Rash Decisions in Romeo & Juliet

Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet tells the story of two young adolescents from rival households who fall in love instantaneously at a gathering and become star crossed lovers who try to defy the odds to be together but fail, Most all the characters in this play make quick decisions that are not thought through completely and these decisions affect the calamitous outcome of the play Shakespeare uses the element of haste throughout this play to demonstrate how rapidly and spontaneously this love story progresses into a tragedy, The series of hurried and rash decisions made by Romeo, Juliet and other characters ultimately lead to both their deaths.

When they had just met that night, Romeo and Juliet are so infatuated with each other that they decide they want to get married the next day, their spontaneous marriage causes a domino effect that creates problems later in the play. They almost immediately start to speak about getting married when this is only the second time they have met, “ if that thy bent of love be honorable.

Thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow”(li,ii, 150-151) Juliet tells Romeo to send her word about them getting married right away, their love goes at a very rapid pace, to the point where you could easily call them strangers, but they have already decided to get married Their marriage causes Juliet to be unable to marry Paris, and she goes to the Friar for help, and his plan leads to the death of Romeo, Juliet, and Paris.

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Their quick and careless decision to get married causes turmoil and has serious consequences later in the play The night they first meet Romeo and Juliet meet again in the balcony scene to proclaim their love and promise each other to get married right away, this reckless decision to elope leads to a series of disastrous events, When Romeo is trying to convince the friar to marry them he insists that they hurry, Romeo: ”0, let us hence, I stand on sudden haste/Friar L: “Wisely and slow, They stumble that run fast.” (11, IV 100—101), this factor of haste contributes to the fast pace in which the play spirals into chaos.

The Friar is trying to explain to Romeo that he should not rush he and Juliet’s love because if they take things too quickly they’re love will not prosper. Also in this passage the Friar is foreshadowing how Romeo and Juliet’s relationship will end in tragedy instead of flourishing, already when they are about to get married the foreshadowing is telling that it will end badly, The Friar is a character that is constantly helping instill the factor of haste into the play while still constantly foreshadowing the events that will happen in the future When they are about to be married Friar Lawrence gives a warning of sorts to Romeo, “These violent delights have violent ends / And in their triumph die like fire and powder/ Which, as they kiss, consume” (2,6,9—11). This passage shows that the friar has some doubts about marrying them but he goes through with it anyways because he thinks their marriage will end the feud between the families l-le compares Romeo and Juliet’s love to fire and powder which together cause an explosion and it is a quick happening reaction it happens and then its gone in a moment leaving a path of destruction in its wake, much like fire and powder their short-lived love was fast and left a trail of death and sadness when it was over.

When Juliet is “dead” Balthasar goes to Mantua and tells Romeo, this causes Romeo to make a rash decision to go back to Verona to die with Juliet, he immediately goes to an apothecary to acquire poison to kill himself. When Balthasar tells Romeo about Juliet, Romeo reacts on spur-of-the-moment and Balthasar begs him to wait, Romeo: “1 will hence tonight”/ Balthasar: “I do beseech you, sir, have patience“(V,i,27A28). Romeo is heartbroken and acts foolhardy instead of thinking things through and waiting for the Friar’s letter to explain what happened with Juliet. Balthasar’s decision to go tell Romeo about Juliet’s death immediately, before knowing any of the details, and Romeo’s brash decision to buy poison and go back to Verona and commit suicide to be with Juliet caused the story to unfold into a tragedy, if Balthasar and Romeo had not been so sudden in their decision-making at this point in the play it would not have ended in so much bloodshed. The ill-advised and hasty decisions made in this play cause a domino effect that leads to a chaotic and grim end for most of the characters. The element of haste and hurriedness that Shakespeare conveys throughout this play shows how quickly things fell apart in Verona because of the “star crossed lovers’i It also demonstrates how unplanned and intractable their love was and how they rushed into things without thinking of the consequences Romeo and Juliet should have known that acting recklessly or out of infatuation can lead to uncharted consequences and in their situation a tragic ending.