Thoughts on life, love and faith by Plasticmind.

15 June 20051. Kirsten:

That is a bit of a coincidence!

I have read that book many times, and everytime I come out having felt the same way because of the chances taken.

Romeo and Juliet, however, is not one of my most favorite Shakespeare plays. It is very good, but not my fav...

15 June 20053. dramaturge:

I, actually, though I have the utmost respect for Shakespeare as a playwright, etc. and think that he was a brilliant man, despise R&J. It is impeccably written, the story flows so well, and I have to agree that chance is the major subject--not "love," or what passes for it. What I hate about the play is actually the characters of Romeo and Juliet. They are so stubborn and shallow. Romeo doesn't love Juliet any more than he loved Rosalin in Act I. It is a forbidden infatuation that, coupled with the rebelliousness of them both, leads down the path to doom. I just want to slap them both whenever I read the play. Ugh. And what really irritates me is how everyone lauds the "love" of R&J as if it's supposed to be something noble and exemplar. But it's not. I may pick it up again just to study the thread of chance, though. That could be actually interesting. Alright. Im done ranting now.

17 June 20055. dramaturge:

yes, i do. which is why i try so hard with my high school kids to show them there is something deeper and higher than the average dating "love" so prevalent today. My hope is that teenager by teenager the landscape can be altered--at least slightly. Sigh.

9 June 20066. Alvin:

I think that this brings up a good point. Love is not the main point in this story. Also, the play can sometimes be a bit unrealistic. When Juliet wakes up from her fake death and sees Romeo, she doesnt say anything, just touches his face. And Romeo, amazingly doesnt notice and drinks the poison. =.="
I think that that is a bit stupid. *Sigh*

30 August 20067. belinda:

yeah i thought the newest version was ridiculous. did not do justice to the play. well i absolutely cracked up laughing at the parts that were supposed to be sad. crummy acting and frustrating to see juliet simply staring at romeo smiling while he's drinking poison.

12 May 20078. Gary Lockhart:

I'm starting to read Romeo and Juliet in my class right now. I have no idea what the story means yet. Romeo and Juliet was hard for me to understand, but I caught on what the weird words meant. The theme to me was just that love is sometimes your enemy. No matter how life is, love can be found anywhere with anyone. The quote, "Where art thou Romeo" show how much Juliet really loves Romeo. They just can't lay off each other! Romeo was wise not to fight Tybalt when Tybalt saw him because he knew that Juliet lives Tybalt so much since he is a fellow cousin. Even though Tybalt accidentally wounded Mercutio, Romeo wanted revenge from his best friend dieing. I think the Nurse was wrong about telling Juliet to marry Paris instead of Romeo because of his banishment. She should of tried to motivate Juliet by telling her to find Romeo and stay with him. If Tybalt never started this mess, Romeo would probably be with Juliet, and Mercutio would be alive.

15 May 20079. Lisa:

I understand how people don't understand the weird words in this story, but after a while you start to get what they all mean. To me, the theme would be that one day you will find the person for you and your whole life will be surrounded by that one person. Just like Romeo and Juliet, they met at a party and from that day on, they could not stop thinking about each other. They did get married within a day after meeting. That just shows that they are so commited to each other. Love could also bring problems as well. For example, Mercutio did die just because Romeo did not want to fight Tybalt, and as a result to that, Tybalt died. When Romeo was to be banished, i did not think it was fair at all. He would not have killed Tybalt, if Tybalt did not have killed Mercutio. Tybalt would have been exiled anyway, so Romeo took it in his own hands and did it himself. There is a lot of revenge and unfairness in this story. My favorite quote would have to be " See what a scourge is laid upon your hate, that heaven finds means to kill your joys with love." The Prince said that after he found out about the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. It shows that if it was not for the fued between the families, no one would be dead.

17 May 200710. jenny:

i just got done ready the story romeo and juliet in class and i thought that some parts were amazing and some were alright. the story was pretty good though even though i didnt really understand anything they were saying so i just waited for my teacher to tell us what it meant at the end of each sence :]. i am curious why the capulets and the montauges were fighting. i thought it was really childish though that in the middle of a nornal day they would just say something to one another and then a fight would break out. when shakespear wrote this story... back then they must have had very weird things becouse things that they wouldve thought was funny i dont even understand. it was really cute though that when romeo kept saying those pretty sweet things to juliet when they first meet on sunday at the capulets party and then he snuck into the capulets court yard when tehy left the party and he heard juliet saying all those things about how she loved him and he heard her and started saying sweet things back. :] it is kinda strange though that that night they decided to get married and they didnt even know each other for 24 hours. i mean i belive in love at first sight but not at the first 7 hours. another thing i thought was kinda werid in the story was how just becouse romeo had gotten banished becouse tybalt stabbed his friend mercutio and then romeo went after tybalt, was that juliet was so upset and everything but then when her parents wanted her to be happy and marry paris she was so mad and so when she went to the friar she was talkinga bout killing herself which i thought was a little dramatic. but then at the end of the story romeo ended up killing himself becouse he thought that juliet was really dead when she wasnt she just took a poison to make her look dead but she would wake up in 42 hours... and he killed himself by drinking a poison that really did kill you and then a few minutes later she woke up found him there dead and then she killed herself with the dagger or sword that he had and stabbed herself.

