ROMEO & JULIET

I think the theme of Romeo & Juliet is sometimes things dont always turn out as
planned. Fate would have it that sometimes love isnt meant to be. William
Shakespeare shows the theme by all the setbacks and challenges for Romeo & Juliets
love and how those setbacks and challenges led to their demise. The lack of
communication between the teenagers and their parents is evident, as is the lack of
communication between Romeo & Juliet during their plan of faking their own deaths.
The latter is caused by outside interferences which of course is another setback that
Rome & Juliet hadnt expected. When Juliet found Romeos lifeless body and
exclaimed I shall follow thou! that definitely shows the theme that love just wasnt
meant to be.

Another aspect of the book that develops the theme is setting; Both socially and
environmentally. The rival families are a key part of this; Romeos Montague and
Juliets Capulte. They are a constant disruption to Romeo & Juliets love. The two
families grudge and constant bickering create a sense of hopelessness. The constant
negativity make the two teens feel as if theres no escape. The grudge brings a wedge
between the two lovers. With all these attacks on their love, Rome & Juliet come up
with a plan, a ridiculous one albeit, to escape, and of course, their bad luck follows
them and eventually leads them to their graves. Without the negative environment
there would have been no reason for their plan.

Everything builds upon another till the end of the book. One after another a situation
occurs that causes a problem for the star-crossed lovers. One could argue that
theyre a victim of circumstance while others can argue that theyre a victim of their
own stupidity and poor problem solving skills. Near the end of the novel the two rival
families put their hatred aside to mourn the death of their children. Theyve seemed to
have buried the hatchet. The last words spoken in the book by a Prince concludes the
story perfectly and clearly proves my theme:
For never was a story so woe
Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.

This story written by the icon William Shakespeare is flawless and timeless. Theres a
reason why this novel is often coined his greatest work; Romeo & Juliet is a
masterpiece. The ups and downs in this story, the emotions within it, the drama, The
theme that love sometimes isnt meant to be never gets old. Its a theme that most of us
can relate to, on a lesser note. Most everyone has had a love that drifted away. The
theme isnt just contained in the pages in this book, its a fact in life.
-Zack Blaisdell