Romeo and Juliet: Two Worlds Anonymous

A major theme in the play Romeo and Juliet is the contrast between the two worlds: real and unreal. In order for true love between the star-crossed lovers to survive, it must exist in both. Romeo lives in the unreal world for the majority of the story, while Juliet alternates between the two. When they are together, Romeo and Juliet live in a harmonious but unreal world. Their love is never allowed to exist in the real world, where their feuding families exist, and so it is doomed from the start. This paper examines three characters – Mercutio, Tybalt, and Lord Capulet – whose solidly real-world behavior and decisions contrast starkly with Romeo and Juliet’s and eventually contribute to that couple’s demise.

The eventual tragedy of Romeo and Juliet begins at their first meeting at the masquerade ball. The meeting is magical and inexplicably powerful, but mostly very unrealistic. The love is represented by a sudden magical spell, Cupid’s arrow simultaneously striking both of them. The initial love is based entirely on physical attraction and quite possibly fueled by its forbidden nature. The relationship is never allowed to exist in public, nor can it grow, and so it never goes beyond physical attraction. Had Romeo and Juliet...