TPE inégalité homme femme

Essay : Romeo & Juliet

“Romeo & Juliet” is a tragic play written by William Shakespeare. The theme of change is a major theme in this play.  The tragedy was written between 1591-1595. Shakespeare did not use his own imagination for creating this writing. The plot of the tragedy is built on an Italian tale that was translated by Arthur Brooke in 1562. The Montague and Capulet are two rival families. They were involved in a family feud that goes back years before anyone can remember. In the following pages, I will examine how the theme of change has occurred in the first two acts of “Romeo & Juliet”.

    In the play some characters have shown some resistance to change. Tybalt is one them, he has shown himself as someone closed to change. Tybalt is a key player in the story of Romeo and Juliet. If Tybalt had not held a grudge against Romeo for going to the Capulet party, he would not have killed Mercutio. Him murdering Mercutio caused a chain reaction. Even though, Capulet warned him not to do anything against the “Young Romeo”; he did not listen. This shows us that he is not open to any kind of change. Mercutio and Benvolio are no better than Tybalt. They have shown themselves as some characters who are not open at all to change. They are stuck in Feud, they mock Romeo’s changeability and they are ignorant of details. As for Tybalt, it shows us that they are not open to the change

On one hand, some characters tend to react very well to change, especially psychologically. Romeo is one of the most unpredictable character of the play. He is unable to rationalise. Romeo changes from being depressed over his unrequited love for Rosaline in Act I to being happily married to the girl of his dreams in Act 2.  In many ways, however, Romeo has not changed. He remains impulsive, spontaneous, and unpremeditated and often does not think through his actions. He ignores Friar Lawrence’s advice about taking thing slowly.                            Although, he is not the one who tends to react well to change, Juliet does. In Act I, Juliet appears to be still a young girl who has not even thought about marriage until her mother brings up the subject. She is still responding to her parents’ wishes, being the dutiful daughter. Anyhow, in Act II, Juliet is now married to Romeo and have passionate feelings towards Romeo but the fact that Romeo and Juliet are now married proves that they were deeply in love, however the speed in which they did so does not show a high level of thought. Nonetheless, the nurse also reacts well to change. The Nurse's key function within the play is to act as a go-between for Romeo and Juliet and is the only other character besides Friar Laurence to know of their wedding. She is protective, nostalgic and acts like a grandmother for Juliet. The fact that for The Nurse the idea of love is a temporary and physical relationship shows us again that she is open to change.

On the other hand, some characters tend to react to change in their own way. Friar Lawrence is a perfect example. In the beginning, he was resistant to change. Friar Lawrence did not want Romeo to marry Juliet because he knew that this would cause a lot of trouble. However, for moral and political reasons, he agrees to marry the couple immediately, because he believes that their marriage may put an end to the war between their families. Therefore, it can be said that Friar Laurence change with respect to how he acts upon his principles.

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