Haste In Romeo And Juliet Analysis

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In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, haste is perceived as a normal everyday aspect of the way the Montagues and Capulets live. Haste in marriage is traditional as Lady Capulet makes obvious when she says that “Are made already mothers. By my count, I was your mother much upon these years that you are now a maid. Thus then in brief: the valiant Paris seeks you for his love.” (Act 1, Scene 3, Lines 74-77). What the people of this time are failing to realize is that when an individual acts impulsively and hastily without much thought, then foolish and destructive choices will be made, which will ultimately result in the downfall of the individual and the people around them. The hurry in the play can even be recognised without even reading it, simply looking at the duration of the story, five acts or five days, is enough to show us that this tragedy will use an extremely fast-paced storyline. During the first two acts of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare almost seems to implant the idea that haste is ridiculous. He makes these two acts seem like a comedy, throwing in dirty jokes and nonsensical choice making that happens so quickly that it almost seems too absurd to be written by one of the greatest writers in history. Shakespeare is attempting to show us that impulsiveness and haste can make the most noble aristocrats, for example, Paris, look absolutely absurd with the things we do and say. He also attempts to show his viewers at the time that this is the way that many people think, and that, yes, you really do look just as ridiculous as these people do when they make stupid and impulsive decisions. However, Shakespeare also shows the most destructive and devastating side of haste in the last three acts of the play. The theme of haste and it’s dangerousness are evident throughout the entire play. …show more content…
The basic plotline is all based off of haste. This theme is first established on a more hilarious note when Gregory and Sampson are cracking jokes and making fun of the Capulets, but eventually decide to take part in an impulsive brawl with the Capulet servants and wreak havoc on the peaceful city of Verona. It is later shown when Paris tries to convince Capulet to let him marry his daughter immediately, and when Lady Capulet is trying to get Juliet to think about marrying Paris. Finally, the theme of haste is most clearly indicated when Romeo and Juliet instantly fall in love, and plan to be married within hours of meeting. Later, the haste of the story transitions from comedy to tragedy and becomes much less amusing when Tybalt slays the eccentric Mercutio, Romeo’s close friend and confidant. Mercutio’s death became Romeo’s only incentive to kill Tybalt, but due to his tainted reputation as a Montague, the surly Prince exiles him from Verona. Only a few catastrophic and impulsive choices turn Romeo and Juliet’s entire relationship upside down. When Romeo quickly escapes to Mantua, he assures her that they will meet again, but Juliet can’t wait even a day to be with him, so she seeks the help of Friar Lawrence, who aids her in faking her death. Balthazar rushes to tell Romeo that Juliet is dead, and Romeo is so woebegone that he decides to do what any reckless lovesick lunatic would do; he kills himself. If he had even spent ten more minutes trying to surmount his grief rather than killing himself, he would …show more content…
The development of both positive and negative ideas, including but not limited to ridiculousness, dangerousness, ignorance, foolishness, revenge and quick thinking, are all used to emphasise the hypothetical line between everyday rushing and devastating impulsivity. While Shakespeare is more discrete when it comes to the positivity of hastiness, it seems that he allows it to be in his work for the purpose of informing people that not all haste causes tragedy, but much of it does. The fundamental opinion that he allows to show through, however, is the negative side of haste, and the damage it can cause. He makes it obvious that the harm of haste is not limited to those who are frail minded, but rather those who have powerful minds and are strong thinkers can also be affected in negative ways when they make destructive and hurried

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