“He has not learned the lesson of life who does not every day surmount a fear.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson. One faces fear everyday throughout their lifetime but the real question is how does one deal with that fear? Shakespeare in the play, Romeo and Juliet, shows us how people react in fearful situations; given time people are able to make positive choices but if time is limited the wrong choice is often made.
The decisions we make effect all of the people that surround us in our everyday life. In the play Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare writes about the many different ways that the decisions Romeo and Juliet made when they were in fear of the outcome and made a quick decision that negatively affected people around them. The main example of this is the decision made by Friar Lawrence and Juliet for Juliet to fake her death and be able to run away with Romeo. When Friar Lawrence came up with the idea he thought of it in a matter of minutes and was pressured from a fearful Juliet. When Juliet made the final decision to go along with the Friars plan she had no idea how much her decision would affect the people in her life, sure she knew that they would all think she was dead but if she had wanted to she could have come back into contact with people such as her parents or the Nurse. The Friars plan didn`t work at as he had hoped and Romeo and Juliet both ended killing themselves in the name of love. The negative outcomes of this decision that Shakespeare describes is that Juliet`s parents didn`t really know their daughter like they thought they did, Paris couldn`t marry Juliet and was heartbroken, and Romeo`s and Juliet`s parents have to deal with the loss of a child. Shakespeare also shows us that there can be a positive outcome from decision made while in fear, after the discovery of the bodies the Montague`s and the Capulet’s decided to end their fighting. Shakespeare does a great job of showing us the outcomes that can come of making a decision without foresight.
The decisions we make always affect ourselves in one way or another and can either lead to a better decision, acceptance, or a worse decision. Shakespeare, in the play Romeo and Juliet, shows us the way our decisions can affect us in a negative way because we made them in fear. In the play after Mercutio dies and Romeo feels it is necessary to avenge his death so he kills Tybalt and as a result of his action the Prince declares, “And for that offense immediately we do exile him hence… Let Romeo hence in haste, else, when he’s found, that hour is his last…” (III, 1, 185-186 & 193-194, pg. 153) When Romeo and Juliet make the hasty decision to be wed because they are afraid to be without each other there are a few consequences that Shakespeare wrote about were having to lie to their parents and everyone they knew and having Juliet’s hand given away to Paris even thought she was already married to Romeo. Almost everyone knows about the story of Romeo and Juliet and what happens, they all know about Shakespeare’s famous message about how making bad decisions can lead to terrible consequences, such as death. The only real happy thing that comes out of Romeo and Juliet’s decisions is that they are happy with each other while it lasts. Shakespeare seems to be saying overall that if you make a decision because of fear then it will often lead to a worse decision later on or have bad consequences.
Throughout Romeo and Juliet the messages that Shakespeare is saying about fear and foresight in making decisions is that it affects all of the people around us and that it often affects ourselves in negatives ways. Overall Shakespeare in the play, Romeo and Juliet, shows us how people react in fearful situations; given time people are able to make positive choices but if time is limited the wrong choice is often made. Perhaps if there was more time for Romeo and Juliet to make their decisions there would have been different outcomes but as it stands they didn’t have enough knowledge or foresight and made the wrong decision.
Obstacles are like wild animals. They are cowards but they will bluff you if they can. If they see you are afraid of them... they are liable to spring upon you; but if you look them squarely in the eye, they will slink out of sight.
~Orison Swett Marden
