Immature Personal Choices in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (Essay Sample)

The tragic ending of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet may have been prevented if each had not made certain immature personal choices.

Both Romeo and Juliet acted impulsively at the outset of their relationship expressing that they would like to be married. In Act II-Scene  II, Juliet says:

“Three words, dear Romeo, and good night indeed.

If that thy bent of love be honourable,

Thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow,

By one that I'll procure to come to thee,

Where and what time thou wilt perform the rite,

And all my fortunes at thy foot I'll lay

And follow thee my lord throughout the world.

Here she is telling Romeo to propose and marry her because both of them know that they are in love with one another. They decided to get married only a day into knowing each other which was hasty, seeing as they have not gotten used to each other's personalities or how they cooperate yet. It is purely looks-based since they have only been alone on a couple of occasions.

At the beginning of the relationship, Juliet fell in love with Romeo as soon as they met. So fast, not giving anyone else a chance. She was young and irresponsible. In Act I-Scene IV, she states:

“Go ask his name: if he be married

My grave is to be my wedding bed.”

She is indicating that she would die if he is married to someone else—before she even knows his name. She is being dramatic, how any 13 year old would, but this shows how fast they are moving. The immaturity is also apparent in Romeo. At the beginning of the play, he is madly in love with a girl named Rosaline. As soon as he lays eyes on Juliet, he forgets about Rosaline and she is the one for him. It could have been only a matter of time before he found a new girl to swoon over.

Nearing the end of their story, Juliet has some hard decisions to make. Because she is only 13, she does not have much experience and is too young to get out of this on her own. In Act IV-Scene I, Juliet agrees to the plan without thinking about the consequences it may have.

“Give me, give me! O, tell not me of fear!”

She consents to the plan which is when the story goes downhill. If Juliet was older, wiser and more mature, she would probably put more thought into a plan or find another way out, seeing that it wouldn’t be the end of the world. 

If Romeo and Juliet had made different decisions and slowed down a little, maybe they would have had a different ending.