Before reading this review, know that I have seen a lot of and really appreciate the works of William Shakespeare. Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth are among my favorite plays of all time. But, for some reason, I am not very fond of Romeo and Juliet.

Shakespeare takes us to middle-aged Verona, where two "star-crossed lovers" of enemy families fall in love, only to meet a tragic death, because, as Shakespeare seems to be saying, love cannot conquer the chains society puts on us.

So they're in love... actually, the word "love" is just that: a word, and it can mean practically anything. But, there is a distinct difference between "love" and "lust", and this is where my problem with Rome and Juliet arises. Juliet was around twelve, and Romeo was about a couple years older than that, let's say fifteen. So, when this hormone-driven teenager first sees Juliet at the Capulet party, which do you think was reacting first: his heart or his penis? The famous balcony scene, which is appreciated by so many, ends with Romeo asking Juliet if she is going to leave him without satisfaction. What kind of satisfaction is he referring to? It couldn't be emotional satisfaction, because they have just promised their love to each other. Excuse me for being blunt, but the fact is this guy just wants to get laid.

In the next act, Romeo kills Juliet's cousin, Tybalt, after Tybalt kills Romeo's friend, Mercutio. When Juliet hears this, a great panic takes over her. She realizes that she doesn’t really know who she's married. After all, they've only known each other for a couple of days, at most. She screams and yells and calls him a "villain", the highest of insults in a Shakespearean play. But, she is a twelve-year-old girl, so naturally her emotions, her alleged "love" for Romeo, conquers these feelings, thus ruling out any chance of logical reasoning.

There is one more important plot element I feel I must discuss, the final note in the play - the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Juliet takes a potion so that she can appear dead and escape with Romeo, but the plan backfires and Romeo falls into the trap. Juliet is dead, so naturally he kills himself.

As we know from his first lines in the play, Romeo is a romantic and an idealist. If he hadn't been so busy being in love with himself, he may have realized that she was freaking sleeping. Romeo lived his life like he was a character in a play (well, hey, he is a character in a play, but you get my point), and this dramatic, powerful, moving, sensational act of "love" was more a conceited one - it wasn't a sacrifice, he was just indulging in his own arrogance, because he knew people would be touched by his "selflessness".

Also, it's important to note that for the first twenty pages or so, Romeo is in "love" with Rosaline. And then for the rest of the play, he's in "love" with Juliet. He said he couldn't live without Rosaline, and he said he couldn’t live without Juliet. How are we supposed to expect that his affection for Juliet was any stronger than his affection for Rosaline, when he said the exact same things about both of them?

But, as it is Shakespeare, this play is not without its good elements. Its more subtle social statement is an interesting one, especially because it still holds up today, even though the play was written hundreds of years ago.

The Capulets and Montagues had been rivals ever since anybody could remember, but the thing is, nobody could quite remember why, and yet they continue to kill each other over this feud. Shakespeare captured this element of human nature perfectly; we can get so caught up in "the fight" and being mad at someday that our hate will last longer than our memory of the reason for it all.

And, as it is Shakespeare, the language is beautifully written, however empty, and I have to admit that Juliet’s "a rose by any other name..." speech rings with some truth.

But, this play cannot hide that lurking underneath all the pretty soliloquies is Shakespeare's grossly distorted conception of love.

If you're a fan of literature I guess you have to read it, just like if you are a fan of movies you have to watch TRIUMPH OF THE WILL. But, if you aren't a fan of literature, or don't particularly like Shakespeare, stay away from Romeo and Juliet.

Recommended: No