Book Synopsis:
In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare creates a violent world, in which two young people fall in love. It is not simply that their families disapprove; the Montagues and the Capulets are engaged in a blood feud.
In this death-filled setting, the movement from love at first sight to the lovers’ final union in death seems almost inevitable. And yet, this play set in an extraordinary world has become the quintessential story of young love. In part because of its exquisite language, it is easy to respond as if it were about all young lovers.
My Review:
3.5/5 stars. I had to read this for school. This book was pretty interesting but it wasn’t an amazing book or anything. The beginning and ending were okay but acts 2 and 3 were probably my favorite and the most enjoyable to read. I can see why this is such a classic.
This is the second classic piece of literature I've read. We also read Of Mice and Men in my English class this year, which I didn't really like that much either. I liked Romeo and Juliet more than that book, but it's still not a favorite. This book was actually pretty different than I was expecting. Before reading Romeo and Juliet I just thought, "Oh, it's just two teenagers who fall in love then die". Obviously, it is about that, but there's more to the plot, like with all the other characters, than I originally thought.
Obviously the plot is kind of dumb and unrealistic, but it was common for people to get married as young as Juliet was when the play was written. Romeo and Juliet is also probably the first romance story to use the "simple misunderstanding or miscommunication causes a huge conflict" trope.
I like a lot of the side characters. My favorite is probably Benvolio, one of Romeo's friends. He never causes any conflict in the whole story and just wants people to stop fighting. He's not a major part of the story but he seems like a sweet guy who gets forgotten about.
My teacher gave us all a version of Romeo and Juliet that had a modern translation as well as the original text, which I was happy about. If it didn't have the modern version I would've been so confused for a lot of the book, especially all the big monologs that use confusing metaphors and old fashioned language.
Overall, it was pretty good and I can see why so many people praise it. I enjoyed it but it wasn't my favorite.
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