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Mortality
(Click the themes infographic to download.)
There's nothing sexier than contemplating your own mortality, right? Well, for Romeo and Juliet, the answer is … actually, yes. Death is never far in the background of Romeo and Juliet. The ancient feud between the Montagues and Capulets puts their "forbidden" relationship in constant danger—and not just the danger of being grounded. Danger of death. This threat lets Shakespeare link death and sex throughout the play so that the suicide becomes an erotic act that both consummates the lovers' passion and (re)unites them in death. Hm. On second thought, we'll stick to pretending that we're immortal.
In Romeo and Juliet, passionate people are doomed to an early death.
Romeo and Juliet's love is so overpowering that death, not sex, is the only way they can fully consummate their relationship.
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