. I don't believe this is true. I find it ironic this is what he believes. For Juliet is mourning about the loss of her lover, friend, and husband. I don't think by marrying Paris that it will make the situation any better. Through this, we can see another example of irony in this play.
ReplyDeleteEven though we discussed a completely different meaning to the poem, “To An Athlete Dying Young” in class, when I first read this poem, it made me think back to my eighth-grade year at my old school, Westminster. In my English class last year, we read a story called, “Soldiers Home.” This story was about a soldier returning from World War I. This soldier had come home to what he thought would be a great-big welcoming, but there wasn’t. This soldier came back depressed, welcomed with no celebration, with no desire or determination to carry on with his life-definitely not like before he departed for War World I. When I read the first stanza of this poem, I think of the soldiers who returned towards the beginning of the war. When these soldiers returned, they were greeted with crowds and cheering. (This is also shown in “Soldiers Home.”) Then in the second stanza it is talking about how the person is being carried to their grave in a stiller town. When I see the word “stiller” I think of a quiet/ sort of deserted town with no one near. This makes me think to the atmosphere when Harold Krebs returns home. When he returned home, there was no one to greet him or to say, “good job!” By the end of the war, people do not welcome the soldiers or hold celebration. In the second line of the fifth stanza it says, “Of lads that wore their honours out.” Even though we discussed this poem had a different meaning, I also related this to “Soldiers Home.” In the poem where it says, “where glory does not stay,” it is like how at the beginning soldiers were emotionally stable, and people gave them glory once returned, then the people were unappreciative to the returning soldiers towards the end of the war. Even though we discussed a different meaning to this story in class, this is what I received from the poem before our discussion.
ReplyDelete