Romeo and Juliet book binding title

Romeo and Juliet: Exploring the Delights and Dangers of Love

By Katarzyna Ignatik, ’20

Romeo and Juliet is easily one of the most known, referenced, performed, and adapted plays in English. Dr. Benedict Whalen, assistant professor of English at Hillsdale College, agrees that the play’s cultural significance is a good reason to teach it at the high school level. “Being an educated, cultured person means knowing the most central themes and works of art within our Western tradition. These are common touchstones in our culture, and among them, Romeo and Juliet plays an important role,” Dr. Whalen said.

 

But more important than the play’s cultural significance are the themes it deals with and the story it tells, especially valuable to high schoolers because of their closeness in age with the main characters. “For young men and women who are just approaching adulthood and working through those tempestuous years, Romeo and Juliet is a great play,” Dr. Whalen said. “The main characters sit right on the border of adulthood when they fall in love and feel these profoundest of adult passions. In the play, we see something of the delights of love, some aspects of its profundity, but also its great dangers and the possible suffering that love may entail.”

 

Click here for a downloadable (PDF format) Romeo and Juliet poster to use in your classroom.