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Romeo and Juliet - Haste

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William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet - Haste In the play, Romeo and Juliet, everything happens very quickly, this is why one of the main themes in Romeo and Juliet is haste. As a result of haste, Romeo and Juliet wind up married and dead within the course of five days. Throughout this play, three characters stand out when it comes to haste; Capulet, Juliet, and of course Romeo. Once Capulet decides that he wants Paris and Juliet to be married, he tries to move things along very quickly. At first, Capulet wants Paris to wait two years before he marries Juliet because she is so young. “My child is yet a stranger in the world, / She hath not seen the change of fourteen years; / Let two more summers wither in their pride, / Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride” (Shakespeare, 1.2.8-11). Capulet then changes his mind but is furious when Juliet does not want to marry Paris. “Is she not proud? doth she not count her blest, / Unworthy as she is, that we have wrought / So worthy a gentleman to be her bride?” (3.5.143-145), “Hang thee, young baggage, disobedient wretch! / I tell thee what: get thee to church a’Thursday, / Or never after look me in the face” (3.5.160-162). Although Juliet does not agree to marry Paris, Capulet agrees for her and makes the wedding date Thursday. Capulet is so anxious for this marriage to happen, that when Juliet finally agrees, he changes the date to Wednesday. Capulet is very quick to make this wedding happen as a result of haste.

Due to the fact that Juliet is quite young, she is impatient and moves things along very quickly when it comes to being with or around Romeo. Romeo and Juliet meet Sunday night during the Capulet banquet, very late that night they agree to marry the next day. Juliet is quick to agree to marry Romeo, as a result of her youth she is naive and thinks falling in love can happen so fast. “Thy purpose

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