Shakespeare, "Romeo and Juliet": analysis of the work

The work of the great playwright William Shakespeare can be divided into several periods. For the first of them, early tragedies are characteristic, the texts of which are permeated with belief in justice and hope for happiness. Then follows the transition stage. And, finally, a period of late gloomy tragedies.

If you analyze the play "Romeo and Juliet", then the negative sentiments of the poet can be observed quite clearly. After all, in the play, life, as they say, beats the key, in the foreground are good people, conquering the forces of evil. However, the inhumanity shown by the playwright is not so unarmed. It darkens life, threatens it and avenges.

The appearance of the play "Romeo and Juliet" was a significant event in the history of not only English but also world literature. It was the beginning of a new, so-called Shakespearean stage.

Analysis of the dramatic work "Romeo and Juliet" says that in it the basis of the tragedy was social problems. The display of these relations in the play reveals its historical significance.

History of creation and time

The play "Romeo and Juliet" is one of those works of the author, which were written by him at the earliest period of his work. Shakespeare created his famous play between 1591 and 1595.

Consider the plot of Romeo and Juliet. The analysis of the work very briefly describes the story offered by the playwright. She tells us about the alleged death of the main character, the news of which led to the suicide of her beloved boy. This was the reason that the girl also brought scores with life.

Such a plot was first described long before the creation of this play. He met in the poem "Metamorphosis", created by the ancient Roman writer Ovid. The work was written in the 1st century BC. It tells of two lovers - Piram and Fiebe, who lived in Babylon. The parents of the young people were against their meetings, and then they agreed on an overnight visit. Fiba came first and saw a lion there, hunting bulls, whose face was covered in blood. The girl decided that the terrible predator had torn the boy she loved, and fled, dropping a handkerchief along the road. The lion tore up this handkerchief and smeared it in blood. After this the young man came and, deciding that Fiba was dead, he himself was slaughtered with a sword. The girl returned to the appointed place, saw the dying Pyramus, and immediately rushed to the sword.

This story was used by Shakespeare when writing his comedy "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Only there the story of the two beloved represented the amateur theater to the audience.

This plot wandered from the work to the work. So, he was described in one of the Italian novels, and then moved to the English poem, created in 1562 by Arthur Brook. And only a little later Shakespeare became interested in this story. He somewhat modified the English version of the ancient Roman poem. Its effect was reduced from nine months to five days. This changed the time of year during which events occurred. If originally it was winter, then in Shakespeare it passed into the summer. Also, a number of scenes were added to the great playwright. But the most basic difference from all the previous options lies in the deeper content of the plot. This allowed the play to take its rightful place in the history of world literature.

Plot

So, what is the story described in the play "Romeo and Juliet"? Analysis of the work can briefly introduce us to this story. The whole period, during which the tragic events unfold, covers, as already mentioned, only five days.

The beginning of the first act was marked by a brawl of servants belonging to two different families, in a state of enmity with each other. The names of the hosts are the Montagues and the Capulet. Next to the brawl of servants join representatives of these two houses. Do not stay away and the heads of families. Tired of continuing not just a day of discord, the townspeople could barely separate the fighting. On the scene arrives and the prince of Verona with an appeal to end the clash, threatening the violators of death.

The son of Montague - Romeo also comes to the square. He does not participate in these quarrels. His thoughts are entirely occupied by the beautiful girl Rosalina.

Action continues in the house of Capulet. Count Paris arrives at the head of this family. He is a relative of Prince Verona. The Count asks for Juliet's hands, which is the only daughter of the owners. The girl is not yet fourteen years old, but she is obedient to the will of her parents.

The development of the plot

In the house of the Capulet they organize a ball-carnival, on which, wearing masks, young men enter from the house of Benvolio and Montague. It's Mercutio and Romeo. There was a strange alarm on the doorstep of Romeo's house. About it, he told a friend.

During the ball, Juliet met her gaze with Romeo. It struck both like lightning, giving birth to love in hearts.

From the wet nurse Romeo learned that the girl was the daughter of the owners. That Julius was the son of the sworn enemy of their home, Juliet recognized.

Romeo cautiously climbed over the wall and hid in the greenery of the Capuleti garden. Soon Juliet came out onto the balcony. Lovers talked to each other and swore an oath of love, deciding to connect the fate. The feeling so absorbed them that all actions of young people were committed with extraordinary firmness.

They told their story to the confessor of Romeo, the monk Lorenzo, as well as the confidante, the wet nurse of Juliet. The clergyman agrees to hold a secret wedding ceremony for the young, hoping that this union will finally bring reconciliation between the two warring families - Montague and Capulet.

Unexpected turn of events

Then the story tells us about the skirmish that happened on the street between the cousin Juliette Tybalt and Mercutio. Between them there was an exchange of caustic bites, which was interrupted by the appearance of Romeo. The latter, married to Juliet, believes that Tybalt is his relative, and with all his might trying to avoid a quarrel. And this is despite the fact that Juliet's cousin insults Romeo. To protect a friend stands Mercutio. He pounces at Tybalt with his fists. Romeo stands between them. However, Tybalt manages to inflict a fatal blow on Mercutio.

