Romeo & Juliet: A Tragedy

by William Shakespeare

Romeo & Juliet is a play written during the Middle Ages, more commonly known as the Medieval times. Upon reading the first few pages of, based on what I have been hearing, one of literature's greatest pieces, I was quite disappointed by the display or lack thereof feminism showed by Gregory and Sampson, two servants from the Capulet house. This lack of feminism is shown consistently throughout the piece which made it hard for me ignore. However, I managed to do so. Past that particular flaw was, surprisingly for me, a fast-paced love story between Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. With all the hype the book is putting up, I'd think it'd be a little more slow-paced and would actually give a bit more time for the two to fall in love but no, such was not the case. The romance was claimed to be love at first sight which I personally don't believe in so that, combined with the aforementioned patriarchal society, made it hard for me to believe the depth and genuineness that Romeo claimed his love for Juliet was. Still able to bear these two flaws in the play, I read on and found the rest of it truly astounding and worth the time.

The finale was not to my expectation. I would think that the two young lovers would be able to go on with their plan, be happily married and, bring together their hearts as well as crushing the feud that plagues their two families just like every other romance novel I have ever read and been disappointed by. I was ghastly wrong. The play ended with the catastrophic death of Romeo & Juliet, the two star-crossed lovers from opposing rival families, the Montagues and Capulets. Looking into the plot, I realized that the whole point of the play was not the love story, it was the feud between the Montagues and Capulets. The love story was only a secondary to the play which is why it all moved so fast. The part I would modify about the ending starts when Romeo and Paris fight. The ending I have come up with is typed below:

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PARIS
I refuse your request. I'm arresting you as a criminal.

ROMEO
Are you going to provoke me? Alright, let's fight, boy! 

They fight. ROMEO falls and dies.

PARIS

I must make haste, the scoundrel must have defiled my Juliet's resting place.

PARIS opens the tomb to reveal JULIET inside.

PARIS

Oh thank the norns my Juliet lies here, unsullied by a Montague. Her beauty fills the tomb with light, ne'er have I seen a grave as striking as this in which my love lays.

JULIET wakes up.

JULIET

Oh Paris! Where is my husband? Where is my darling Romeo?

PARIS

Ah, daughter of Capulet, death does not hold you in its cold hands after all! I have bested the ruffian Montague in battle, naturally. I, the great Paris, have slain Romeo Montague. We may be together at last, fair maiden, for we have no oafish lout to keep us apart any longer.

JULIET

My Romeo lies with the dead? Oh woe is me, my true love is gone!

PARIS

My dear Juliet, I am your true love. I wish to marry you. Together we will live favorably and bring much honor to the name of Capulet.

JULIET

I do not aspire to be wed to a man who dare kill another man, my Romeo, no less.

JULIET takes a dagger from Tybalt's nearby corpse. She stabs PARIS with it.

JULIET

Ah, dear Romeo, without you, I refuse to live. I will join you, wherever you are. I shall stay with you. And I will ne'er leave this tomb. Here, here I'll remain with worms that are your chamber-maids. Oh, I'll rest here forever. I'll forget about all the bad luck that has troubled me. Eyes, look out for the last time! Arms, make your last embrace! And lips, you are the doors of breath. Seal with a righteous kiss the deal I have made with death forever. (JULIET kisses ROMEO and points the dagger to herself) My body will be your sheath. Rust inside my body and let me die.

(she stabs herself with TYBALT's dagger and dies)

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The rest of it should go as the play does.