Loss of Innocence: Acts One and Two

[Diana]

Have Romeo and/or Juliet experienced a coming of age/loss of innocence? If so, when? How? How do they feel about this process?

[Joelle]

Juliet has experienced a coming of age, one that I noticed in Act 2 Scene 2. I agree with today's class discussion; that Juliet handles her relationship with Romeo the way an adult would. She plays hard-to-get with Romeo, wanting to know for sure if he truly loves her. "If thou dost love, pronounce it faithfully./Or, if thou thinkest I am too quickly won,/I'll frown and be perverse and say thee nay," (2.2, Lines 99-101) While some girls her age might "live in the moment" and fall in love too fast, Juliet is taking her time to make sure she isn't making a mistake in possibly marrying Romeo. Juliet is clearly serious about this "process", and says to herself, "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?/Deny thy father and refuse thy name,/Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,/And I'll no longer be a Capulet." (2.2, Lines 36-39) This quote proves she's so serious about her relationship, that if Romeo isn't willing to give up his family for her, then she will give up everything and her family for him.

[Joelle]

I completely agree with Joelle on the fact that Juliet has dealt with her situation like an adult. I think falling in love with Romeo caused Juliet to lose her innocence because throughout her entire life everything has been decided for her. This is the first time that she is actually able to make a decision for herself, which happens to be a very large decision. And she really thinks it through. For example, she wouldn't marry Romeo unless she knew he was just as serious about their relationship as she was, which is why she tells him that they can't be together unless he is willing to give up everything for her. Romeo is being mature as well, because he agrees to Juliet's proposal right away, which shows that he knows the seriousness of the situation as well and what they are risking for their love.

[Charleston]

I think they have experienced a lost of innocence, and they definitely have experienced a coming of age. They both committed to each other by getting married and ignoring the feud between their two families. I also noticed that Juliet was committing more than Romeo. It seems as though she's more committed, saying that she'll give and leave behind everything in her life for him, but that's just my opinion. I do believe that Romeo is making a commitment as well, just that it seems Juliet is making a larger one, especially since she's only 13 years old...

[Ryan]

I also agree with BOTH Joelle's, that Juliet has experienced her loss of innocence, though I believe that she may have a little bit of innocence left to lose. Yes, she questioned Romeo's love for her, and put it to the test. "If that thy bent of love be honorable,/ 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," These 4 lines show that Juliet wanted to test Romeo, to see if his love was "puppy love", AKA an immature type of love, or the serious type of love. If he is serious, he will agree to marry Juliet. I admit, it's a nice way of testing the level of Romeo's love. Though truthfully, I think Juliet still is a little immature about this. Yes, she played hard to get. Yet she gave in so easily and quickly after she played hard to get in Act 1 Scene 5. I think that because her mother and her Nurse were pressuring her about marriage so much, she started thinking about marriage and love much more. She might just want to love because she THINKS she does, because of all the pressure around her about love and marriage, but she might not truly be in love. All in all, I do admit, Juliet seems to have had her "loss of innocence" moment.

[Luke]

I think that throughout the book, both Romeo and Juliet have proven to have "lost their innocence", seeing as it is a tragedy due to what they are exposed to. They are both exposed to the fact that their families are enemies to the point that neither family would show any interaction with the other if it did not involve fighting. I think that this is shown especially during their reactions in the end of Act 1 Scene 5, when they both realize who the other is. Also, I think that, despite the fact that they both act quickly, as seen when Romeo commited suicide at hearing of Juliet's so called death and her own suicide at seeing him dead, they are trying to act more maturely as seen when Juliet is testing if Romeo would be willing to follow her to the ends of the Earth, as she apparently would. However, both of them show a quick to act kind of nature, such as Romeo's quick forgetting of Rosaline, which shows both that he has matured but at the same time that he needs to learn to slow down and to "look before he leaps".

[Jacob]

Romeo and Juliet have experienced loss of innocence in many ways. First off, both of them did not listen to their parents and decided to get married. They are so young and they are deciding to get married. They are very mature in deciding to get married. Getting married is a huge step in life. You need to really want to spend the rest of your life with someone to get married. That is a huge decision as well. Deciding to get married is a huge loss of innocence. Also not listening to their parents and running planning to run off together is a loss of innocence. They want to be together so much that they will do anything to get married. They are not going to be under their parents' watch now. They are going to be on their own, happily married. I think they are so deeply in love that they know the risks and again, will do anything to be together. Even if it means completely defying their parents. I think they want to lose their innocence and become responsible adults together.

[Noga]

At this point in the play, both Romeo and Juliet have lost their innocence in some way and have matured. After meeting each other, they realized that not everything in their lives is perfect. they now have to sneak around, and break all the rules in order to be together. This shows that they are losing their innocence because they are breaking new grounds and exploring new things they weren't open to before. Also, now they understand how big the feud is between the families and how life changing it is for the two of them.