17 May 200711. Mike:

Chance really is a big factor in the play "Romeo And Juliet." Chance is the reason why this play leaves you thinking at the end of it, such as, what would've happened if Tybalt and Mercutio didn't get killed in the play and Romeo was never banished. Would Romeo and Juliet have been together forever and lived happily ever after? Or how would Juliet eventually break it to her family that she secretly married a Montague? What would then happen between the two lovers? Would the fighting between the Capulet's and Montague's screech to a sudden halt or would the fighting get worse? And what would've happened if the Friar's letter was successfully delivered to Romeo, what then would happen to the two lovers if the plan had worked and they left the city forever? There are very many options to think about if some of the events in the play just didn't happen. These are all many things the play leaves you to think about because of chance. Therefore the main reason that "Romeo And Juliet" was such a successful tragedy is because of the love and fighting and tragic outcome but the choices it leaves your mind to ponder that could've happened and could've prevented exactly what had happened.

20 May 200712. lady pimpet:

I just finished reading Romeo and Juliet in my english class . It was a good story but the fact is the story was mostly about fighting against the capulets in most of the story i realized that the capulets were the big picture of the story . In act 1 the montagues were in the street waiting for the capulets but what started the fight capulets when samson bite his tongue. throughout the story i just wondered what other thing could have happend assist the feud other than romeo crashing the party . when juliet said "o be some other name" i agree i just hoped to just find more facts about the montegue as much facts that you read about the capulets. throughout the story i still wonder why were the two families fighting in the first place was it because somebody was killed by that person in the past or was it some other reason , anyway if it was another reason was it that bad to have their family members to die over. one last thing i would like to mention was the way the message that was suppose to go to romeo to save juliet out of the vault was deliver through friar john instead of friar lawerance. that was a poor decison on friar lawerence parts.his role in this play was very contraversal to me in one way he was the true murder of the story he should of figure out a safer a way for juliet to see romeo because he knew how old she was she was too young to run away from her parents for a person that she loved and knew only for 2-3 days.romeo said " did my heart love till now" yes it did it was in scene one when you said you loved Rosalina this is coming from a person that does not believe love at first sight. this controversal role was not needed on my acount. i figured that were two themes in this story it was the love between romeo and juliet and the family feud between the montagues and the capulet i really don't see the message of the story but it would start like don't hate nobody until you know them and don't take revenge it comes back on you.

20 May 200713. Michelle.:

I just finished reading romeo and juliet in my english class. It was a very interesting story, but most of it was about the Monatgues and the Capulets fighting. The story never really explained why they were fighting, or why the families started the fued. When Romeo and his friends crashed the Capulets party, Romeo was just there to see Rosaline, and he didnt plan on doing anything horrible. Thats where Romeo and Juliet met. Then they fell in love and were inseperable. Tybalt saw Romeo at the party and wasn't happy at all. He challenged Romeo, but what he didnt know was that Romeo and Juliet were together almost all night and the day he came to fight romeo, romeo and juliet were married. Romeo had no problem with the Capulets because of his marriage to Juliet. He knew that he could hurt tyblat, but he didnt want to hurt him. Tybalt then killed Mercutio, which got Romeo mad. Therefore Romeo did kill Tybalt, and was banished. Juliet was upset, and still no one knew that she and Romeo were married. She wasn't crying about tybalts death but she was crying about romeo's banishment. She was forced to marry paris, though she didnt want to. She asked the Firar for advice, and there he gave her a drug that would make her appear dead. Romeo saw her "dead" and killed himself, after killing Paris. She woke up from her 48 hour death and saw romeo dead, and then commited suicide.The story is mainly about chance, not love. Everything happened by chance not because Romeo andJuliet loved each other.

