Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet example essay topic

The fall of Romeo and Juliet is a culmination of many factors. A controlling father, an ongoing feud and a gullible friar all contribute to this catastrophe, but, for the most part, it was Romeo and Juliet themselves that lent a hand to their own doom. The two lovers were fated to meet and die, but this never could " ve happened without their help. Had they been patient and rational, perhaps the situation would " ve worked itself out, but what can one expect from a couple of thirteen year olds who insist that they are in love? The first instance of Romeo's immaturity occurs when he first encounters the lovely Juliet. He know that the party is hosted by the Capulets, and yet he still chooses to attend anyway.

As a teenager, he loves to party and is sure that there will be pretty girls there in which to flirt with. Instead of being rational and realizing that this party was a bad idea for a Montague, he and his friends enter without fear. Once the party is over, Romeo hears Juliet on her balcony talking of how she loves Romeo and together they speak of their impending marriage. What? It seems that they are obsessed, not in love. How could they love each other when in fact they have just met hours earlier?

They are children who have crushes and plenty of melodrama to enhance it. Romeo demonstrates his immaturity again when he slays the Capulet, Tybalt. Being an idealist, he does not think about the consequences of his actions. He knows that Tybalt is Juliet's cousin, and that injuring him would wreck any chance of them getting together legitimately, yet he does it anyway. Instead of pausing a moment and thinking about the situation in an adult manner, Romeo allows "fire [ey'd] f William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564 in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, England to Mary Arden and John Shakespeare. He was the third of eight children.

He went to a local grammar school, where his studies included Latin and Greek (Debnam). At the age of eighteen he married Anne Hathaway who was eight years older than he. Their marriage was hurried because Anne was already pregnant (The Tragedies, 16). Shakespeare was the father of three children, two daughters and one son, Hamnet. At this time, Shakespeare was twenty-one, and the way he supported his family is unknown. In August of 1596, Hamnet died at the age of eleven (Shakespeare's History).

Stories say that Shakespeare began his career by holding horses outside the theaters. More reliable information indicates that he acted in plays, many of his own. From acting Shakespeare progressed to writing plays both for the theater and for court performances (The Tragedies, 17). Shakespeare didn't attend college, so in order to broaden his education, he studied the ways of a gentleman and read widely. He looked to Cambridge-educated playwright Christopher Marlowe, as a mentor. Marlowe was the same age as Shakespeare, but who preceded him in skillfully combining drama with poetry.

In many plays throughout his career, Shakespeare paid tribute to Marlowe, though ultimately he eclipsed Marlowe as a dramatist (The Tragedies, 17). Shakespeare is the greatest playwright the world has ever known. The thirty-seven plays he wrote more than 400 years ago are the most popular on Earth. They are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

He also wrote sonnets, a kind of poem. Writing sonnets was thought to be much more important than writing plays in Shakespeare's day (Debnam). By the time Shakespeare turned thirty years old, he was an established actor and playwright in London. At the age of thirty-three, he had not only written the early poems and the early plays, but in the last three or four years half-a-dozen masterpieces: "A Midsummer Night's Dream,"Romeo and Juliet", Richard II. ,"King John,"The Merchant of Venice,"The Two Parts of Henry IV" (Shakespeare The Man, 382). When he was thirty-five, Shakespeare was a member of the syndicate responsible for building the first Globe theater, in Southwark, in 1599 (General Into).

From then on, Shakespeare was completely involved in the theater: He wrote for the company, acted in the plays, shared in the profits, and eventually became one of the owners of the Globe theater (The Tragedies, 19). This famous theater made him wealthy, not his plays as some might believe, which he did not make much money from (Debnam). In 1612, Shakespeare divided his time between Stratford and London. On March 25, 1616, while he was in fine health, Shakespeare made a will.

A month later, after a trip to London, he suddenly became ill and died on his birthday, at the age of fifty-two. As he lay dying, the chapel bell knelled for the passing of his soul, for the man for whom love was the center of the universe and the central subject of his many works (The Tragedies, 27). Romeo and Juliet, which was Shakespeare's first tragedy, was first printed in 1597. Upon this first printing it is described as 'An excellent conceited tragedy' that had 'been often (with great applause) played publicly'. At this time the play was already well known, in Italian, French, and English. Shakespeare owes most to Arthur Brooke's long poem The Tragical History of Rome us and Juliet (1592) (The Complete Works, 335).

He also may have looked and studied other versions of the play before writing his own version of Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is among the most widely recognizable and most often read and studied Western literary classic. A major reason for the play's continuing appeal is that its characters explore and expr ury be [his] conduct... ". and instantly kills Tybalt.