Journal #2: Concept, Motif or Symbol

Reflect on your chosen concept, symbol, or motif and discuss how it developed during the film.

An important motif that has symbolic significance in Romeo + Juliet is time. In the movie, time is often limited which leads the characters to make hasty decisions due to their urgency. An example is the announcement of Paris and Juliet's marriage. This sudden announcement leads Juliet to go find the priest and carry out a poor plan. Juliet decides to drink a potion that will fake her death to marry Romeo. A mail is sent by the priest to Romeo who is kicked out of Verona Beach for killing Tybalt, Juliet's cousin. However, Romeo receives the news of Juliet's death before the mail arrives. Romeo rushes to see her missing the letter only by seconds. The news of her death leads Romeo to make an impulsive decision of killing himself next to Juliet. Moments before Juliet wakes up Romeo puts the poison towards his lips, and before Juliet can fully process what is happening Romeo swallows the poison as Juliet snatches the bottle away. Unfortunately, leading to Romeo’s death and Juliet’s suicide as she watches Romeo die. Timing has an important role in how these tragedies lead up to a downfall. The time period that Romeo and Juliet fall in love is also tragic for the two companies, Capulets and Montagues, were enemies for long. Timing to Romeo and Juliet is very unfortunate.