Rereading of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet

Abstract

Psychology and literature are interconnected in more ways than one. In plays and novels, the characters are expected to be “psychologically true”. Readers may model their lives up on the patterns of play or on the lives of fictional heroes and heroines. Young readers are often more strongly influenced this way. William Shakespeare’s works lead to such psychological influences in one way or the other. One of William Shakespeare’s best psychological works Romeo and Juliet, written in the 1500s is the tragic story of two ‘star-crossed lovers ‘who were led towards death because of their psychological trauma and their immaturity. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the psychology of teenagers in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet- their emotions, moods, sensations, immature thoughts - which lead to their mental stress and tragic end and also to examine the psychological aspects of other minor characters in the play.