The story begins as the Capulets and Montagues, enemy families, fight on the street. Of the Montague family, though not fighting is Romeo. He is in despair, for the woman he loves, Rosaline, has sworn never to marry. To keep Romeo's mind off Rosaline, Mecutio and Benvolio, his friends, take him to a party at the Capulet's house. There Romeo meets Juliet Capulet, and they fall I love, unaware of the other's family name. The two arrange secret meetings and eventually marry, now aware of each other's background. A few hours after their wedding, Romeo sees Mecutio and Tybalt, Juliet's cousin, fighting in the street. He tries to separate them, but Tybalt strikes down Mecutio. In his rage, Romeo kills Tybalt, and then runs when he realizes his actions. Romeo is banished from the city, and he and Juliet try to arrange to run away together. At the same time, Lord Capulet, Juliet's father, is forcing Juliet to marry Paris, the Prince of Verona's cousin. Juliet doesn't want to, for she is already married to Romeo, and acquires poison via the Friar. It will make it look like she is dead for a certain amount of time. Juliet takes it and, presuming she is dead, her family buries her with past Capulets' in a tomb. Friar Lawrence sends Romeo a message to have him come back for Juliet, but instead Romeo gets a message from his servant that Juliet is dead. Romeo rushes to Juliet's tomb and goes to see her, unaware that Paris is nearby and follows him. When Paris catches up with Romeo, they fight, and Paris is killed. Romeo then takes a poison and drops dead, not wanting to live without Juliet. Moments later, Juliet wakes up. Seeing her dead Romeo, she takes a knife and, throwing herself across Romeo, plunges it into her chest. All this was witnessed by Benvolio, who informed the Prince. When the Capulets and Montagues learn of the secret love, they stop fighting and agree to live in peace.
I enjoyed reading this book very much. It was a classical love story, but the immense tragedy made it more unique from other stories. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys romantic, tragic love tales. I think I relate to Benvolio. He helped Romeo with his love troubles, which is what I would do with one of my friends almost daily. Also, like me, he likes to express his point of view, but knows when to shut up and just watch. Lastly, we are both loyal to our friends.
SS 7/15/09