Often times in literature characters have impulsive behaviors that affect the work as a whole. Shakespeare’s play, “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet” is one such piece. In this play two people from enemy families fall in love, and it leads to trouble. Throughout the play, impulsive acts lead to a sad ending with many people dying. If characters in specific, Romeo thought before making actions, the play might have not ended so poorly for the two families.
Romeo played a large part in the play, “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.” Romeo is young man around sixteen years old, part of the Montague family, and seen to be intelligent and handsome, but also very immature as well as impetuous. The biggest characteristic of Romeo is that he is in love, in love with a Capulet, Juliet. This is shown when he sneaks over the dividing wall and enters Capulet territory, where he is forbidden to be due to the war between their families. He then speaks to Juliet under her balcony, where he confesses his love towards her. “With love’s light wings did I o'erperch these walls,/ For stony limits cannot hold love out,/ And what love can do, that dares love attempt./ Therefore thy kinsmen are no let to me.” (II. ii. 66-69) This quote shows that Romeo is so in love with Juliet he risks his life just to see and talk to her, because if he had been seen by another Capulet, he would be killed. He also expresses that love brought him to Juliet, and that is how he found her. Throughout the play, Romeo had a impulsive behavior, where he would act without thinking. This is shown when Romeo’s friend Mercutio and Juliet’s cousin get in a fight, and Mercutio is accidentally stabbed and dies. Once this happens, Romeo without thinking twice chases Tybalt down and declares a sword fight which he would win and kill his now cousin in law (since he is now married to Juliet) Tybalt. “That late thou gavest me, for Mercutio’s soul/ Is but a little way above our heads,/ Staying for thine to keep him company./ Either thou or I, or both, must go up with him.” (III. i. 119-122) If Romeo had not sought out to kill Tybalt, but instead took a step back and thought about what he was about to do, the consequences in the future could have all been prevented. Later on the Prince banishes Romeo from Verona for killing Tybalt. Another impulsive act Romeo had was at the end of the play when he saw Juliet “dead” and decided to drink a potion which wouldn’t give him any chance of living and would instantly kill him. “The dashing rocks thy seasick weary bark!/ Here’s to my love [drinks] O true apothecary!/ Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die.” (V. ii. 118-120) Because Romeo drank the poison potion without thoroughly thinking it through, he died and didn’t get to see Juliet every again because soon after she wakes up from the forty two hour coma she was put in from Friar Lawrence’s potion. That shows that Romeo was very impulsive, and would not take the time to think before he did something. In the first quote, because Romeo jumped to conclusion, fought and killed Tybalt, he got banished from Verona and no longer allowed to see Juliet. If Romeo never killed Tybalt, him and Juliet could’ve possibly convince the Capulets and Montagues to end the family feud and all to become friends, or if that didn’t work out, run away and live a longer, happier life. But because Romeo didn’t think things through he is now no longer to be with his family and his lovely wife Juliet, but there are now two dead bodies he is close to, his cousin in law, Tybalt, and his close friend, Mercutio. In the second quote when Romeo is alone with Juliets “dead” body he decides to drink the poisonous potion, without thinking twice. This impulsive act affected the people lives around him very much. Minutes after Romeo killed himself Juliet wakes up from a coma that she was put in by Friar Lawrence's’ potion. She sees a dead Romeo and a dead Paris and thinks to herself that there’s nothing else in the world to love. She then grabs Romeo’s dagger and decides to stab, and kill herself. If Romeo had never killed himself, Juliet would have woken up right next to Romeo, and they could have ran away and be happily married without anyone knowing, but instead they are now both dead. Later on when the people brought out the dead bodies of Romeo, Juliet, and Paris, Lady Montague (Romeo’s mom) saw her sons dead body, and died of a heart attack and a broken heart. All of these unfortunate events could have been prevented if Romeo had just taken a second and think about the things he’s about to do. Often times in literature characters have an impulsive behavior, and that is shown in the play, “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet” with the character Romeo. If he had thought before he made his actions, the play would’ve turned out very differently, and would be a chance that him, Juliet, his beautiful wife that he loved so dearly, Tybalt, his cousin in law, Mercutio, a close friend he had, Paris, and Lady Montague, his loving mother might have lived a longer life. by: Tyler Oliveira -- contributing writer Often times in literature characters are portrayed as impulsive. The play The Tragedy Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare is