Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Which events in Act II of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet could actually happen in real life and which seem highly unlikely?

There are instances of things that seem possible and things which may be hard to believe in Act II, particularly in scenes 2 and 3. In Scene 2, Romeo and Juliet pledge their love for each other. This seems plausible as young love is often impetuous. Plenty of couples in the history of love have fallen for each other in what may be termed "love at first sight" (think of Adam and Eve, Paris and Helen and Pyramus and Thisbe). It may seem unlikely, however, that lovers as young as Romeo and Juliet would use such beautiful figurative language as Shakespeare employs in the famous balcony scene. Examples include "It is the East and Juliet is the Sun" or:



O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name,
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.



In Scene 3, it is believable that Friar Laurence would be picking flowers and weeds and commenting on their various abilities to produce both medicine and poison. Many religious men, who vowed poverty and celibacy, delved into scientific endeavors. They had the time to experiment and spend many hours observing what might happen when mixing different herbs and plants. 



It is, however, difficult to believe that Friar Laurence could be convinced so easily to go along with Romeo and agree to marry him to Juliet. He was well aware of the bitter feud between the two families and most certainly would have been more cautious in encouraging the love between the son and daughter of such intractable foes. That he readily volunteers to marry them seems a stretch and mostly a vehicle for Shakespeare's plot.

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