Romeo and Juliet

Do you remember freshman lit class?  Remember reading Romeo and Juliet for the first time?  Do you remember Ms. McFarland asking you what genre the play was? And do you remember how, when someone in the class responded that it was a love story obviously, she reminded us that Shakespeare’s plays only fell into two categories – comedy and tragedy?

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy, y’all.

The story has withstood many bastardizations in popular culture – the most recent (and godforsaken) one of my recollection being Taylor Swift’s Love Story… seriously, read those lyrics… Shakespeare is dying all over again; and I think there is a weak and inaccurate allusion to Hawthorne in there too… oh God … but don’t get me started about how I feel about Taylor Swift… that’s not the point.

The point is, Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy; it is not romantic. Let me repeat that: It Is Not Romantic.  And the reason it’s a tragedy is not because there was a love that was not meant to be.  It is a tragedy because of the senseless hatred based on bloodlines and customs, because of the violence, because of the adults who facilitate each step in this story, because of the suicide, because it took loss for people to think about making a change in how they view the world and each other.  This is why it is a tragedy.

The story also tragically reads like an Indian newspaper. 

I’ve been doing some research on child protection recently and couldn’t get Romeo and Juliet out of my mind. It’s a tragedy.

May your Valentine's Day be filled with genuine, less tragic, maybe even less 'romantic' love.  And some comedy: