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Romeo & Juliet Analytical Essay
- Course
- English
- Institution
- 12th Grade
Essay exploring the power of relationships displayed in Romeo & Juliet
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Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is a play about the forbidden love of two individualsfrom feuding families, the Capulets and the Montagues. Most of the play is centred around the
extent the two go through to try to be with each other, and the dire consequences their love has
on them and those around them. Throughout the play, different relationships are showcased and
developed, and the reader can see how much power they hold over the characters. The
relationships in Romeo and Juliet differ greatly, but they all support the message Shakespeare is
trying to portray. Shakespeare makes a statement on the extreme power that relationships hold
through the use of drastic decisions. He showcases this through the romantic relationship
between Romeo and Juliet, the familial relationship between Juliet and her father, the familial
type relationship Juliet has with the nurse, and the friendship between Romeo and Mercutio.
The majority of the play focuses on the romantic relationship between Romeo and Juliet. Their
relationship is shown to be passionate throughout the play, and it is emphasized that they would
do anything, including die for each other. In Act 2, when Romeo is listening to Juliet
monologuing about him at her window and she says “Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name, /
And, for thy name, which is no part of thee, / Take all myself.” (2.2.50-53). he responds with “I
take thee at thy word. / Call me but love, and I’ll be new baptized. / Henceforth I never will be
Romeo.” (2.2.53-55). In this quote, Romeo is saying he will give up his family name, Montague,
in order to be with Juliet. This shows that his relationship with Juliet means more to him than his
relationship with his family as he was willing to denounce them in order to be with her. This is
important because he has a stronger bond with a girl he has essentially just met than the people
who raised him and who he grew up with. This again demonstrates the intensity of the love he
, developed for Juliet in an extremely short amount of time. Romeo and Juliet went behind their
families’ backs to get married despite the fact that they were aware of their families’ feud, and
despite the fact that they were aware of the possibly dire consequences. The wedding was a
result of the love they shared, and their willingness to betray their families demonstrates the
influence their relationship had on them. In Act 3, when Romeo is banished after killing Tybalt,
an action brought upon because of his relationship with Mercutio, Juliet says she will cry for him
rather than cry for Tybalt. This shows the power of their relationship because Juliet is portrayed
having more love for Romeo, a man she has only known for a day, than she does for her cousin
Tybalt, whom she has known her whole life. This is another example of the playwright using
decisions driven by relationships to emphasize the point he is making, which is that relationships
are very powerful. Their relationship is also what caused Juliet to persuade Friar Lawrence, a
priest, to lie on her behalf so she could run away with Romeo, even though lying is a sin. This
shows that she had even abandoned her respect for her faith because of the romantic relationship
she had with Romeo. Their relationship also affects Juliet’s relationship with the nurse. In Act 3,
the reader can see the nurse’s relationship with Juliet take a turn when the nurse says “I think it
best you married with the County. / O, he’s a lovely gentleman! / Romeo’s a dishclout to him.
(3.5.230-32). She is saying that Juliet will be happy with Count Paris because he is better looking
than Romeo. Juliet then asks if she is speaking from her heart which the nurse says she is. Juliet
disagrees with what the nurse had said and hearing the nurse say she should just marry Paris
causes Juliet to have less faith in her. This lack of trust causes Juliet to not tell the nurse of her
plan to fake her death, as she now believes the nurse would tell the rest of the Capulets. Juliet
does not tell the nurse of her plan even though her knowledge could provide more security for
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