When people are in a tough situation they tend to want to control everything, often acting on impulses without thinking through what consequences the outcome may bring. “How could someone act before thinking?” you might be wondering, but that is exactly what Romeo and Juliet did frequently throughout this play. Many of the characters in this play flew through life acting on impulses, looking at one pixel of life’s picture and thinking that is all there is to life, not realizing there is a huge picture in front of them. Despite not taking in the full picture of a problem Romeo and Juliet often acted on impulse, usually causing the problem to get worse. When Romeo met Juliet, he fell in love and impulsively set his purpose in life to marrying
Bent on love, Juliet says she would rather marry Romeo, whom she “hates”. She then goes to the friar and begs him to weep with her unless he has a solution to the predicament of arranged marriage to Paris. The Friar then offers he might have a plan to help Juliet escape from this unwanted marriage. Juliet immediately begs for him to share, ready to face the worst. She declares, “And I will do it without fear or doubt, / To live an unstained wife to my sweet love” (4.1.88-89). All Juliet wants is to be able to stay true to Romeo. The Friar then gives Juliet a sleeping potion which she takes in haste. “Give me, give me! O, tell not me of fear!” (4.1.122) Juliet is foolishly unafraid of the consequences thinking only that she stay true to Romeo by not marrying Paris. Though Juliet contemplates the possibilities of outcomes her decision could bring, she drinks the potion to her beloved Romeo and falls asleep, this only awakening a new
Therefore Romeo goes to a poor apothecary and persuades the man to sell him a strong poison. “Let me have / A dram of poison, such soon-speeding gear / As will disperse itself through all the veins / That the life-weary taker may fall dead,” (5.1.62-65). When Romeo felt the distress of his beloved wife being “dead” his only plan for his life was to die beside her. After Romeo comes to Juliet’s tomb, he kills Paris, and takes his last bitter moments to look at his “dead” wife and selfishly drinks the poison to end his sorrow and his life. “Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on / The dashing rocks thy seasick weary bark. /Here’s to my love!” (5.3.117-119) Romeo drinks the poison for the purpose of being dead with his wife, but had he not been so selfish and impulsive, both he and Juliet would not have died. Yet when Juliet awakes the friar is there and urges her to leave with him for her husband is dead, but Juliet refuses. Henceforth, Juliet finds her Romeo has killed himself with poison without a drop to spare. “O churl. Drunk all, and left no friendly drop / To help me after?” (5.3.169-170) Knowing Romeo has died, Juliet hopes some poison was left to end her misery too. Yet when she realizes the Watch was coming, she thought no more and stabbed herself. “Yea noise? Then I’ll be brief. O Happy dagger. / this is thy sheath. There rust, and let me die” (5.3.175-176). She