Literary Analysis Essay on Romeo and Juliet: A Reflection of Today's Evil Society

Introduction

In recent years, evil among human beings seems to increase daily. Ill-practices continue to reign in people's behavior as they compete for the minimum available resources due to their increasing population. Chiefly, artistic works have been put into place to tackle this problem to promote sanity across the universe. One piece that has been used in this angle is Romeo and Juliet.

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Romeo and Juliet is a play that was written by William Shakespeare in the 17th century. The hero and the heroine of the play, who are also the main characters, die at the end of the story making the storyline to e a tragic one (Armstrong & Malllison, 1). The main idea of the story is romance and Love that the author depicts by showing the feeling of compassion between Rome and Juliet. The events that happen in the piece explains the struggle these two lovers encounter while fighting for their love (Armstrong & Malllison, 1). Notably, this play is usually featured in aspects concerning love even though the writer addresses other sensitive issues regarding societal well being.

Most importantly, Shakespeare aimed to show the audience that the world is full of vices that overpower the virtues; thus, the universe becomes an impossible place for a peaceful stay. Again, even though this play was written over a hundred years ago, it still reflects the happening of today's society especially the bad ones. The relationships among the characters vividly depict how people in this era treat another.

Notably, the major vice that is highlighted by Shakespeare is social discrimination. In the play, there is a wide rift between the rich and the poor that prohibit the interaction of persons in these social groups (Armstrong & Malllison, 3). For instance, an individual from a rich background cannot marry from humble rank. Moreover, individuals from lower classes are viewed as less important; thus, they are denied opportunities which are preserved for those from higher classes.

Importantly, the love between Romeo and Juliet failed to blossom because of Romeo's low social class (Armstrong & Mallison, 3). Their respective families, as well as friends, discouraged their relationship citing reasons that indicate that they were not fit for each other. For instance in Act Three Scene 5 of the play, Juliet's nurse advised her to forget Romeo and marry Paris (Armstrong & Mallison, 4). Similarly, Tybalt in Act Two Scene mocks Romeo that Juliet is not his match as they are from antagonist families (Armstrong & Mallison, 4).

Sadly, such discrimination continues to date. A good example is the criticism of UK's Prince Harry engagement to American actress Meghan Markle. According to Harris, the royal criticizers did not support of Harry's choice of wife as she was from a humble background; thus, she was considered unfit to his class.

Another problematic issue highlighted in play is the tendency of parents of wanting to over-control their children's lives. In Romeo and Juliet, parents deny their children the rights to make their choices concerning critical issues about their lives like marriage. For instance, Juliet's parents Lord and Lady Capulet try to force their daughter to marry Paris who is not her choice (Armstrong & Mallison, 4). Similarly, this act still happens in the 21st century despite its democratic revolution where children ought to be more free and open. Research conducted by Conway and West in 2014 confirmed that the primary cause of kid's unstable mental status was pressure exerted by their parents to control their decision making (Conway & West, 200).

Finally, the play shows that there is a thin line between virtues and vices that causes an emotional confusion of hatred and love. For instance, when Romeo is stabbed in the arm by Tybalt while trying to stop his (Tybalt) with Mercutio in Act Three Scene One, he becomes so furious that he stabs Tybalt to death (Armstrong & Mallison, 6). The same attitude in today's world is depicted by terrorist acts that have increased over the years. Terrorists are believed to be religious people, but they indulge themselves in inhuman acts (Tarlow, 2).

Work Cited

Amstrong A. J. & Mallison J. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Study Guide (1st Edition). McGraw-Hill Education, 2009.

Conway, Colleen M., and Chad West. "History of qualitative research in American music education." The Oxford handbook of qualitative research in American music education. 2014.

Harris C. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry told to ignore critics by Prince Charles, claim filmmaker. Updated on March 23, 2019. Accessed on April 3, 2019

Tarlow, Peter E. "The interaction of religion and terrorism." IJSSTH 16 (2017): 1-24.