Romeo and Juliet Connection

In reading the first scenes of the play, one personal connection that I can make to Romeo and Juliet is that concerning the concept of dreams. In his rant to Romeo, Mercutio shares his opinion about dreams, namely that they are nothing in worth and meaning, and that they can be misleading. In the past, I myself have had numerous experiences where dreams have caused me to think various things, whether positive or negative, until I woke up and realized the opposite. This is also similar to how Romeo was given a foreboding by one of his dreams. While I am in them, dreams often seem very real, not due to great verisimilitude, but because of my lack of consideration toward them. In the sense that dreams can cause me great psychological trouble when I am experiencing them, I find myself agreeing that Mercutio is somewhat correct about their detriment.

The task of reading the play is much less challenging than previously with Great Expectations. For one, the opportunity to read each section twice, both to myself and aloud with the class, helps me to understand both the immediate and more subtle meaning of the story. In addition, having the process of annotating coming in the second reading of the play makes the first reading much less cumbersome, as I do not have to continually stop and annotate while for the first time trying to decipher the text. Other than the notes and explanations on the side of each page in the book, I have not needed to use any other resources to help me in matters of understanding; reading has been going quite well.