Consequences In Romeo And Juliet

What is more dangerous, an unforeseen tragedy or one you have been anticipating for days? In the play The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, this is pondered through the analyzing of the title characters’ actions. Romeo and Juliet, two teenagers from rival families in ancient Verona, find themselves madly in love after a run-in at a party held by Juliet’s family. Even before the two meet, premonitions of their untimely deaths begin. Some are vague metaphor-like visions in their dreams and some are very obvious moments of sudden realization that something in the next few hours will lead to their deaths. What is puzzling, however, is the fact that despite these clues the pair fails to accept these insights into the future. Had they stopped for a moment to question the meaning behind these moments they surely would have been able to avoid the fatal outcome of their actions, but this is not the case in these lovers’ tale. In The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, the title characters often foresee their untimely deaths but ignore the
By now the two are married, and Romeo has already been banished from Verona. Before he leaves forever, Juliet gazes down at him from her balcony. From her perspective, she says he looks “methinks I see thee, now thou art so low, / as one dead in the bottom of a tomb. / Either my eyesight fails, or thou lookest pale” (3.5.55-57). As if he never heard her, Romeo continues on, thinking nothing of the moment. Later this vision will prove eerily true, as she will find herself above his corpse in the Capulet tomb. This vision, despite being dismissed by the two, could have been a warning sign that prevented their deaths. Once again, if they had listened to their seemingly clairvoyant apparitions, the lovers could have avoided their tragic endings. This ignorance of one’s subconscious ideas and feelings shows the importance of doing just the