Description

In this episode of Hot Takes on the Classics, Emily Maeda and Tim McIntosh revisit Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, asking what makes this story so enduring and how it reshapes tragedy. They trace Romeo’s shift from infatuation to eloquent devotion, highlight Juliet’s prudence and wit, and map the play’s pivot from sparkling comedy to swift catastrophe. The hosts also consider parallels to sectarian conflict and the way the lovers’ deaths reconcile a city divided by an “ancient grudge.” 

Episode Outline

• Opening lines and why Romeo and Juliet may be Shakespeare’s most universally known story
• Romeo before Juliet: clichéd love-sighs and mockery of courtly-love conventions
• “She doth teach the torches to burn bright”: meeting Juliet and the sudden elevation of Romeo’s language
• Juliet’s innocence and wisdom: caution, prudence, and poetic brilliance (Nurse scenes)
• The structural “turn”: from masked-ball comedy to Act III tragedy (Tybalt, Mercutio, banishment)
• Forced marriage to Paris and Friar Lawrence’s risky plan
• Tomb scene and the play’s resolution: private tragedy, public reconciliation
• Comparing tragic models: character-flaw punishment vs. fated misrecognition; who is truly “punished”?
• Cultural echoes and adaptations: West Side Story; the 1996 Baz Luhrmann film
• Closing: why the reconciliation scene matters—and why this grief endures

Key Topics & Takeaways

• From Infatuation to True Speech: Before Juliet, Romeo’s language is wooden and self-dramatizing; after he sees her, his diction becomes vivid and precise—Shakespeare signals genuine love through better poetry.
• Juliet’s Prudent Innocence: Juliet is not naïve; she insists love must be deliberate (“too rash, too unadvised, too sudden”), shows wit with the Nurse, and matches Romeo in lyric power.
• Comedy to Catastrophe: Acts I–II play like a festive comedy; Act III turns on street violence (Tybalt/Mercutio), banishment, and a fateful plan that collapses by minutes.
• Who Bears the Tragic Penalty?: The lovers’ deaths heal the feud; the fathers acknowledge “poor sacrifices of our enmity.” The play’s moral center may indict the parents and the city more than the lovers. 

Questions & Discussion

• Is Romeo and Juliet a “classic” tragedy of character flaw—or something else?
  Consider the difference between punishment for vice (e.g., Macbeth) and tragic misrecognition or fatal timing. Where does this play belong, and why? 
• How does Shakespeare use language to show real love vs. infatuation?
  Compare Romeo’s early clichés to his imagery after meeting Juliet (e.g., “teach the torches to burn bright”). What changes in tone, precision, and metaphor? 
• What makes Juliet a compelling portrait of young wisdom?
  Trace moments of prudence (her “too rash” speech), humor (with the Nurse), and poetic strength. How do these complicate the stereotype of naïve youth? 
• Where does the play most forcefully critique the feud and the city?
  Weigh the banishment, the forced marriage to Paris, and the parents’ final vows. How does public disorder shape private doom—and reconciliation? 
• Why have adaptations and companion works endured (West Side Story, modern films)? Identify which elements—star-crossed love, civic division, youthful courage—translate most powerfully across settings and eras. 

Suggested Reading & Viewing

• Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare 
• Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare 
• As You Like It by William Shakespeare
• Macbeth by William Shakespeare Macbeth 
• Antigone by Sophocles  
• Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller  
• The Odyssey by Homer translated by Emily Wilson
• The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri translated by Allen Mandelbaum 
• Romeo + Juliet. Directed by Baz Luhrmann, 20th Century Fox, 1996.
• West Side Story. Directed by Steven Spielberg, 20th Century Studios, 2021.