Blog 3

In Romeo and Juliet, I have seen a great world, where everything arranged in their own place. However, after I read the whole chapters in Romeo and Juliet, I began to think deeply on its setting. Why did Shakespeare create this story as an epic? What are characteristics that  show its superiority?  Then I found several factors which led Romeo and Juliet become the treasure.

First, for the characters’ change, especially on Romeo and Juliet, they changed the most. For Romeo. One obvious fact is that he changed his lover from Rosaline to Juliet,  he began to have his own thinking and realized more about this society.  Moreover, so was Juliet. Before she was only an innocent girl who just listened to her parents’ order. However, after she met with Romeo, she grew up from a child to a mature woman, and also her thinking also developed to a mature woman who could even argue with her mom and won. From Act 3 Scene 5, she said to her mom that “ I must wed ere he that should be husband comes to woo. I will not marry yet, and when I do, I swear it shall be Romeo whom you know I hate, rather than Paris.” Juliet leads the talk and her mom seemed no chance to interrupt her and finally called her dad, Capulet to solve the problem. Also, two families’ relationship was also changed by their change.  In the before, Romeo and Juliet believed that love is a solution for their family conflict, but their parents thought the love was not the solution, but like a catalyst to Montague and Capulet. However, after several main characters died, and the Prince’s curse, “ Capulet! Montague! See what a scourge is laid upon your hate, that heaven finds means to kill your joys with love. “ After all things happened, two families, both figured out what they really need to do. But it was ridiculous that their recognition was based on the death of Romeo and Juliet. On the other hand,  Romeo and Juliet believed that their love was the solution for their two families’ conflict. In fact, their death was the true solution of their families’ conflict. So with the sadness on the death of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare used another way to sarcasm the ancient society which all the power controlled in the highest positions, lower class had no power to against. Which made the style of this story be more sad and ironic.
 
Moreover, characters’ change did not make up the whole world, but also the setting was changing. In the book Act 1 Scene 1 and Act 3 Scene 1 readers could directly know the fight happened usually during day times. Also during the conflict happening, the play will increase its speed, so Shakespeare increases the processing of the play. However, when time goes to evening, the love scenes always take place (for example in Act 2 Scene 3 and Act 3 Scene 3 )until the next day’s morning, in this time period, the speed of the show is quite slow. I guess because Shakespeare wanted to make the comparison between the daytime and the night time in order to let readers feel the kind atmosphere in the night and begin to treasure the night time because no one knows what will happen tomorrow. The second change was the climate, it did not only mean the weather but also related with the condition in Verona where Montague was opposite with Capulet. Their conflict made the sadness of Romeo and Juliet, Montague and Capulet’s relation changed from opposition to cooperation because of Romeo and Juliet’s love and death. Readers could understand the tone of the story changed from aggressive and sharp to sad and regret. From Act 1 Scene 1 67, Capulet said that “ My sword, I say! Old Montague is come, and flourishes his blade in spite of me.” To the end, Act 5 Scene 3 298 Capulet said that“ Oh brother Montague, give me thy hand. This is my daughter’s jointure, for no more can I demand.” So the image of the whole play changed from opposition and conflict to the love between two crossed stars and finally turned to the regret and sadness of both families. Shakespeare arranged all the characters and the plots in the most suitable place which let the readers follow with his mind and also can understand his writing world deeply.