Romeo & Juliet: Act I

First Impressions

I have always known I would read Romeo and Juliet at some point in my life, probably through school, but I never held any expectations to it. Honestly, I have always thought Shakespeare was overrated and frankly, just a waste of time. All I knew about Romeo and Juliet was the basic plot line, which was not very interesting. I mean, two horny teenagers running around Paris and dying from their own stupidity does not seem like such a tragedy. Although, the details of the story that were neglected in the main plot made the play more enjoyable. For example, In the synopsis from the Romeo and Juliet Teacher Handbook, the author states, “The two lords resolve to abandon their feud and vow to erect golden statues in memory of their two children” (12), which rectified the ending of the story. I am an avid reader and the change from average novel formatting to play formatting was difficult to understand and follow.

Benvolio

Benvolio is Romeo’s cousin and kinsman of the Capulets. He is often seen with Romeo and is considered his wingman. He made his first appears at the brawl between the Montagues and the Capulets. Benvolio is seen trying to defuse the situation, “I do but keep the peace. Put up thy sword, or manage it to part these men with me” (13). This quote shows that Benvolio does not have a deep hatred or vengeance against the Montagues and is willing to look past those differences in order to achieve peace. Similarly, his lack of hatred for the Montagues will most likely make him a good friend for Romeo to confide in and support his love for Juliet. Although, before Romeo and Juliet meet, Romeo was heartbroken over his rejection of love from a girl named Rosalie. Benvolio sat down and had a heart to heart talk with Romeo about his problems, supported him in his decisions, and gave meaningful advice to his friend. On page 25 Benvolio is listening to Romeo’s declaration that other people can not make him forget about Rosalie, but Benvolio promises Romeo, “I’ll pay that doctrine or else die in debt.” After a bit of research, I concluded that this Benvolio is telling Romeo he will make Romeo see differently and forget about his heartache, or die trying to do so. Overall, Benvolio is a swell guy who is very supportive and understanding of his friend and his foes.

Love At First Sight

The question many people ask themselves about Romeo and Juliet is whether their love was true and even bring up the question of what would you sacrifice for love? In Romeo and Juliet, those kids sacrificed their live for their love, which is an extreme many people will never have to go through, but makes people question what they’d sacrifice. Most people will never know what they’d sacrifice until the opportunity happens and what kind of love it is. Overall, people can not answer truthfully what they would sacrifice because there are too many factors involved that can affect the decision and outcome.