Theme statements. - Love vs Lust. & Fate is inescapable.

   Love and lust, two very different things that can be easily mistaken if one were to drift off from reality. In all honesty, Romeo had a lot of lust for Juliet. However, he showed signs of love also, but what kind of lust doesn't have a hint of false love? Romeo had lust for Juliet because of the way he presented himself towards her. He praised her with many compliments the moment he saw her. Yet, he told himself that he loved Rosaline deeply and would never let her go. However, after he laid eyes on Juliet, he saw sparks. Romeo depicts his attraction for Juliet's appearance when he stated, "...But love from love, toward school with heavy looks." (2.2) Clearly, this shows that Romeo is in lust for Juliet, because he was only attracted to her because of her looks in the first place. However, we come to realize that later on he realizes that he "loves" her, well that's what he thinks. True love takes time, one can only truly love another if they go through many tough times for as long as they live. In this case, Romeo had only met Juliet for a couple of months, possibly. Through out this whole play, Romeo had never talked about his past memories with her, mainly because of the fact that they couldn't be together due to their family feud anyway. 
   On the other hand, Romeo was in love with Rosaline. She was the girl that he longed for before he met Juliet, despite of her goals to become a virgin the rest of her life. Romeo states that she doesn't love him back, "Out of her favor, where I am in love," (1.1) which shows that maybe he really did like her for her qualtiies, regardless of his rejection. Romeo had known this woman for a longer period of time in comparison to Juliet. All of a sudden Juliet comes along and he snaps out of his despair to "fall in love" with her also, or rather fall in lust.


Furthermore, fate is inescapable in Romeo and Juliet. Fate is inescapable because you cannot change what happens in the future. However, you can always try to prevent something from happening in the future as much as you can, but fate will always be fate. Fate is inescapable in the case of Romeo and Juliet because they could not leave one another as they were madly in "love", or per say, lust. Fate brought them together and gave them happiness and hope. However, their story was mainly revolved around tragedy and despair. "See what a scourge is laid upon your hate, that heaven finds means to kill your joys with love," (5.3) is a quote that stands by this theme statement because it reminded us of how the Montague and the Capulet were the reasons behind the deaths of their own blood. This young couple would have never had a chance to have a happy life due to the amount of their family's hatred. Also, the quote, "A pair of star-crossed lovers" (prologue) demonstrates that these two were destined to become lovers that were forbidden. Meaning, whether they like it or not, they will have to go through many hard obstacles to be with each other. The fate for Romeo and Juliet was never supposed to be a future that is full of happiness. Their fate was to die together, to prove to their family how much they loved each other. Also, Romeo and Juliet only had eyes for only one another, they could always change their fate and come to an agreement to not see each other again, but this isn't the case. These star-crossed lovers could not accept the fact that their family wo that would have lasted for ages if both of them were still alive. That is why they decided to run off and become one of their own, in return to suffer the consequences of being together, as fate is inescapable. Fate is inescapable in not only Romeo and Juliet, but also in reality. You can never get rid of fate no matter how hard you try. To be more specific, you can always change how you act in the present and become something you want to be as time goes by. However, even when you've accomplished your goal, to become better or worse, it is still considered as fate. Whatever happens, happens. 

Juliet's death's responsibility.

    Juliet's death was morally in the hands of the Capulet and Montague family. Due to their past issues and and hatred towards one another, it was initially their fault in the first place. If both of these families had put their problems aside and reconcile, Romeo and Juliet would've never died in the first place. Both of these families were aware that these star-crossed lovers were in love and lust for each other. However, they ignored all of the signs of true love, and chose to be selfish until they realized it was too late to go back and change their ways. 
   Juliet was too in love to think about the consequences if she were to drink the potion that was given to her from Friar Lawrence. Friar Lawrence on the other hand, was very idiotic. He couldn't come to realize that this plan wasn't the one to follow. Instead, he decided to go with his gut and forget about his common sense until it was too late. The consequences that Friar and Juliet had to face was the impact that hit Juliet once she woke up to see Romeo by her side, breathless. Hence, she decided to follow Romeo's footsteps and commit suicide also. She not only died a second time, but also made Friar Lawrence look like a fool that he truly was, due to his actions. 
Also, if these families were to unite and respect each other ahead of time, Juliet could have still been alive, but that is not the case. Instead, Juliet had to have her heart broken the hard way. This would have all been prevented if the two opposing families decided to compromise and allow their children to happily marry one another. That is why Juliet's death was caused by the idiotic actions of Friar Lawrence, followed along with the feud of the Capulet and the Montague family.

