Romeo and Juliet

What would you do if one day you happened to go to a party and someone just happened to be completely and madly in love with you the moment they saw you? Would you fall in love with them not knowing who they are? What if on the same night of meeting them and “falling in love”, you both decided to get married? Unfortunately foolish scenarios like that only happen in fairytales; Or in this case, the play “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare. This play is an inappropriate choice for anyone and especially high school students because of the melodramatic love, bitter violence and scenes of suicide. Love can be a mysterious and magical thing, but the way Shakespeare portrays it happens to be somewhat unrealistic and exaggerated aka melodramatic. For instance, in the opening scene Romeo declared to be in love with Rosaline whom did not love him back. He goes on and on ranting about his sadness and how he’ll never love another girl because Rosaline is the most beautiful of all which is considered to be very dramatic and stubborn. “'Tis the way to call hers exquisite, in question more. These happy masks that kiss fair ladies' brows, being black puts us in mind they hide the fair; He that is strucken blind cannot forget the precious treasure of his eyesight lost. Show me a mistress that is passing fair, what doth her beauty serve but as a note where I may read who pass’d that passing fair? Farewell: Thou canst not teach me to forget.” (I, i, 225-234) Often times people like Romeo mix love up with infatuation. At Capulet’s party Romeo spots Juliet and immediately forgets about his “crush” on Rosaline and how heartbroken he was. “Did my heart love till now? Forswear it sight! For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.” (I, v, 52-53) This shows that Juliet is basically just Romeo’s rebound and he’s shallow for instantly falling in love with her looks and knowing nothing about her. Afterwards, Juliet asks her nurse to find out who Romeo is and says she’d rather