Romeo And Juliet Critical Lens

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Someone once said, "All literature shows us the power of emotion. It is emotion, not reason, that motivates characters in literature." He/she recognized the fact that, in books, most characters think unreasonably and then act on impulses when they are overcome with emotion. This is also proven in Shakespeare's play, "The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet" and Charlotte Bronte's gothic novel, Jane Eyre. In Shakespeare's tragedy, Romeo disregards his reasoning and makes hurried decisions as he is influenced by his passion, while in Jane Eyre, Edward Rochester, though he possesses a great deal of wit, lets his feelings get in the way of his judgment and pursues a young love interest, Jane, when he knows of the social standards that forbid him to fall in love with a peasant. In Shakespeare's classic play, Romeo proves to be influenced solely by emotion and love while he makes irrational choices that ultimately lead to his tragic fate. In the beginning of the play, Romeo quickly marries Juliet within only a few hours of meeting her, without the consent of their parents. Their parents would not allow the marriage anyway, as the two families have had bad blood between each other for many years. Romeo's characterization causes him to disregard the possible consequences of the secretive marriage because he lives in the moment and only cares about his love for Juliet. Later on, the consequences come around full circle as Romeo is faced with banishment when he kills a man out of revenge. The man slays Romeo's close friend, Mercutio, causing him to be overcome with emotion and it motivates him to avenge Mercutio's death. Proving to be a crime of passion, Romeo kills Mercutio's murderer in the middle of town during a rash fury when he has no regards for what punishment he may receive. Towards the end of the play, Romeo visits Juliet in her tomb and, believing she is dead, drinks a
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