More than just Love Story

If somebody tell me to think of one of Shakespeare’s dramas, the first name came into my mind must be Romeo and Juliet, because it is so classic and famous. It is a love story between a boy and a girl, Romeo and Juliet. Before I read this play, I just thought that this was a boring romantic story, but after reading the act one, I now know this is actually more than just love story. This is a story between a childish, immature but romantic boy and a pure and naive girl. 

First of all, before I read this book, I only heard a few things of this story, and from this play, I know some differences between eastern people’s beliefs of love and western people’s beliefs. Romeo and Juliet are both from wealthy families, and they fall in love with each other. However, the dramatic thing is they cannot be together, because their families are enemies. Romeo and Juliet are so sad about this, so they try everything they can do to be together. At last, they choose to be a couple in the heaven; they end their young lives for love. This story is famous as one of the most popular tragedies of Shakespeare. In China, there is a story which is similar to Romeo and Juliet, but the ending of that story is quite different. In the Chinese story, at last, the couple kill themselves, but they became a pair of butterflies. In eastern culture, butterflies represent beauty and love, and the ending represents eastern people's, exactly Chinese people’s beliefs of love. Compare to Romeo and Juliet, eastern people’s beliefs of love are more mythic unrealistic, and western people’s beliefs are more dramatic and realistic. In summary, almost every country has a similar romantic story, but they are also very different, because they all represent different culture. 

Secondly, in the play, Romeo is handsome, amorous, poetic, romantic and sometimes childish; Juliet is beautiful, kind, strong-minded and sometimes willful. Actually, Romeo is many girls’ dream lover, because he is handsome and romantic. In the play, since the first time Romeo shows up, he has always been so romantic and poetic. “Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs; Being perked, a fire sparkling in lovers’ eyes”, Romeo says. (Romeo and Juliet, page 12) When Romeo says this, he is in love with Roseline, and he is lovesick badly. However, after he meets Juliet, he just regards Juliet as his only true love. He changes so fast, and this represents his personalities: romantic, amorous, poetic, but sometimes childish. Compare to Romeo, Juliet is more quiet. Juliet is such a beautiful girl, and she is also a very kind person. When she talks to Nurse, she behaves nicely and politely. She does not demand Nurse; she says: “I pray thee”. (Romeo and Juliet, page 16)Also, Juliet is a strong-minded woman. When her mother and Nurse convince her to marry the good man, Paris, she just say: “I’ll look to like, if looking liking move. But no more deep will I end art mine eye than your consent gives strength to make ‘it’ fly”. (Romeo and Juliet, page 16)Juliet has her own mind, and she has her own ideas about her marriage. However, sometimes Juliet behaves willfully, because she is strong-minded. Even though Romeo and Juliet are both born in big and wealth families, they all have pure souls. They want to get rid of the family issues and the endless hate, so they choose to kill themselves to end these. To conclude, Romeo and Juliet are both special but very similar, that’s why they match perfectly. 

In conclusion, as a famous play, everyone knows it, however, the details are actually the sparkles of this play. Everyone knows that Romeo is handsome and romantic; Juliet is beautiful and kind. However, Romeo is also poetic and childish; Juliet is also strong-minded and willful. Even though other materials tell people much about this impressive play, people still have to explore this couple’s pure souls by themselves.