Q: Tsst, see the eggs. I think got two leh!

What I can remember of Romeo and Juliet after five years...

Love is the antithesis (opposite) of war. Shakespeare does not intend the love of Romeo and Juliet to be a religion nor a malady nor cult. The theme of love remains central throughout the play. It is about the purity and intensity of ideal love. Many critics believe that the love of Romeo and Juliet was such that it continues to be constant ever since they lay eyes on each other. Their love is “a perfect blending of body and soul”. The only obstacle to their amour – passion is the family feud (between Montague and Capulet). The mere fact that Romeo did not elope with Juliet to Manturia, and thus could perhaps live with each other till they became old and gray, shows that Shakespeare is dealing with the intense passion of true love.

The love of Romeo and Juliet is unfortunately fatal. It is short-lived, sudden, instantaneous, ardent and sensual. Nothing can come between their love, not even their feuding families. They abandon themselves onto a rudderless course that inevitably ended in a shipwreck. It has to pay a high price; their young lives. Therefore, the crux of the theme deals with love and violence and the resultant repercussions. Shakespeare did not intend their untimely deaths to be the result of the hatred of the houses, not of any other cause, except Love itself.

Love is ephemeral (transient). Love is sacrificial. Above all, Love conquers Death even more than it defeats hate. It sweeps aside everything else so that fate itself seems powerless. Shakespeare actually deals with the intensity of powerful emotions. Love can be so consuming that even in death that love pervades and touches upon others. It continues into the lives of others.

It's all about Love,
Vonnie S.