20 May 200714. Michelle.:

I just finished reading romeo and juliet in my english class. It was a very interesting story, but most of it was about the Monatgues and the Capulets fighting. The story never really explained why they were fighting, or why the families started the fued. When Romeo and his friends crashed the Capulets party, Romeo was just there to see Rosaline, and he didnt plan on doing anything horrible. Thats where Romeo and Juliet met. Then they fell in love and were inseperable. Tybalt saw Romeo at the party and wasn't happy at all. He challenged Romeo, but what he didnt know was that Romeo and Juliet were together almost all night and the day he came to fight romeo, romeo and juliet were married. Romeo had no problem with the Capulets because of his marriage to Juliet. He knew that he could hurt tyblat, but he didnt want to hurt him. Tybalt then killed Mercutio, which got Romeo mad. Therefore Romeo did kill Tybalt, and was banished. Juliet was upset, and still no one knew that she and Romeo were married. She wasn't crying about tybalts death but she was crying about romeo's banishment. She was forced to marry paris, though she didnt want to. She asked the Firar for advice, and there he gave her a drug that would make her appear dead. Romeo saw her "dead" and killed himself, after killing Paris. She woke up from her 48 hour death and saw romeo dead, and then commited suicide.The story is mainly about chance, not love. Everything happened by chance not because Romeo andJuliet loved each other.

20 May 200715. carina:

In my class we've been reading the book and watching the movie. I think it's really good and it is quite of a coincidence for all those events happening like Romeo not getting the letter from Friar Lawrence, Mercutio dieing, and like how Romeo and Juliet meet. But that is what creates the suspense and that's why it's such a great play. My favorite scene of this play is when Juliet is on the balcony and she says:
'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name which is no part of thee
Take all myself.
Me and my class had to memorize that and I memorized mostly all of it. But this play is a really good love story and this saying is very meaningful when it comes from Juilet.

20 May 200716. Chris Craig:

Where to begin with the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.

I think that the way the play opens is a really good hook making you want to dive into the play.

I mean, some people don't really like this type of reading but, my class really did enjoy it and it made it easier to read and understand, especially witht he teachers help. We acted out the parts and it really felt as if you were in the play. Like being a bystander or being a fly on a wall during the famous balcony scene.

I don't have a favorite act or scene in the play because, I think it came together as a whole and there was not one part in particular that I loved.

Another way my teacher had us learn Romeo and Juliet was assigning us a short paragraph of memerization lines. Although Romeos I am to bold speech was good, I found that Juliets part was more lively. It's coming out of a thirteen years heart and it just really came to life as we read it. I could invision it in my head. My favorite little part of Juliets speech would have to be:

" What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name which is no part of thee
Take all myself."

I just find that tounge tying quote enthrolling for some reason. It just captures the moment.

On a more serious note. =)

I find it really interesting how William Shakespeare put a little blame on everyones part for the death of these people. It is actually frustrating to think of all the other possibilities of their happiness together other than Juliet's fake and real death and Romoeos poisoned death.

I don't know but, this was my first time reading it and I would deffinatly read it again.

20 May 200717. Sean:

Romeo & Juliet is a story of several sequences which all form the end result, Teenage Suicide. The story is based on something children and parents can easily disargee on, Dating, but the decisions, heartbreak and emotion turmoil that occur thought-out all five acts of the play compare almost perfectly to todays angry teenage culture, the end result may have been caused by simple misunderstandings but it's not surprizing as seeing how deep the love of these two people were from the start. The love shown in this play is intense and makes for a tragic result if ever (and was) broken, One can easily see that if Romeo was willing to kill three different people standing in his path of Juliet that he was willing to do just about anything for this woman. Juliet was willing to fake her own death, and run away from her own loving family whom she was raised by for thriteen years, just to live life on the run with a boy whom she'd known and even madly loved for under a week. Children today might not live this extreme in their own relationships, but some might. Romeo & Juliet is a story of how jealosy is the most deadly emotion and when used inncorrectly can devastate more people's lives then one mind can comprehend.

20 May 200718. d-A-m-O-n bishop:

finished reading Romeo and Juliet in my English class. It was a very good story, but most of it was about the Montague's and the Capulets arguing. The story didn't really tell why they were fighting, or why the families started the feud. When Romeo and his friends crashed the Capulets party, Romeo went to visit Rosaline, and then he saw Juliet met. Then they fell in love at first sight and were crazy for each other. Tybalt saw Romeo at the party and wasn't a happy camper. He challenged Romeo to a fight, but what he didn't know was that Romeo and Juliet were married and the day he came to fight Romeo, was the day they were wed. Romeo had no problem with the Capulets because of his marriage to Juliet. He knew that he could hurt tyblat, but he didn't want to hurt him. Tybalt then killed Mercutio, which got Romeo mad. Therefore Romeo did kill Tybalt, and was banished. Juliet was upset, and still no one knew that she and Romeo were married. She wasn't crying about tybalts death but she was crying about Romeo's banishment. She was forced to marry Paris, even though she didn't want to. She asked the Friar for advice, and there he gave her a drug that would make her appear dead. Romeo saw her "dead" and killed himself with poison, after he killed Paris. When she woke up from her 48 hour death and saw Romeo dead, and then she committed suicide. The story is about chance, and love. Everything happened because of them being together and chances they took to be together.

