Why I Dislike Romeo and Juliet

About two months ago I did a post describing why I love Gone With the Wind. This time, I'm going to be talking about something I don't like so much.

Romeo and Juliet.

Don't get me wrong, I like the story, I really do and I think Shakespeare is a genius and always will be one, but I have always had a problem with Romeo and Juliet, and as I was flipping through one of my old journals I found a full out rant about exactly why I feel this way, and now I'm going to share some of those reasons with you.

We start the play with Romeo head over heels in love with Rosalie. Rosalie, Rosalie, Rosalie. All he can talk about is how he is, "Out of her favor, and in love." It's depressing and completely superficial, he is not in love, and by what I know of Romeo and his nature she is not the first girl he has been in "love" with.

Romeo is a hopeless romantic who is in love with the idea of love.

The forbidden love aspect and feuding families make for an amazing story premise but the characters just never followed suit with me. If you look at the timeline for Romeo and Juliet it is just insane by how quickly their relationship develops.

(I'm guessing the exact times, the days are what matter.)

Day one, 12:00 pm - Romeo is obsessed with Rosalie.
Day one, 8:00 pm- Romeo sees Juliet and instantly is in love with her.
Day one, 12:00 am - Romeo and Juliet plan to marry the following day.
Day two, 12:00 pm - Romeo kills Tybalt
Day two, 2:00 pm - Juliet doesn't care
Day two, 4:00 pm - Romeo and Juliet get married
Day three, 12:00 am- Juliet's marriage to Paris is planned.
Day four, 12:00 am - Juliet wants to commit suicide.
Day five, 2:00 pm - Juliet and Romeo die.

I'm sorry, but I do not find this romantic. This does not scream the ultimate love story to me, to me this screams insanity and lust. They were kids, I believe Juliet was thirteen at the time and she did not know what love was and it's a great story and I understand that this is classic literature and viewing it almost like a science experiment is not its intention, but I just think that there are so many better examples of true, real, lasting romance in the world.

Lets take Ron and Hermione from Harry Potter for a stroll shall we?

Ron and Hermione's relationship took years to develop yet we all knew it was there, their relationship felt real to the point where we knew it would happen before it did. They were friends first and foremost which led to more which is in itself the most realistic relationship you can find. Harry Potter wasn't about Ron and Hermione's relationship but yet I still definitely cared what happened with them.

I'm not saying that Ron and Hermione's relationship is the ultimate one at all, I just find it to be a really realistic representation of one.

I don't rant about things often and really there are very few pieces of literature that I just don't connect with, but Romeo and Juliet was one of those pieces. I believe that perhaps Shakespeare's intention was not for it to be this love story but maybe to show how the actions of these people can completely change everything. It's a tragedy unlike any other because essentially the parents, the people who should be protecting and loving their children are responsible in part for their ultimate demise.

I believe it is a marvelous play and that Shakespeare is still one of the greatest writers on the planet, but Romeo and Juliet is not great for its love story because its love story seems like it's almost meant to seem artificial. I think he put so much more thought and meaning into it, and I feel like that has gotten lost with the "worlds greatest love story" label found everywhere Romeo and Juliet is these days.

It's just a thought, and I really hope I didn't offend anyone with this because I adore Shakespeare and I even love Romeo and Juliet, it's just the fact it is known for the love story that bothers me when I feel it goes so much deeper than that.

(Please don't sent me hate mail *crosses fingers.*)

Scribbler of Dreams by Mary E. Pearson (1 of many blogs today :] )

Alright so I'm anticipating my first books to come in the mail...I'm super excited about exactly what will be in my mailbox, as I'm not entirely sure but look forward to that.

Also Cheryl Renee Herbsman (author of the upcoming "Breathing" which looks absolutely amazing!) And Suzanne Selfors (author of Saving Juliet, Fortunes Magic Farm, To Catch a Mermaide, and the upcoming Coffeehouse Angel, which may be in my mailbox soon...) have both agreed to do an interview with me in the upcoming months.

Having that said. If there anything you want them to be asked, just e-mail me or leave a comment with the question and it will be added to my list :]

Thank you!

Scribbler of Dreams
by: Mary E. Pearson

From Amazon:

It's the Crutchfields v. the Malones in this lush Romeo and Juliet story about two related California families that have hated each other for generations, even though (or perhaps because) they own adjacent tracks of ocean-view land. Like the rest of her family, 17-year-old Kait Malone blames the Crutchfields for everything, particularly now that her father's in jail for killing Robert Crutchfield in what the Malones claim was an accident. Money is short, because the Malones refuse to sell any of their land, so Kait and her sister must transfer to the public high school under assumed names. And then the unthinkable happens: Kait falls head over heels in love with a beautiful boy named Bram--who turns out to be a Crutchfield. As their romance deepens, Kait's lies about her identity grow ever more complicated. She clings to her conviction that the Crutchfields are monsters--except for Bram--although this belief grows harder and harder to sustain as she meets his family. When Bram's mother loans her the crumbling journals of one of the two sisters who began the feud, Kait finds the truth is a source of compassion. Yet she still postpones her revelation to Bram, as tension builds and the situation finally escalates out of her control. But all ends well, and teen romantics will heave a satisfied sigh at the happily-ever-after ending. (Ages 12 and older) --Patty Campbell --This text refers to the Hardcover edition

Review:

Romeo and Juliet anybody? For those of you who are like me and love all things related to this classic tale of tragic love, The Scribbler of Dreams is for you.

This story is based around this one thing - the two familys, the Crutchfields and the Malones hate eachother. Thats how things have been - and that's how they will remain to be, or at least that's how it seems until Kait Malone, and Bram Crutchfield meet.

It's an unlikely pair Kait's father being in jail for murdering Bram's father and the simple fact that their family's are sworn enemies....so what does Kait do? She keeps those details a secret. What Bram doesn't know wont hurt him right? No.

But when Kait falls in love with Bram, and he falls in love with her, she see's no way around it. If she tells who she really is, he'll hate her, and that is something she is NOT willing to let happen.
This book takes you on a whirlwind of emotion. While I read it I was constantly fighting the urge to skip to the end, just to see and reassure myself it did have a happy ending - but I'm so glad I didn't.

The fight for the end was worth it, for every twist and turn that went against this couple it was worth it - but saying anything more would be giving it away.

This book is a Deffinate 10!

This book is available at all major book sellers I think (Books-A-Million, Barnes and Noble, etc)
And of course Amazon.com :]

Review by Christina :]