RenzoARG t1_jdd5cwq wrote on March 23, 2023 at 3:27 PM

Reply to comment by Insomniac_Tales in Appreciating the Hunger Games by Friesandmayo2665

Any teenager claiming that is openly admitting that he/she did not read Shakespeare. Because the attitudes described in that story depict things that today are frowned upon instead of romantized.
•They knew each other for a day
•Romeo was friendzoned by Rosaline, Juliet was his second choice... a leftover.
•He was a sick stalker and a manipulator. "O then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do / They pray; grant thou, lest faith turn to despair" (amazing how Shakespeare, with a single line of text, could unleash HOURS of literature study)... He's literally coercing her using faith as leverage. And lets not talk about how he stalks her, hiding at the backyard... Not revealing himself until he was spotted.
•His words about love after meeting her for a few hours would be a redlight for any woman today, hinting that he's being nice only to get in her pants.
The dual suicide drama is so... toxic

BKM558 t1_jddiy67 wrote on March 23, 2023 at 4:53 PM

To be fair, I don't think Romeo and Juliet was really written as an ideal relationship guide to follow.

Hazel_nut1992 t1_jddojp4 wrote on March 23, 2023 at 5:28 PM

You’re right, it’s not, it’s written as a tragedy, these two people cost themselves their lives due to impulsiveness and thoughtlessness, while destroying a lot of other people in the process. And it’s clearly outlined in the text but I think too many people, especially teens who haven’t been exposed to the text, just get the summary, two young lovers whose families won’t let them be together die for their love.

likelatin_ t1_jdeqezd wrote on March 23, 2023 at 9:27 PM

That's not why Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy. It's a tragedy because their families are so blinded by hate for each other that it leads to two innocent (yes, impulsive, but innocent—especially for the time of writing and the literary and stage conventions of the age, nothing Romeo does would be considered creepy or weird) teenagers losing their lives because the adults around them make them think they have no alternative and no future just because they love each other. Act V, scene 3 (specifically the part where Prince Escalus chastises Capulet and Montague) makes this pretty explicit ("See what a scourge is laid upon your hate, / That Heaven finds means to kill your joys with love!") and blames them for Romeo and Juliet's death. West Side Story (an adaptation) makes this even more explicit by having Maria, the Juliet character, survive and blame the rival gangs for killing Tony (Romeo).