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William Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet Essay

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William Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet Shakespeare's most famous tragedy is probably the tale of "Romeo and Juliet". The immortal tale of two 'star-cross'd lovers' destined to an early demise, originated in Italian folklore. Shakespeare's prologue is possibly the most insightful piece of the play regarding their death and the explanation of it. The "ancient grudge" immediately sets the ominous tone of the play. This allows the audience to understand that their "death" is the only way their "parents strife" could end: "But their children end nought could remove". The recurring theme of fate and destiny, which frequents many Shakespeare's plays, is seen also in the prologue. Shakespeare …show more content…

The separation of Romeo and Juliet, leads to the plot twist where Juliet drinks the 'distilling liquor' to appear in death. While Romeo was intended to wake her, a twist of fate means he doesn't get the letter and does not know that the death is faked. The plan to run away from the feud between their parents wasn't free from danger, on the contrary it was the only way they could be together and escape the 'grudge'. The 'ancient grudge' is very important to the play because they died in order to 'bury' the 'grudge'. Shakespeare puts an emphasis on the fact that the feud is about their name; Romeo feels his name is 'hateful' for he knows because of it; he and Juliet couldn't be together. Similarly, Juliet knows if she was to be 'sworn her love she would 'no longer be a Capulet'. The younger generation are dragged into the feud because of the family they're born into. Juliet questions 'what's in a name?' which shows she doesn't understand that their name means they automatically have a 'grudge' against each other. Another input towards the death of 'Romeo and Juliet' would be their parents. Shakespeare suggests that Romeo and Juliet barely know their parents and find it difficult to confide in them or they would have spoken about their love rather then trying to run away.

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