The Fates of the Remaining Three....

I think that after Romeo and Juliet die, Lord Capulet is deeply upset. He begins to question whether he made the right decision in not letting Juliet marry her true love. I think that if it hadn't been "wrong" to marry into a feuding family, that Lord Capulet would have considered letting Juliet marry Romeo. Also I think that Lord Capulet wanted everyone to remember the story of Romeo and Juliet and the extent they went to so they could marry each other, so that no other family would have to go through what they went through. Lord Capulet said at the end of the book, "I'll put up an equally rich statue of Romeo beside Juliet's. They are poor sacrifices of our feud," (Shakespeare 302). I think that after loosing his daughter, and his wife killing herself out of grief, that Lord Capulet goes to the tomb, and while their, he sees the dagger that Juliet killed herself with. He is so lonely without his family and kills himself because of the agony he feels inside him.

After Juliet dies, I think Nurse feels as though she could have stopped their deaths, but chose not to for her and Friar Lawrence's sakes. She probably didn't want to be punished for helping Juliet to disobey her parents. Feeling as though she had lost her own child after all the years she took care of her, Nurse probably fled from Verona out of fear and found a new family to live with and take care of. She was looking for a fresh start.





Friar Lawrence feels as though he could have prevented Romeo's and Juliet's too. I think that Lord Capulet finds out that Friar Lawrence had helped in Romeo and Juliet's secret marriage. Lord Capulet is so angered at Friar Lawrence that he orders for him to be killed, and to loose the privilege of being a friar. I think he moves away out of guilt for what he is done.



In the end the feud between the Montagues and Capulets is resolved, but at the price of their children.  Was it really worth it?


Vocabulary:
apprehend - arrest; to take into custody
canopy - covering; protection
contempt scorn; disdain
disperse - scatter; distribute

inexorable - unmovable; relentless

interred - buried; shut in
penury - poverty; destitution
remnants - remains; leftovers
righteous - virtuous; moral

Juliet's Dilemma

Of all the characters, I have sympathy for Juliet. Her mother and father are determined to have her marry Paris, probably for his wealth and because they want Juliet to marry into a good family. However, Juliet is already in love with and already married to Romeo and is determined not to marry Paris. She says,

“O, bid me leap, rather than marry Paris, from off the battlements of any tower, or walk in thievish ways, or bid me lurk where serpents are; chain me with roaring bears, or hide me nightly in a charnel-house, O’er-cover’s quite with dead men’s rattling bones, with reeky shanks and yellow chapless skulls; or bid me go into a new-made grave and hide me with a dead man in his shroud, - Things that, to hear them told, have made me tremble; and I will do it without fear or doubt, to live an unstain’d wife to my sweet love” (Shakespeare 234).

Juliet tells her Friar Lawrence that she would rather do all these things rather than marry Paris.

I also have sympathy for Juliet because she is not allowed to marry her one true love, Romeo. They are not allowed to marry because of the long-standing feud between their families, the Montagues and Capulets. However they are so in love that they go to Friar Lawrence be wed them in secret.

Juliet is crying because Romeo is exiled.

Tybalt and Mercutio get into a fight in the streets of Verona. Tybalt kills Romeo’s close friend, Mercutio, which angers Romeo and he kills Tybalt. Because of his actions, Romeo is banished from Verona to Mantua. I feel sympathy towards Juliet because she will hardly ever get to see Romeo because of his banishment, and may never see him again.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Romeo is banished for killing Tybalt
who killed Mercutio

Vocabulary:

arbitrating - deciding; judging

distraught - upset; distressed

immoderately - wastefully; extravagantly

inundation - flooding; outpouring

resolution - solution to a problem

spited - acted maliciously or with ill will

supple - flexible; plaint

Juliet's Feelings

Dear Journal,

I am so comforted that I can write my true thoughts to you. If only I could talk to Nurse like I write to you. We have been close for so many years and now it seems as though she is starting to turn her back on me. Even in this time I need her most, I don't feel as though I trust her as much as I used to. Neither can I trust my mother, whom has arranged for me to marry Paris, when I am in love with and married to Romeo. My mother doesn't understand me the way I wish she would. When I told her "With Romeo, till I behold him - dead - is my poor heart..." She thought that I meant that I wanted Romeo dead because he had killed Tybalt, when I really meant that my heart would be dead until I see him again. I wish my mother would hear me out and interpret my words in the way that I mean them.

