Two things struck me during this re-reading:

1) From the first scene of the play, the sexual puns are drenched in metaphorical violence (drawing your weapon, laying knife aboard, forcing women to the wall, etc.), creating a stark contrast with the purity of Romeo and Juliet's love and language, and

2) Mercutio, the Nurse and Old Capulet are something totally new both in Shakespeare and also in English drama, that is, characters who are not only realistic but whose language completely reflects their thought processes to the point where they take on a life of their own. Shakespeare would create many other such characters, but these three are the first.

“JULİET
Binlerce kez iyi geceler sana!

ROMEO
Binlerce kez beter olsun gece, senin ışığın yoksa.”

Sayfa 44

reading Romeo and Juliet for the two eponymous characters : meh. where's the flavor in this ?

Fuckin’ around and finding out in fair Verona.

The people who dislike this play are the ones who view common sense over being rational, and prefer to view the world in a structured way. One of the main arguments that come across is the 'meeting, falling in love, and dying all in a weekend when Juliet is but 13'. We all must die in the end, so wouldn't you want to in the name of love than of an awful disease?
Perhaps the two lovers weren't truly in love, but their last living moments were spent believing so, so what does it matter? How can one truly know if one is in love? Is it a feeling? In that case, what is a feeling? If you believe you are in love, then you may as well be, contrary to what others might say.
The argument with the 'weak' plot; Shakespeare didn't invent Romeo and Juliet. It was infact a poem which is constantly being adapted over time. Shakespeare did add in some aspects but the meeting in the ballroom, Tybalts death, the sleeping draught and such were already in the poem.

I personally love this play, purely because it's an escape from this modern world. I'm not saying I like the treatment of women, nor the fighting, but it's like a different world that i'm never going to experience, and reading it through Shakespeare's gorgeous writing makes Verona seem all the more romantic.

First read: 2 stars
Second read: 4 stars.

I think I enjoyed it way more this time because I wasn't chosen to read the balcony scene as Juliet with a guy everyone shipped me with who was Romeo, thank you God. (Holy shit was that the most embarrassing reading I EVER did)

So.
I finally read this.
I regret everything.

review to come

يعني انت عامل فيها : روميو؟
سؤال استنكاري مرح..لا يعني عبر العالم كله سوى انك عاشق بجنون
نادرة هي الشخصيات الادبية التي تقفز خارج السطور..لتتحول إلى أساطير واقعية..نلفظ باسمها بدلا من جمل تملأ مجلدات

و سر خلود شخصية روميو.انه احد الرجال القلائل في الأدب..و في الواقع".ممن ضحوا بحياتهم من أجل الحب"

الحب هو مفتاح شخصية ذلك الشاب الذكي..حاد اللسان..المفتقر إلى الوسطية
زاده حبه لجولييت نزقاً..و ليس نضجا

و على النقيض نجد جولييت..فرغم سنواتها ال 14تتبلور شخصيتها بعد وقوعها في الحب ..و تتحول لفتاة ذات إرادة و قوة..وفي خلال 5ايام هي كل عمر قصة الحب التي صدعتنا لقروون..تحولت لامرأة وفية قادرة.. ✒
و من الغريب حقا ..ان مدارس العالم اتفقت علي ان تقررها على الطلبة في سن 14-15..لا اعلم ..من باب الإنذار و لا التشجيع؟

على المستوى الشخصي أري ان شكسبير كان موفقا حقا في اختيار هذا السن الصغير..هكذا صار من حقه..التمادي الىاقصى مدى في تطورات هذا الحب ..و أثبت لنا للمرة المائة ..ان ذكائه و خياله كان سابقا لعصره✏
وصالحا لكل العصور...ويكفيه فخرا أن روميو هو اللقب الذي يحظى به كل عاشق ..بعد مرور 4قرون كاملة

⁀➷ ★.5

i honestly believe the reason people dislike ‘romeo and juliet’ comes down to the way they interpret the play overall. because arguably, it was never intended to be an idealistic romance. in fact, first and foremost, it is a tragedy.

whilst it certainly places heavy emphasis on the relationship between the two young protagonists, beyond that, it focuses on the consequences of rivalry and the dangers of being infatuated with someone. it is devastating not only in the two’s life- sacrificing devotion for each other, or the fact that they couldn’t be together, but above all, because they were children who didn’t know any better. they were children that felt so confined and pressured by the expectations placed on their shoulders, and the feud between their families, that it cost them their lives.

whilst you may not have particularly enjoyed this piece, i think we can all appreciate how monumental and influential it was. it has changed and shaped theatre and literature as we know it today, and paired with the thought-provoking themes and beautiful writing, it's become my favourite of shakespeare's work.

“come, gentle night; come, loving, black-browed night;
give me my romeo; and, when i shall die,
take him and cut him out in little stars,
and he will make the face of heaven so fine
that all the world will be in love with night...”
UGH.. there's a reason we still talk about this play <3

⇢ ˗ˏˋ The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet ࿐ྂ
⇢ ˗ˏˋ 2 stars࿐ྂ

as my ex-boyfriend (we were still together at the time lol) said after we finished reading this in english class- "i see why it's called the tragedy of romeo and juliet. it's not a tragedy because of the death. it's a tragedy because of all the lust"

the miscommunication trope if it was a book!