mermaid.

people who criticize romeo and juliet as dumb because they fell in love after one day or debate whether it was really true love miss the point of the play, that violence ( particularly senseless, inherited violence ) corrupts everything, even love and youth. verona is violent. there is no true love or joy there. we don’t know much about romeo’s relationship with his parents, but juliet’s parents threaten to disown her the moment she refuses to obey them, and it’s obvious that a history of violence has distorted everyone. everyone except romeo and juliet. it’s made clear from the start that in a hateful world, they both long for love and peace, the only two who do, and then they see each other. just for a moment, but long enough to see something more than the violence around them. they’re kids, abused or neglected, desperate for love. so yes, they seize it immediately ( why shouldn’t they? they’ve learned in verona, everything must be taken by force ) and refuse to let it slip away and they fight for it. but it’s not enough, they can’t escape the violence ( either as a victim or a perpetrator of it ) and ultimately meet a violent end, because what else was ever a possibility for them? violence infects everything, destroys everything, and ultimately causes the ruin of all, especially the innocents.