Will Nurse still be faithful to me in my decision to marry Romeo in secret? Will she still support me and help me through this difficult time in my life? I hope so. Romeo, my one true love was banished from Verona, to Mantua because he killed Tybalt, who killed Mercutio. The night before he left, Nurse went to get Romeo from his hideout with Friar Lawrence. That night was so special to me as I wonder if I will ever see my love, Romeo, again. It has only been a few days, and yet it feels as though it has been weeks already. Hopefully, I will hear from him soon.

Until I write again,

Juliet

A Secret Wedding

I do approve of Friar Lawrence and Nurse's decisions to to help Romeo and Juliet with their secret wedding. Romeo and Juliet believed that you should have a say in who you marry, and Nurse and Friar Lawrence agreed. Juliet is in love with Romeo and has no desire to marry Paris, as her family had arranged. Nurse and Friar Lawrence hoped that they would end the long standing feud between the Montagues and Capulets by uniting the two families through marriage. In Romeo and Juliet Act II Scene iii, Friar Lawrence says to Romeo, "In one respect I'll they assistant be: For this alliance may so happy prove to turn your households' rancour to pure love." They achieve this, however, both Romeo and Juliet end up dead. 

By getting married, the Montague's and Capulet's feud is  ended, though both Romeo and Juliet end up dead.1

Vocabulary:
chided - Scold or rebuke
confounds - Cause surprise or confusion in especially by acting against their expectations
driveling - Talk nonsense
exposition -
idolatry - the worship of a physical object as a god
lamentable - Deplorably bad or unsatisfactory
perjuries - The deliberate, willful giving of false, misleading, or incomplete testimony under oath.

Conflict, Secret Love, and Foils

In Act I Scene V there are many conflicts that are started. In the beginning of the scene, the servants see each other while walking down the street and begin to fight over which family is better, the Montague’s or the Capulet’s. The Montague’s and Capulet’s have been feuding for as long as anyone can remember. Meanwhile, Romeo and Juliet are secretly falling in love. Romeo is a Montague and Juliet is a Capulet, so their falling in love is unheard of. There are many conflicts still to come between the two rivaling families, but at this part of the book, neither of Romeo or Juliet's families knows of their secret love. Juliet is also in somewhat of a conflict with her mother. Juliet loves and respects her mother, as a daughter should, and wants to live up to her mother's expectations, but finds it difficult to do so while keeping her relationship with Romeo a secret. However, Juliet is in much closer of a relationship with Nurse. During the time period of Romeo and Juliet, the Elizabethan Era, a nurse acted much like a mother would today. 

A foil is a character who has qualities that are in sharp contrast to another character, therefore highlighting the qualities of each. In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo and Mercutio are foils in many ways. While Romeo is suffering from lovesickness and has a romantic view of love, Mercutio has a witty, light-hearted use of language and is easy-going. Romeo, on the other hand, is not as outgoing and is a "head-in-the-clouds" kind of lover. In Act I Scene IV, Romeo says, "Is love a tender thing? it is too rough, too rude, too boist'rous, and it pricks like thorn." This demonstrates Romeo's romantic view on love. 

adversary - (noun) One's opponent in a contest, conflict, or dispute

disparagement - (noun) something that derogates or casts in a bad light, as a remark or censorious essay

pernicious (adjective)- Having a harmful effect, esp. in a gradual or subtle way

posterity (noun) - All future generations

propagate (verb) - to cause to increase in number or amount.

Fate: Is is permanent?

Has your fate already been decided or could your actions change it? There are many different ways to think of fate. Some people think that your fate has already been decided and no matter what you do it will stay that way. Though others argue that the decisions you make throughout your life can change your fate. Your fate may be that you will be wealthy, but how you use your wealth will be a decision that is up to you to make. Fate may also say that you will marry, but who you marry is up to you and may very well change your life. In many situations, fate can be a bad thing, but it can be good too. Many religions and cultures have certain beliefs about fate. In some cases, your fate can be decided before you are even born.

In Romeo and Juliet, the text hints that Romeo and Juliet were doomed from the start. We know from the start that "a pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life." Coming from rivaling families, it was unheard of for them to fall in love. Fate was decided for Romeo and Juliet to die for each other.