Essay

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare is a play starring two characters: Romeo and Juliet. These two young people fall deeply in love but cannot be together because of family grudges. The two try everything to be together and even get married secretly. Many factors play roles in this love story that create similarities and differences to our modern society's love stories. 

When the play was written, one would usually get married if they were older than thirteen. Throughout act two, Juliet and Romeo get married. Today, people that just met wouldn't get married that fast. Juliet just met Romeo and Romeo just met Juliet. Nowadays, a teen who feels the same way Juliet felt about Romeo about another guy, would actually take caution because of the crime that has been going on, people getting kidnapped, getting killed, or raped. In act one scene three, nurse says on page thirty five that Juliet is fourteen. Knowing that Romeo is eighteen would give the reader a weird feeling. If a thirteen year old thinks that they like an eighteen year old, one would think that they are crazy. Since in our society people usually date people their own age, and people that get married, get married in their thirties.

In the book, Romeo and Juliet weren't allowed to be together because of family grudges. In our modern society, some people aren't allowed to be in relationships because of religion. For example, if someone were to like people from their same sex, most religions wouldn't allow it. Christians, muslims, hindus, and other religions would find it very disrespectful. The book is similar to the modern world because of the theme of 'star-crossed lovers:' "Lovers whose relationship is doomed to fail are said to be “star-crossed” (frustrated by the stars),because those who believe in astrology claim that the stars control human destiny." -dictionary.com

The outside environment also plays roles in both the book, and in our modern society. In both the book and in our world, there will be at least one person who will make at least one comment on a relationship. It can be positive, or negative. Throughout act one, Juliet's parents are talking about Juliet's marriage with Paris. But a few pages ahead, the nurse, the person closest to Juliet, tells Juliet that she should marry Paris and forget about Romeo. Juliet's love for Romeo is strong enough to ignore what the nurse said and continue with her relationship, even though nurse is the closest person to her. In today's society, most people would actually listen, especially with the bond that Juliet and nurse have. There have been many movies, TV shows, and books written on how "always trust your best friend with relationships:" the best friend tells her best friend that her boyfriend has been cheating on her, the girl doesn't listen, the girl regrets not listening to her best friend. Knowing that most of the people from our world have watched a movie or a TV show that goes with that outline, the person would be smart enough to listen to their best friend.

Reading this text has been very interesting. This text relates to the world by transmitting the theme of 'star-crossed lovers,' it is present in everyday life. The reader should know that not everyone's love life can be controlled by an individual. It is a topic that can be influenced by the outside environment and family members.