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A review by bozzi1
Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
5.0
“These violent delights have violent ends.”
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Shakespeare can be tough to read or to understand, especially if you’re reading for entertainment and not as a part of a class. There are words I don’t know, contexts I missed, etc. that may make a five star rating seem suspect and I get that. But I rate by how a book makes me feel (and sometimes by my mood) and I love this story.
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No, it’s not a love story. If anything, I think it’s a cautionary tale about the power of hate. The genius of that irony is a big part of why I love it so much. The other reason is because, while I don’t understand all the writing, there are several passages that are so powerful they’ve stuck with me for decades.
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One last note-I’m always confused why people are so distraught because Juliet is 13. This was written in 1597. I have a grandmother that married at 15 and that was in the 20th century. I have another grandmother that made cigarettes out of corn stalks when she was three. There are kids today that are sexually actively at 13-kids raised in a good home, with good parents, not molested or coerced into having sex. It happens. I’m not saying that’s the best way to do things, but I do think it helps if we realize there are people of a young age who have romantic feelings and physically act upon them. I also think it helps to remember when we’re reading fiction. Everyone should have their own feelings and opinions of course, they’re all valid, these are just mine.
•
Shakespeare can be tough to read or to understand, especially if you’re reading for entertainment and not as a part of a class. There are words I don’t know, contexts I missed, etc. that may make a five star rating seem suspect and I get that. But I rate by how a book makes me feel (and sometimes by my mood) and I love this story.
•
No, it’s not a love story. If anything, I think it’s a cautionary tale about the power of hate. The genius of that irony is a big part of why I love it so much. The other reason is because, while I don’t understand all the writing, there are several passages that are so powerful they’ve stuck with me for decades.
•
One last note-I’m always confused why people are so distraught because Juliet is 13. This was written in 1597. I have a grandmother that married at 15 and that was in the 20th century. I have another grandmother that made cigarettes out of corn stalks when she was three. There are kids today that are sexually actively at 13-kids raised in a good home, with good parents, not molested or coerced into having sex. It happens. I’m not saying that’s the best way to do things, but I do think it helps if we realize there are people of a young age who have romantic feelings and physically act upon them. I also think it helps to remember when we’re reading fiction. Everyone should have their own feelings and opinions of course, they’re all valid, these are just mine.