one such piece. In this play there are two star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, who are from two different feuding families. Tragedy strikes when Juliet drinks a potion to fake her death, but word of the trick never reaches Romeo. This results in Romeo taking his own life by drinking a potion he got from an apothecary. Throughout the play Romeo continued to make impulsive decisions, that led to this tragic ending. Romeo is a teenager who can be described as good-looking, smart, sensitive and passionate. His passion forces him to make blind decisions that he hasn’t yet thought through. Romeo is a loyal friend and lover, and will always be devoted to his friends and family. “Well, Juliet, I will lie with thee tonight.” (V.i.34). This is an example of Romeo being devoted. He is saying he is going to be with Juliet that night, dead in the Capulet tomb. He made this decision and nobody could have stopped him from taking the potion. At the beginning of the play he is very depressed because his first love, Rosaline, didn’t care to be around him. But, he quickly changes upon meeting Juliet. He immediately forgets about Rosaline and becomes infatuated with his new love. Romeo never once thought twice about his actions. As soon as he set his mind on something, nothing could stop him from doing it. For example, once Tybalt killed Mercutio, Romeo’s friend, he was determined to avenge Mercutio. Even his level-headed cousin, Benvolio, couldn’t make Romeo change his mind. Murdering Tybalt influenced a long chain of unfortunate events that eventually led to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. The first sign of Romeo’s impulsivity was the drastic emotional switch he made when immediately forgetting his love for Rosaline the second he met Juliet. Prior to meeting Juliet, his world was crashing down because Rosaline would not return his love. It took one love at first-sight look at Juliet for Rosaline to no longer exist in his mind. Soon after meeting Juliet, Romeo impulsively chose to jump over the Capulet wall to profess his love to her. He then proposed to her that very night and they were married the next day in a secret ceremony. After Romeo’s wedding he met up with his friend Mercutio and cousin Benvolio. In a violent exchange, Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, killed Mercutio. In his outrage, Romeo decided that he must avenge Mercutio’s death by killing Tybalt. His impulsivity also flared when he killed Paris, the man set to marry Juliet, after finding him in the Capulet chamber. Finally, when Romeo found Juliet dead in her family’s chamber, he sorrowfully took a drink of the poison he received from an apothecary. The devastation of losing Juliet was enough for Romeo to take his own life. “A dram of poison, such soon-speeding gear/ As will disperse itself through all the veins/ That the life-weary taker may fall dead”. (V.i.60-62) He chooses to do this so he could die by Juliet’s side, not knowing that she was not truly dead. Romeo’s death then led to Juliet killing herself with his dagger. The most important impulsive decision that Romeo made was avenging Mercutio, and killing Tybalt. If Romeo had not chosen to get revenge on Tybalt, he would not have been banished from Verona. If he had not have been banished he still would have been able to live a peaceful life with his new wife. Juliet might not have had to marry Paris because Romeo would have told the Capulets that they were already married, which possibly could have ended the families’ feud. But, because Romeo decided to kill Tybalt he was exiled to Mantua and never allowed to return. In his absence, Juliet was forced to marry Paris. If Romeo had listened to Benvolio he wouldn’t have fought Tybalt. If Romeo hadn't had his wedding in private the Capulet and Montague families would have understood what they were going through this would have meant that Tybalt would have known that his cousin, Juliet, was married to Romeo and they wouldn’t have gotten into a fight. Even if Romeo and Juliet had just came out together and said that they were married there would have been much fewer problems. Their families would have stopped fighting and the city of Verona would have been peaceful. Mercutio wouldn’t have died, nor would have Paris, and most importantly, Romeo and Juliet still would have been alive. In conclusion, if Romeo had not made impulsive decisions throughout the play, he might have been able to live a long and fulfilled life with his wife, and future family. His children would have be able to tell his story for generations to come. Without his impulsivity this tragedy could have had a happy ending. by: Justin Rogers -- contributing writer Often times in literature authors write about impulsive actions and how it negatively affects the story. The play of “The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet” by Shakespeare is such a piece. On the play the main characters, Romeo and Juliet fall in love, but they cannot be together because their families, the Capulets and the Montagues, are in a fight for years now. Throughout the play Romeo and Juliet fight to be together but both end up dying. Romeo’s impulsive actions negatively impact his life by taking him further from Juliet, and being banished from Verona.
