LOVE AS AN INVENTION OF SHAKESPEARE
William Shakespeare's classic Romeo and Juliet is a story of two star-crossed lovers. Though Romeo and Juliet is a triumph of dramatic lyricism, its tragic ending usurps most other aspects of the play and abandons us to unhappy estimates of whether, and to what degree, its young lovers are responsible for their own catastrophe (Bloom 87). The idealistic way that love is portrayed in this play is apparent and although it makes for a good story it has had a hand in shaping the modern idea of love. Only a great mind could have thought up a masterpiece such as Romeo and Juliet, a great mind that without a doubt was not lacking in the least, inspiration or creativity. In fact Shakespeare was compared to Homer and recognized as one of the classic English poets in 1598 by Francis Meres of Palladis, Tamia (Brooke 25). As the person who is behind the modern idea of love, Shakespeare passed on a life full of idealism through the generations with the use of his masterpieces. !Being constantly repeated by several different sources, the idea of love, as being blind and somewhat rushed into, Shakespeare's idea of love lives on and on penetrating our every day conception of what love should be. It is stated best by Harold Bloom, "
ROMEO At the hour of nine. (Shakespeare II, ii, 173-175) Show me a mistress that is passing fair; Polachuk, A. Nicholas. A Plague O' All Our Houses. http://www.geocities.com/capitolhill/1088 JULIET At what o'clock to-morrow earl of South Hampton surfaced. In 1596, Shakespeare buried his son Hamnet. Two years later in the year of 1598 Romeo and Juliet appeared, although Shakespeare's name was not on the title pages. Shakespeare's extremely classic works would not have become realized had it not been for his high social class and the readiness for those in the upper hierarchy to accept his works do to his social status. But to be frank, and give it thee again. Some say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and the plot of Romeo and Juliet has been imitated many times which shows that people listen to the ideas that Shakespeare put forth in it. Ever since the time of Shakespeare there has been many works that have followed the plot of Romeo and Juliet. One that comes to mind is that of the Broadway musical West Side Story. In West Side Story the plot of Romeo and Juliet is apparent and is set in a 1950's American metropolitan area. The characters were changed in order to relate more to the modern audience. The ideas of love that are shown by Shakespeare all appear in the musical. There is the idea of rushed love; we see this when Tony cannot wait to see Maria after the dance. We see lust when the two lovers steal a moment after the murder of Maria's brother. In addition, we also see the way that the shadow of death brings intensity to the relationship of Maria and Tony. In the end Tony dies just as Romeo dies ! and instead of a literal death as Juliet dies, Maria's faith dies instead. What doth her beauty serve but as a note I must be gone and live, or stay and die. My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
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Approximate Word count = 2481
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)
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