21 May 200719. Sarah T.:

"Romeo and Juliet" was written over four hundred years ago, and uses a vocabulary that's foreign to most of us readers. Shakespeare didn't know much about Verona, Italy during his lifetime, let alone the time period in which he set his play. So why are we still reading it today? We read it because what Shakespeare did know was how to write a play that people could relate to.

Practically everyone can relate to the play's theme of impulsive youth. We all get upset when a relationship doesn't work out. People still crash parties. Guys flirt and girls flirt back. Also, most of us face a conflict of interest with our parents or guardians every once in a while.

Not everything still happens today as is did in the play. I doubt a mother would walk into her daughter's room and say, as Lady Capulet said to Juliet, "Marry, my child, early next Thursday morn The gallant, young, and noble gentleman, The County Paris, at Saint Peter's Church, Shall make thee there a joyful bride." Most kids don't like chores such as cleaning but parents tell them they have to do it and they whine about it, just like Juliet did about Paris.

That is why we still read "Romeo and Juliet" today. We read it because it's relevant to our individual lives in one way or another.

21 May 200720. C. Lampkin:

I finished reading romeo and juliet by shakespear in english class and i found that is was a very interesting story. i find that it is a very interesting story. it was also sad that two inocent kids killed themselves because of a stupid fued that their families had together. although this was sad it was also romantic becuase they actually died for each other. I think that they died for a good reason. If the familes still fight after their death then I think they are just stupid. romeo is a brave person to have snuck back into the town just to see juliet. I think that Juliet was kindof stupid for killing herself the way she did though. She was smart to fake her death at first though. As a matter of fact the way things happened in the story is kind of stupid. I believe that shakespear was a very deep man if he wrote a story like this. If i was to act in this play i would go for the role of Juliet. I would do this because i think she is stupid, but if i play her i might understand her more. Over all i Liked the story.

21 May 200721. Stephizzle:

As Romeo and Juliet on the balcony they glaze into each other eyes as Romeo says in (Act 3, Scene 5) "And trust me, love, in my eye so do you. Dry sorrow drinks out blood. Adieu, adieu!" Then Romeo leaves he will never see Juliet again cause he is being banished. Juliet has nothing else to do except cry because she just lost the love of her life. Then Lady Capulet tried to comfort her by saying that maybe she should just marry Paris. Then Juliet says, "No I will never marry Paris I'm not truly in love with him, I am in love with Romeo." Juliet rushes off into her room to be alone. She is very upset because Romeo has just left because he is being banished and she will never seem him again and if he tries to come back and tried to see her then he will be killed. As Juliet lies in her bed, Lady Capulet walks in and Juliet says, "Ancient Damnation! O most wicked fiend! Is it more sin to wish me thus forsworn, Or to dispraise me lord with that same tongue which she hath prais'd him with above compare so many thousand times? Go counselor! Thou and my bosom henceforth shall be twain. I'll friar to know him remedy. If all else fail, myself have power to die." Then in (Act 4) she visits the Friar's Cell and got a special potion and went back up to her room and fooled everyone into thinking that she was dead. She was very unhappy since the love of her life was just banished and she could never see him again so she decide to pretend to kill herself,( with the potion) so that they will put her in a church yard and Romeo would come and rescue and they would live together happily forever.

21 May 200722. Nadine:

Romeo and Juliet is a romance/violent book and/or movie. I think that Romeo is a bit desperate in the beginning. He loves a girl (Rosaline) that doesn't love him back. Thanks to his friends that convinced him to crash the Capulet's party, he met Juliet and fell in love at first sight. It's kind of wierd that he actually stalked her all the way to her house. But its also good that he was there when he overheard Juliet talking to "him". Some people think that i'm wierd because when I was reading the story in the end when Romeo killed himself I started laughing and on top of that Juliet woke up after he had just killed himself and stabbed herself. I don't understand how two kids that barely know each other, fall in love so fast, and actually DIE for each other. People these days aren't that crazy. Let me rephrase that, kids these days aren't going to risk thier lives for a "lover" that they just met less than 4 days. In my point of view, I think that its so hilarious that they would actually go this far and PRETEND that Juliet is dead and in the end they BOTH really DIE! It would have been simplier if when Juliet went to go see the Friar, the Friar should have just told her to run away then and there and meet up with Romeo in Mantua. When Juliet said "What's in a name, that which we call a rose....", by that i think she means names shouldn't matter (considering that she's in love with a Montague and her parents would be against the whole thing.)