Rhetorical device used in Romeo and Juliet assignment

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet," a shortened version of the real quote that William Shakespeare had wrote in Romeo and Juliet, is well-known for its beautiful meaning. The actual full quote of the play is, "What's in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd." The use of this quote was to show that Romeo loved Juliet regardless of the fact that she was part of the Capulet family. Despite that fact that the Montague family proclaimed her as the ruthless and provoked enemy, Romeo still believed that she was still the woman of his dreams.
This quote is well-thought out and lets the readers know that there is actually more to this sentence when you look deeper into it. The use of this quote in the play is to show others that you can't judge a book by it's cover. To further go into detail, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet," is a quote that intends to tell people in a way, that whatever you call a person, whether it's a bad insult or a nice compliment, they will still be whoever they are. Words do not change who they become.


EDIT:
The rhetorical device that William Shakespeare had planned to used was very tricky and mind-twisting. However, the rhetorical device for this quote leans more toward metaphor than it does as a simile. In this quote, "What's in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd," we notice the words "as," in which Juliet compares Romeo to a rose. Meaning, it can kind of be a simile. However, it doesn't really state what the rose smell as, right? "...Would smell as sweet," the word "as" is in between "smell" and sweet". How can smell and sweet be compared? It can't. Hence, why I believe this quote is more of a metaphor due to Juliet's double interpretation from describing Romeo's personality with a rose, in addition to describing the rose itself.

Love and Marriage comparison.

There are many relations and differences in the comparisons of reality in love and marriage to Romeo and Juliet. Reason being, Romeo and Juliet are portrayed as the invincible lovers that do not show any interest in other beings like the affect that they have for each other. William Shakespeare writes Romeo and Juliet as the lovers that are linked with indestructible gold chains. For example, when Romeo sees Juliet at the feast he instantly falls in love as he laid eyes on her as the thought of Rosaline vanished from his mind. Likewise, Juliet also falls in love with Romeo and completely forgets about her 'marriage' with Paris that her mom had arranged beforehand. As we read further along the lines of this play, we come to realize that William Shakespeare purposely depicts this young couple as an unstoppable force, meaning no one can get in their way.
In comparison to this type of love and marriage, the cold reality resembles demonstrates this in a bit of a different way. Normally, love and marriage can be easily broken off in the blink of an eye 'in our world'. That is why North America's divorce rates have gone much higher since the 1930s.

Also, nowadays in our generation we normally don't have many woman that take sexism very lightly. It's a shame that back in the days of William Shakespeare, women were treated as individuals that do not have the right to speak for themselves, or in other words, plan their own marriage. Maybe that's why William Shakespeare made Juliet seem so powerful and worthy in the play. He might have given her the most memorable lines of the play to show others that women can be as superior as the men, if not stronger.

Star-Crossed Lovers.

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR HUNGER GAMES READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

  Star-Crossed lovers, where have we heard and seen this before? Media portrayed these people as humane and full of strength. They are naturally known as two passionate people that have gone against orders and wills to form and evolve a forbidden love. The role of fate in a romantic relationship varies and depends. There are many different movies, novels, TV shows, and comics that have portrayed many couples that go through many different obstacles. It all depends how the plot glides. I personally believe that any author, or director can write and produce a heartwarming story about two people that have fallen deep in love. However, it takes true imagination and creativity to form something that can catch the audience's eyes the moment they see the cover. Using Hunger Games as an example, I truly believe that Suzanne Collins is a genius. Not only did she portray the main characters, Katniss and Peeta, as the stars of the book, but she also created a sort of bond between them.  For example, Katniss and Peeta weren't meant to be lovers in the first place. They were put into an arena to fight one another as entertainment for the Capitol of Panem. However, Katniss and Peeta decided to pull off something unforgettable to surprise the Capitol and beat them at their own game; they relinquished their intelligence and planned to fool the audience. In other words, they became fake lovers in order to gain more popularity. In return of this delinquent act, the Capitol caught on and demanded a confession from these two competitors as soon as they realized this may all be a hoax. Yet, as wreckless as this plan seemed, these two intelligence characters still continued on and persevered.They were both moulded into something that couldn't be forgotten in the broken city of Panem. Furthermore, Katniss and Peeta go through a lot of hardship and struggle, yet they stand side by side, invincible. Whether a rock, an ant, or even a boulder, gets in their way, they stand their ground and embrace one another until they know it is all over. Katniss and peeta's role of fate in a romantic relationship is indescribable, yet you just know that whatever happened between them, is a good thing.

  Adding my two cents in, I do believe that the role of fate in romantic relationships of reality all depend on how much time and effort you put in to form something that is unbreakable. In other words, a relationship can not withstand if one is inattentive. Just like that saying, "Easy come, easy go."