The Voice of Reason

At the end of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Lord Capulet and Lord Montague decide to make peace. Lord Montague promises to raise a gold statue of Juliet and Lord Capulet vows to do the same for Romeo. By this point in the story, there is no doubt that the families will keep their word. However, one is left thinking whether the peace will last or not. The deaths of Mercutio, Tybalt, Juliet and Romeo were all caused by the feud between the two families, yet it took Juliet’s death, combined with Romeo’s to end the feud.

The lives that were lost might be enough to maintain harmony between them for a long time, maybe forever. The Prince is the voice of reason in Romeo and Juliet. He was the one who forbade the Capulet’s and the Montague’s from fighting in the streets because they would disturb the peace. Either way, Mercutio and Tybalt died, resulting in the banishment of Romeo. However, while the Prince tried to maintain the peace, he never quite laid down the law with the battling families. It’s like they say, if you can’t see it, it’s not there.

Once the Capulet’s and the Montague’s were battling in full view of the people of Verona, the Prince just couldn’t ignore it anymore. Yet what he did had no impact on the families whatsoever. Threats didn’t scare them. So they continued hating each other. “Where be these enemies? /Capulet! Montague! /See, what a scourge is laid upon your hate,/That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love. /And I for winking at your discords too/Have lost a brace of kinsmen: all are punish'd. ”(V. 3. 291-296) . In this quote, the prince is berating himself for doing almost nothing about the feud.

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He exclaims that because of their hatred for each other, the heavens punished them by taking their children, Juliet and Romeo. Finally understanding the horrors the feud had created, Lord Capulet and Lord Montague make amends to each other by agreeing to end the feud and raising gold statues in honor of Romeo and Juliet‘s deaths. “Capulet: O brother Montague, give me thy hand: This is my daughter’s jointure, for no more Can I demand. Montague: But I can give thee more:For I will raise her statue in pure gold;That while Verona by that name is known,There shall no figure at such rate be setAs that of true and faithful Juliet.

Capulet: As rich shall Romeo's by his lady's lie;Poor sacrifices of our enmity! ” (V. 3. 297-306) For generations to come, the story of Romeo and Juliet will be passed down from Capulet to Montague to Capulet, maintaining the peace and uniting the families. Maybe there will be another Montague who falls in love with a Capulet and maybe this time, the ending will be a happy one. As the Prince mournfully states “ Some shall be pardon'd, and some punished:For never was a story of more woeThan this of Juliet and her Romeo. ”(V. 3. 308-310)

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