Romeo is presented throughout most of the play as a passionate, loving and very determined character. After meeting Juliet at the Capulet’s party, Romeo is completely in love, so he climbs up the walls surrounding Juliet’s room and listens to her and she says her most inner thoughts out loud. Juliet talks about how being a Capulet, and Romeo a Montague, interfere their relationship. When Romeo hears Juliet he says “I take thee at thy word./ Call me but love, and I’ll be new baptized/ Henceforth I never will be Romeo” ( Act I, Scene ii, 49-51). This quote reveals how passionate and determined Romeo was to get with Juliet. Romeo knew he was in enemy territory, but that did not stop him. His passion and determination took him past the high walls to Juliet. All these actions show how determined and passionate Romeo is, and that he was ready to do anything for the love of his life. Although Romeo was very passionate and loving, he would still take impulsive actions that would later on negatively impact him. After coming back from his secret wedding with Juliet, Romeo is extremely happy, but unfortunately he comes across Tybalt and Mercutio which were involved in a fight. Romeo finds out that Tybalt, his wife’s cousin killed Mercutio, which was Romeo’s good friend. Romeo’s happiness sudden changes into anger, and now Romeo’s heart is filled with fury. Romeo and Tybalt start fighting, which led to the death of Tybalt caused by Romeo. After killing Tybalt Romeo says, “O, I am fortune’s fool!”, (Act III, Scene i, 129). This quote reveals that Romeo realized that his impulsive action led him to commit a huge mistake and now he will have to face the consequences and there is no going back. Romeo is now in shock and he will later on find out the consequences of his impulsive action. After Tybalt’s death, the Prince arrives and asks Benvolio, Romeo’s cousin,what happened. Benvolio, which is a very honest young man tells the truth to the Prince. After listening to Benvolio the Prince declares that Romeo is now banished from Verona, and if he stays he will be killed. Because Romeo got punished by the Prince, and will have to flee the city, it will be even harder to be with the love of his life. Now, besides being banished from Verona, Romeo will also have to find a way to be with his wife without harming anyone else. If Romeo took a step back when he found out that Mercutio was killed and did not get into a fight with Tybalt, Tybalt would still be alive and punished, and Romeo would soon be with Juliet without having to face as many problems. In conclusion, in the play “The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet” by Shakespeare one of the main characters Romeo takes an impulsive action, which negatively affect the story. Romeo is a loving and passionate character, nevertheless he still committed bad actions, which led to a negative outcome. The murder of Tybalt made Romeo get banished from Verona and away from his wife, Juliet. By: Mariana Andrade -- contributing writer Often times in literature, characters act impulsively or don’t really think things through. Shakespeare's play, “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet,” is one such piece. Romeo and Juliet, two star-crossed lovers, declare their love for each other, although their families are mortal rivals. Problems occur and both take their lives because of their genuine love for each other. Friar Laurence’s impulsive behavior negatively impacts the lives of Romeo and Juliet and causes death, failure and sadness.
In the play, Friar Laurence is one of the spiritual advisor for Romeo, Juliet, their families and all of the citizens in Verona. He is very intelligent, respected by the people of Verona and also he has a lot of knowledge about medicinal things like plants and herbs that can cause harm or good to something living. In act two, after the balcony scene, Romeo goes to see Friar Laurence who is collecting herbs and flowers. “With baleful weeds and precious-juiced flowers. The earth that’s nature’s mother is her tomb,” (II, iii, 8-9). This shows that Friar Laurence is intelligent because he knows a lot about the flowers and herbs that can make changes to someone. He knows how to use these flowers he is collecting and their dangers and goods. Friar can make potions and other things out of these flowers and herbs to shut down someone's body like he does with Juliet, later in the play. In conclusion, Friar Laurence is an intelligent man that is trusted and respected by the people in Verona. Friar Laurence acts impulsively when he comes up with a plan for Juliet so she doesn't have to marry Paris. His plan is to put Juliet into a coma for 42 hours, using a potion he had created for her. “A thing like death to chide away this shame, That copest with death himself to scape from it; And, if thou darest, I'll give thee remedy,” (IV, i, 74-77). This shows that Friar Laurence acts impulsively, because he needs to come up with a plan fast for Juliet or she would have to marry Paris. Friar Laurence uses his first plan he comes up with, to make people think Juliet is dead, so when she wakes up from the coma, Romeo would be waiting for her at her tomb and they would run away together. But this plan doesn't work out just right and this shows that this was an impulsive decision made by Friar Laurence. In conclusion, Friar Laurence made an impulsive choice when he gave Juliet the potion. Impulsive actions can have negative consequences. Because Friar Laurence made the impulsive decision to give Juliet the potion and make people think she was dead, Romeo, Paris, Juliet and Lady Montague die. Romeo was supposed to receive a letter that says Juliet is not dead and to meet her at her tomb when she wakes up from the coma. But confusion unfolds with Romeo and Paris and both end up dead, Romeo killed Paris and Romeo takes his life to be with Juliet who he thinks is dead. Then Juliet wakes up sees her dead husband and takes her own life to be with Romeo and Lady Montague dies from heartbreak because of her dead son. All of this confusion was the result of Friar Laurence's impulsive decision to give Juliet the potion. If he didn’t give Juliet the potion he maybe could have came up with another plan so Juliet wouldn’t have to marry Paris and everyone would, possibly, still be alive and Romeo and Juliet could still be together. So in conclusion, Friar Laurence made an impulsive decision that had major negative consequences including death and heartbreak. Friar Laurence was an intelligent man who made an impulsive decision that had major consequences. If he had thought about his plan more, he would realize it would be a huge risk to go through with this plan. He could have made a better plan so that Romeo and Juliet could still be together and no one would die. In conclusion, characters make impulsive decisions that can have major negative consequences. Friar Laurence’s impulsive behavior negatively impacts the lives of Romeo and Juliet and causes death, failure and sadness. By: Nick Wright -- contributing writer |
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