Henry Avila's Reviews > Romeo and Juliet

"Never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo "...........The ultimate love story, 400 years old, you may ask why? William Shakespeare's narrative , the poetry, a tragic saga drenched in beauty, the words are magical , a reader will be entranced by its imagery , no one could be better...really a long exquisite poem disguised as a play set in the 14th century of the Renaissance, in Verona, Italy during the turbulent age of petty kingdoms , fierce wars and passionate times. The short but interesting lives, young marriages and early exists, the atmosphere thick with unseen calamities...Romeo , a Montague, loves Juliet, a Capulet...that is a big problem, the two teenagers don't care or understand the long lasting bloody feud, between their families. Hate is not them, passion is...the opposite...a great love consumes the immature couple , after just a few hours of knowing each other they impulsively decide on a secret marriage. Romeo had gone with his friends to a perilous, masquerade party given annually by Juliet's father, at his house, the sumptuous feast is strictly off -limits to their archenemies the Montagues, of course this makes for a rather tantalizing challenge, brave or moronic , the youths want some excitement...The Montague stranger immediately falls in love with this supposedly loathsome girl , of the rival evil clan, the daughter of the leader , the couple are smitten... not knowing their true identities, yet nothing matters to Romeo and Juliet, even after the revelations ... except feelings, too much so it will cause heartache. Then reality sets in ...Mercutio a good friend of Romeo's, is slain in a tawdry street brawl, by Tybalt Juliet's cousin...the lover of hers seeks revenge and kills the Capulet. Now what...Juliet must decide, stay loyal to the family or continue to be a wife, their secret marriage performed by Friar Lawrence, he naively believed the joining of the two would end the foolish conflict...Nevertheless blood flows again, even the Prince in the city cannot stop the animosity, his threatened harsh penalties, including death, does nothing to calm the situation. Romeo is banished forever from town, the distraught daughter of a Capulet is told to marry Count Paris a relative of the ruler Prince Escalus ...How can a 14- year-old girl, not quite a woman, cope. Her adoring servant, who raised her, yet an uneducated nurse, tells Juliet to marry Paris and forget her first wedding...Will she... Friar Lawrence has a dangerous plan... the only hope for the pair, it could result in a happy solution ....A story that will be read again and again...love is always in fashion , especially the kind that engulfs every walking minute in a young life...they know nothing else.