Romeo loses the best friend who died defending his honor. This leads the youth into a rage. He kills the person who appeared on the square of Tybalt, for which he is threatened with execution.

The terrible news came to Juliet. She mourns the death of her brother, but at the same time justifies her lover.

Monk Lorenzo convinces Romeo that he should hide until the moment when forgiveness is granted. Before his departure he meets Juliet, but together they manage to spend only a few hours. The dawn that came with the trills of the lark informed the lovers that they were going to be separated.

And at that time Juliet's parents, who do not know anything about their daughter's wedding, are once again talking about the wedding. Hurry events and Count Paris. The wedding is scheduled for the next day, and all the prayers of the daughter to their parents wait a little without an answer.

Juliet in desperation. She goes to Lorenzo. The monk offers her to go to the trick and pretend to be submissive to the will of his father. In the evening, she needs to take a miracle drug that will plunge her into a state similar to death. Such a dream should last forty-two hours. During this time, Juliet will already be taken to the family crypt, and Lorenzo will tell all about Romeo. Young can escape somewhere until better times.

Before the decisive step, Juliet was seized by fear. However, she drank the whole bottle.

The tragic ending

In the morning, their parents found that their daughter was dead. The whole family plunged into inconsolable mourning. Juliet was buried in the family crypt.

At this time, Romeo is hiding in Mantua and waiting for news from the monk. However, it was not the messenger Lorenzo who came to him, but the servant Balthazar. He brought the terrible news about the death of his beloved. The monk, the messenger Lorenzo, never met Romeo. A young man buys a poison at the local pharmacy and goes to Verona.

The last scene takes place in the tomb. Romeo curses the evil forces that took Juliet from him, kisses her for the last time and drinks poison.
Monk Lorenzo was late for just one instant. He could not revive the young man. At this time, Juliet awakens. She immediately asks him about Romeo. Learning the terrible truth, she plunged the dagger into her chest.

At the end of the story, the Montagues and the Capulets forgot about the enmity. They stretched out their hands and began to mourn the dead children together. On their graves they decided to put gold statues.

Love theme

So, we briefly learned the plot of the poem "Romeo and Juliet". Analysis of the work tells us that his author, describing the tragedy of man, turned first of all to the greatest human feeling. Poem literally imbued with the poetry of love. And the high feeling gets more and more powerful sound as the action approaches the finale.

We continue our acquaintance with the play "Romeo and Juliet". Analysis of the work allows us to understand that it is nothing more than the pathos of love. After all, from the monologues of the main characters it is clear that young people not only admire each other. In their speeches, love is recognized as a divine feeling, receiving a proud, solemn and ecstatic recognition.

Moral issues

What else did Shakespeare want to tell the world? "Romeo and Juliet" (the analysis of the work directly points to this) raises many moral problems. They are not limited to depicting the inspiring and uniting two young people of love. This feeling develops and further grows stronger against the background of other options that show us the relationship between a woman and a man. And Shakespeare told us about them with a different accent of artistic expressiveness. Romeo and Juliet (the analysis of the work makes it clear to us to understand this) have a high sense, the grandeur and purity of which contrasts with other forms of relationships.

The viewer sees the most primitive version at the beginning of the play. These are very crude expressions of servants that women are created only so that they can be pinned to the wall.

Further, a brief analysis of the tragedy "Romeo and Juliet" tells us that there are other carriers of this moral concept. The author assigns such a role to a wet nurse who expresses similar thoughts, but only in a softer form. She persuades her pupil to forget Romeo and marry Paris. This clash of morality leads to an open conflict between the girl and the wet nurse.

What else does the analysis of "Romeo and Juliet" tell us? Shakespeare does not accept another option of the relationship of a man to a woman. He is described in the request of Paris to the old Capulet. For that time, this method of creating a family was quite common. Paris asks Juliet's hands without even asking her feelings. This is clearly enough shows us the analysis of "Romeo and Juliet". Shakespeare in the second scene of the first act with the lips of the old Capulet says that before you ask the girl's hands, she should immediately be pampered. However, Juliet's father himself guarantees Paris the favor of his daughter, being sure of her submission to her parents.

We continue to study the poem "Romeo and Juliet". Analysis of the work tells us that the count never once told the girl about his love. Paris's behavior changes somewhat after the imaginary death of the bride, although at the same time his actions and statements are skimmed by the coldness of the conventions that existed at that time.

Comedy of the play

What else can tell us a short analysis of "Romeo and Juliet"? Shakespeare combines in his work the romantic side of love with the quirks of passion and some oddities. The author points out that a high feeling does not allow a person to continue to live in his usual rhythm, making him not what he was before.

Analysis of "Romeo and Juliet" (8 class) clearly indicates that in some scenes the main character is simply ridiculous. The author shows the reader the intolerant and passionate feeling of the girl who first knew love. In this case, Juliet in comic scenes faced with the guile of the wet nurse. An inexperienced girl requires a servant to tell a story about the actions of Romeo. However, she, referring to fatigue or pain in the bones, constantly postpones the conversation.

