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The Montagues and Capulets Love Story |
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They would rather be genuinely dead in their genuine love for each other than un-genuinely alive to be worthy of one ônameö or another. They are not afraid of their parents; they are not prone to hide or lie from their parents, and they are not unappreciative of their parentÆs genuine sacrifices in their ôname.ö They are aware, though, that despite these feelings for their parents, their parents might repudiate them if they dare express their genuine feeling for, vice versa, a dreaded ôMontagueö or ôCapulet.ö Nevertheless, it is only the names ôRomeoö or ôJulietö the lovers wish to be reminded of. As Juliet laments, ôO for a falconerÆs voiceàBondage is hoarse and may not speak aloud; Else would I tear the cave where Echo lies, And make her airy tongue more hoarse than mine With repetition of my RomeoÆs name,ö (Shakespeare 1975, 1021). If youth crushes the love between Romeo and Juliet, it is not because of their genuine affection for each other or the reality that despite their love for each other in the here and now it may not last. So what if they do not understand or wish to tarnish the here and now of their commitment with such mature but balloon-puncturing thoughts? In that, in their youth, they are more than entitled. If youth crushes them in any manner it is not youth itself, but misguided role models. They are too young and lack the experience to dis |
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tinguish if their role models are right or wrong. The Friar and Nurse are meant to represent balanced humans and are the two who least judge as inappropriate the love between Romeo and Juliet. They know the power of love. They still are capable of expressing love. They may be stern or they may be nurturing, but they are not judgmental enough to merit the entitlements of a ôMontagueö or ôCapulet.ö As such, Romeo and Juliet are still suspect of them because they only know adults who judge and forget how to love, but still they communicate with one or the other of them more openly than they do their parents. The Nurse routinely aids the pair of lovers, as does the Friar. They are both stern with them also. In one scene when Romeo is filled with anxiety over Tybalt and Juliet, the Friar tells him, ôHold they desperate hand: Art thou a man: they form cries out thou art,ö (Shakespeare 1975, 1031). This is primarily because up until the time they encounter each other they believe the ôMontaguesö and ôCapuletsö respectively define what is permissible or impermissible; what is right or wrong. As such, they seek external approval to the degree that they follow someone elseÆs directive for their own happiness, because they are young enough not to understand what they have in their immediate possession. Lacking a ôRomeoö or a ôJulietö in oneÆs life, it is understandable that one might only know the universe of a ôMontagueö or a ôCapulet.ö Having the world defined from these limited definitions, Romeo and Juliet, because of their youth, are ripped away from their love because it does not adhere to either the ôMontagueö or ôCapuletö definition of love. In that definition a ôMontagueö could never love a ôCapuletö and a ôCapuletö could never love a ôMontague.ö As such, the inability of their historically warring families to tolerate, appreciate, or embrace their love for each other is what makes them commit suicide. They are not insecure in their love for each other. |
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