Romeo and Juliet

I'm reading Romeo and Juliet in my English class right now. It's kind of interesting, actually more than kind of, it's really interesting. I mean, it's slightly difficult to get into the swing of the language and understand what it all means, but that's why I have the CliffsComplete version. There were certain things I expected when I started reading (it's not like I don't know how it ends) but what I didn't expect was how hot it was going to be. I mean, I didn't realize how steamy the Bard was. Maybe my thoughts are clouded, since I was watching clips of the movie version yesterday, with Leonard Whiting and Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo, or maybe I just haven't been exposed to that much Shakespeare, but man, it's pretty intense. I also didn't realize that there would be anything romantic in this English class, since the other books we have had to read seem to be aimed at making it impossible to ever eat pork again, (Lord of the Flies and Animal Farm. Do you really want to think about a sow's head on a stick covered with flies or an evil dictator who trains puppies to be his army when you are eating a BLT? I didn't think so.)

Well, maybe I can't blame the course completely, since I did kind of pick those books, but they still could have given me a warning. I think I'm getting off track here, back to Romeo and Juliet. I just keep thinking about how Juliet is younger than me. Seriously, she's like the same age as my little sister. I know it was a different time, blah blah blah, but still. She was 13 and was married. To a guy she just meant like two or three days before. It's not even that she's married at such a young age, but that she's so devoted to Romeo. And also, how many times do the characters in this play threaten suicide, before they finally off themselves? There's a whole bunch. So, Romeo and Juliet is a play about teenagers willing to kill themselves over each other. If you were to set this play in modern times, people would just chalk it up to teen hormones and angst. I guess that's why West Side Story didn't follow the traditional ending. They knew it would seem like a little much. Rereading what I just wrote, it seems like I don't like this play. For the record, I really, really do. I think that minor rant came out of jealousy. I kind of want to live in Italy with gorgeous boyfriend and go to masquerade balls. But on the other had, I do have a lot of perks that Juliet could never dream of. And I think that those sword fights in the streets of Verona would get old pretty fast. And, depending on when the story takes place, wouldn't there be a risk of contracting the black plague? And also, didn't they only have beer or ale to drink? Hmmm... maybe I should stick to this time period. I think that sounds like a good plan...

- Katie