21 May 200723. Elizabeth McKinley:

Even though Romeo and Juliet was written four hundred years ago, some of us can still relate our lives to his work. I really enjoyed reading the play. I liked the fact that it was a love story, a tragedy, a comedy, and to some degree an action story as well.
I can really relate to the love story part because I am in love with a boy that my parents don't like very much. It's not a big family feud or anything, it really doesn't have anything to do with his family at all. It's just the way he looks that sets my Dad off. I guess in a way, I am a lot better off than the two of them since only two members of my family actually want to kill him.
I can not relate as much about the tragedy part of the play. I know that there have been times in my life when I have been very sad or heart broken, but I can't imagine committing suicide, but I get how they felt in a way. Not getting to see each other as much as they'd like and stuff.
I can relate to the comedy part of the play. My life is a comedy. Enough said.
I enjoyed the action in the play because I always like a good sword fight. No play is as good with out at least one person getting stabbed or dieing. I didn't like that Mercutio died, but I saw it coming. He was the best friend. What else would you expect from a tragedy. Tybalt had it coming though. He deserved it.

21 May 200725. Matthew Frizzera:

We just finished reading Romeo and Juliet in our English class and I don't really like the story all that much but its kind of cool that Romeo and Juliet are so in love with each other that there willing to give up so much just to be with each other together Romeo is such a smooth talker especially when he was outside Juliet's window when he started to say the "I am to bold Tis not to me she speaks" speech to basically seduce Juliet in her own room. There love is so strong that Romeo was so willing to kill himself just because he thought she was dead and directly after that she found her love dead and she killed herself right next to him and this all happened because the Montagues and Capulets weren't willing to stop fighting. And all the fighting stopped because of the unrelenting love of two kids. Romeo and Juliet weren't willing to let each other go and stop loving each other and they even went as far as killing each other just to still be with each other I think the people of today could learn something from those two because back then it seemed like love was way more precious and this all happened in like 3 days that would never ever happen in the world today.

21 May 200726. Matthew Frizzera:

We just finished reading Romeo and Juliet in our English class and I don't really like the story all that much but its kind of cool that Romeo and Juliet are so in love with each other that there willing to give up so much just to be with each other together Romeo is such a smooth talker especially when he was outside Juliet's window when he started to say the "I am to bold Tis not to me she speaks" speech to basically seduce Juliet in her own room. There love is so strong that Romeo was so willing to kill himself just because he thought she was dead and directly after that she found her love dead and she killed herself right next to him and this all happened because the Montagues and Capulets weren't willing to stop fighting. And all the fighting stopped because of the unrelenting love of two kids. Romeo and Juliet weren't willing to let each other go and stop loving each other and they even went as far as killing each other just to still be with each other I think the people of today could learn something from those two because back then it seemed like love was way more precious and this all happened in like 3 days that would never ever happen in the world today.

21 May 200727. Matthew Frizzera:

We just finished reading Romeo and Juliet in our English class and I don't really like the story all that much but its kind of cool that Romeo and Juliet are so in love with each other that there willing to give up so much just to be with each other together Romeo is such a smooth talker especially when he was outside Juliet's window when he started to say the "I am to bold Tis not to me she speaks" speech to basically seduce Juliet in her own room. There love is so strong that Romeo was so willing to kill himself just because he thought she was dead and directly after that she found her love dead and she killed herself right next to him and this all happened because the Montagues and Capulets weren't willing to stop fighting. And all the fighting stopped because of the unrelenting love of two kids. Romeo and Juliet weren't willing to let each other go and stop loving each other and they even went as far as killing each other just to still be with each other I think the people of today could learn something from those two because back then it seemed like love was way more precious and this all happened in like 3 days that would never ever happen in the world today.

20 July 200728. Di:

I just can't see Romeo and Juliet as a tragedy. Sorry about that. More like a dark comedy!

7 October 200729. Sammy:

Do be honest he wasnt actually very good.....

3 April 200830. Zimbobwai:

This is a pretty good play and I enjoyed reading it in school

21 July 200831. Alin:

This article remember me what happened 4 years ago. It was during our literature class and our teacher asked us to play Romeo and Juliet. He picked me and a classmate who, by coincidence, was my boyfriend back then. OK..it went good..for him because he kind of felt what he was saying in his role of Romeo. For me it wasn't that pleasant because I was planning to break up with him that day..