Romeo and Juliet

Summary:

In Verona, a city of the USA, we have two hostile families of mighty businessmen: Montague and Capulet. Between their adherance, the so called Montague- and Capulet- Boys, there are big fights, which have taken a lot of victims. So the police chief Captain Prince calls up for peace and everyone, who desturbs it is going to be killed. Romeo, the only son of Ted and Caroline Montague, is sad about an unfortunate love. That's why his friends, headed by Mercutio, Romeo's best buddy and Benvolio, his cousin, want to take him out for a ride this night. As luck will have it, there is a maske ball in the house of their big enemy, Fulgencio Capulet. Romeo tries to refuse, but they tell him that Rosalinde, the girl, he fell unfortunatly in love with, will also be there and stir him up with drugs and so he agrees. At Capulet's villa he sees Juliet, the daughter of the host and smittens. The same happens to her with Romeo. But too late they both recognize each other. As the Montague-Boys want to leave the ball, Romeo stays. He climbs the high walls of the villa, to get to his love's balcony. Juliet talks to the sky about what has happened to her and he observes it. Romeo tells her that he feels the same, so they decide to marry next day, to show, how much they love each other. On the next day Juliet sends her nurse to him, to fix a time. Friar Lorenzo, a really "cool" clergy, consents to this marriage, because he hopes that it will lead their fathers' hostility to an end. Overjoyed, Romeo wants to proclaim his bond of life to Mercutio, but as he arrives at the main-square, Tybalt, the leader of the Capulet-Boys and Juliet's cousin, is allready expecting him there. At the ball he had reconized the guys as Montague's and now he wants to take revenge for this humiliation. Although Romeo tells him that he doesn't want a fight, Tybalt beats him up badly. Because his friend doesn't defent, Mercutio intervenzes and as Romeo wants to prevent that he kills Tybalt, Tybalt stabs Mercutio. Full of hatred and rage, Romeo chases his friend's murderer and shoots him in a duel. Shocked, about what he has done, he flees to Friar Lorenzo. Juliet, torn with sorrow, sends her nurse once again, to tell her husband that she wants to see him. After they have spent the night together, Romeo has to go to Mantua (a near by village), as Captain Prince has decided. On the same day Juliet's mother brings the "good" news, that Dave Paris, the son of the governor and one of the most handsome men of Verona, asks for her hand. She is distressed and rejects it, to which her father applies that she wouldn't be longer his daughter, if she doesn't marry Paris. Also Juliet's mother refuses her help and as the nurse advices to do it, she knows that the Friar would be her last rescue. Lorenzo gives her a poison, which makes the body seem dead. After two days she will wake up and go to Mantua together with her Romeo.

So she takes the mixture, the night before she's going to be married. On the next day they find her "dead" and lay out her body in a hall. Balthasar, the loyal servant of Romeo, sees her and drives as fast as he can, to his master. Friar Lorenzo had sent a letter to Mantua, which tells Romeo the whole story, but there are some problems with the post an so it gets missed. As Balthasar informs Romeo about Juliet's death, he runs wild. A policeman, who has to guard him, tells Captain Prince that Romeo had fled and so they look for him all over the city, also with helicopters. On his way to Verona, Romeo stops at the house of a "poison-brewer" and buys a potion, which should lead him staight to death, after he has been convinced of Juliet's death. Although Romeo gets chased, he can manage it to the hall where his wife is laid out. Flattered by her still lasting beauty, he kisses her lips for the last time. The moment he is drinking the poison, Juliet wakes up. Seeing her Romeo die, she takes his gun and makes an end to her grief.

After everyone has been revanched, Montague and Capulet finally make peace.

Main characters:

Romeo Montague: He is, beside his friends, a thoughtful teenager. His interests do not belong to fights or enemies. No, he thinks about love and why the world is full of hatred. Nobody understands him and so he's becoming a loner. Romeo fells that something bad will happen, but he can't escape from his fate. He doesn't feel hate for the Capulets and as he kills Tybalt, it's only revenge. He would kill everyone, who hurts his best friend Mercutio. He doesn't think that love has any limits, but as he recognizes who Juliet is, he changes his mind. Nevertheless he hardly can forget them with "love's easy wings", until he murders. Although his situation is worse, he doesn't give up. But he loses trust in God and seales his fate.

Juliet Capulet: She is completly innocent of all happenings. She is very lively, but she doesn't have to do anything with the fights between the Montague- and the Capulet-Boys. As she recognizes who Romeo is, she starts to think about their fathers' quarrels. Juliet really loves this guy, so she is strong and tries everything to come together with her husband. She has to die, because everyone (especially her father) is intolerant. Fulgencio Capulet doesn't want to accept an other opinion than his own, he even threatens his daughter, to repudiate her. Just as she dies he recognizes his faults an makes peace with his enemy.

Friar Lorenzo: He tries to combate the hostility between Montague and Capulet with every thinkable method. So he doesn't only marry Romeo and Juliet to make them happy, he also thinks that this maybe could be a way to reconcile them. He takes a lot responsibility to achieve what he wants, but fate is against him. Lorenzo reaches no blame for Romeo and Juliets death.

Tybalt Capulet: He is full with hatred and rage. The only thing that counts for him is his reputation. He is the leader of The Capulet-Boys and starts fights where ever he could. It doesn't matter, if he is right or not, he wants to see blood. I think he often doesn't know what he wants revange for. Tybald is really bad and unscrupulous. He is one, who is guilty of Romeo and Juliets fate.

What kind of "peer pressure":

I think that "Romeo & Juliet" shows very well, how wrong it can be to keep tradition. The hostility between Capulet and Montegue is not really justified. The adherance of both families only needs something exciting and Romeo and Juliet have to pay for it. Tybald and Mercutio (if they could) have to take the responsibility for their own deaths, because they always instigated fights. Romeo wants to keep distance from these problems, but he gets involved as his friend is killed. The really dangerous thing is, that everyone has a desire for revenge and that there is neither tolerance, nor pardon. So a lot of innocent people like Juliet have to die.

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