miércoles, 10 de septiembre de 2014

Love and death: binary opposition


It is a popular agreement that Romeo's and Juliet's story is about death despite that there is love in the novel. However, love was always present in  Shakespeare's characters and something that one cannot deny is the lovely and confusing language that it was used in the dialogues.
Well, one of the themes that I would like to focus on is love and death. It is obvious that there is a binary opposition between those two concepts and that each of them depend directly; love could not exist without death. As we, readers, know that there was a dispute between the Capulets and the Montagues, the love between Romeo and Juliet will end in death. 
Therefore, one of the scene that called my attention was the balcony scene...I mean, come one, who would not like that her Romeo or Juliet climb up to our balcony...(well, it would be weird if the woman climb it...just saying). That is the dream for many girls, but there is present "death" at the same time: as Juliet fall in love for Romeo, that "fall" means death in the way that love make us blind about everything. I want to express with this that when we are fall for somebody, we do not see the world as we used to see; everything is pink color with little ponies and all that. So, in this sense, that love makes us leave our "original" way of seeing thing and now we create another one.


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.


                                                                                    Romeo and Juliet, chapter 2.1.74-78



Besides, when someone loves somebody is inevitable to fall, to died for someone (in a good way of the expression). Thus, in this sense love depends on death to exist in the novel. Both concepts are related and what is more, I think that death is more important than love at some moments. Despite what I can think about it, love is a feeling that has a strong power in Skakespeare's novel.
Finally, I would like to ask you, would you mind die for love? Would you take that risk? Or would you be safe?



For fear of that, I still will stay with thee,
And never from this palace of dim night
Depart again. Here, here will I remain
With worms that are thy chamber maids. Oh, here
Will I set up my everlasting rest,
And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars
From this world-wearied flesh. Eyes, look your last.
Arms, take your last embrace. And, lips, O you
The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss
A dateless bargain to engrossing death.
(kisses JULIET, takes out the poison)
Come, bitter conduct, come, unsavoury guide.
Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on
The dashing rocks thy seasick, weary bark.
Here’s to my love! (drinks the poison) O true apothecary,
Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die.

                                                                             Romeo and Juliet, act 5, scene 3, page 5.

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