Where else is there a comedy in the play "Romeo and Juliet"? Analysis of the work allows you to make unambiguous conclusions that it has more humor and cheerfulness than in other Shakespearean tragedies. The author constantly produces a relaxation of growing tragedy. In this case, the love story is no longer a high romance. It seems to land and goes into the plane of ordinary human relations, but it is not belittled at all.

An unprecedented breadth of views on love is expressed by Shakespeare in his work "Romeo and Juliet." Analysis of the play confirms that virtually all actors in one way or another express their attitude towards the feeling that was born between Romeo and Juliet. At the same time, the evaluation of young people's love is given by characters depending on their own positions. But, nevertheless, the artist himself proceeds from the premise that this high feeling has all-pervading power and is universal. At the same time, it is purely individual, unique and unique.

The power that changes a person

An analysis of Shakespeare's tragedy "Romeo and Juliet" is proved by the fact that love is a demanding feeling, forcing a person to become a fighter. There is no cloudless idyll in the play. The feeling that has arisen between young people, is subjected to a severe test. However, neither the young man nor the girl even for a moment think about whether they should prefer love or choose the hatred that traditionally determines the relationship of the families of Montague and Capulets. Romeo and Juliet, as it were, merge in a single impulse.

However, even a short analysis of "Romeo and Juliet" convincingly proves the fact that, despite the high sense, the individuality of young people did not dissolve in it. Juliet is not inferior to Romeo in decisiveness. However, Shakespeare gave his heroine more spontaneity. Juliet is still a child. She was left two weeks before her fourteenth birthday. Shakespeare inimitably recreated this young image.

Juliet has not yet learned to hide her feelings. She sincerely loves, grieves and admires. She is not familiar with the irony and sincerely does not understand why it is necessary to hate the Montagues. This girl expresses her protest.

All immaturity of feelings and behavior of Juliet with the advent of love disappears. She grows up and starts to understand relations between people much better than her parents. As the daughter of the Capulet, she was able to rise above class prejudice. Juliet preferred to die, but she did not marry an unloved man. Such were her intentions, so she acted.

Analysis of the tragedy "Romeo and Juliet" clearly indicates that with the advent of love, the girl's actions become more confident. She was the first to start a conversation about the wedding and demanded that Romeo did not postpone business in the long box, and the next day became her husband.

The tragedy of love

Studying the "Romeo and Juliet" analysis of the work (grade 8), one can be convinced that the high feeling of young people is surrounded by enmity.

The girl dies, almost without knowing the happiness of love, which she created and dreamed about. There is no such person who could replace her Romeo. Love can not happen again, and without it life will simply lose its meaning.

However, after a short analysis of the work "Romeo and Juliet", we can say with confidence that the cause of the suicide of the girl was not only the death of her lover. Waking up from the spell of a drug given to her by a monk, she realized that the young man had laid his hands on him only because he was sure of her death. She just needed to share his fate. In this, Juliet saw her duty. That was her last wish.

Yes, the heroes of the play took their life from them. However, they also carried a severe sentence of existing inhumanity.

That light of love that was lit by Romeo and Juliet did not lose its strength and warmth in our time. Something close and native to us is in the constancy and energy of their characters, as well as in the courage of their actions. We warmly welcome the nobility of their souls, which is reflected in their rebellious behavior and the desire to assert their own freedom. And this topic, without any doubt, will not lose its relevance and will excite people forever.

Against whom was the rebellion raised?

Some literary scholars believe that the play shows us the clash of fathers and children. At the same time, the conflict erupts between stagnant parents and progressive young people. However, this is not so. Shakespeare did not accidentally create the image of a young Tybalt. This young man is so blinded by anger that he has no other purpose than to exterminate Montague. At the same time, the old Capulet, unable to change anything, admits that it's time to stop enmity. In contrast to the image of Tibelti, he yearns for peace, not for a bloody war.

The love of Romeo and Juliet is opposed to misanthropy. Young people not only expressed their protest about the old views and attitudes. They showed everyone an example of the fact that you can live absolutely differently. People should not be separated from enmity. They should be united by love. This high feeling in the play of Shakespeare opposes the petty-bourgeois stagnation, in the power of which the Capuletti family is. Such a great love is born from the belief in the greatness of man, from admiration for his beauty, from the desire to share with him the pleasures of life. And this feeling is deeply intimate. It connects only the young man and the girl. However, the first irresistible attraction to each other becomes the last because the world around is not yet ripe for love.

Nevertheless, the play does not leave us hope that everything will change for the better. In Shakespeare's tragedy, there is no sense that freedom has been destroyed, and evil has conquered all aspects of life. Heroes do not feel a feeling of complete solitude, which will later overcome Othello, Lear and Coriolanus. Romeo and Juliet are surrounded by loyal friends, the noble monk Lorenzo, servant Balthasar, nurse. Even such a hero as the Duke, despite the fact that he drove Romeo, nevertheless led a policy aimed at the existence and further incitement of civil strife. In this tragedy, power does not oppose the protagonist and is not a hostile force to him.