Dear Billybob,

       Reading Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is quite interesting. I've learned a lot about the culture of the characters and the society they lived in. At the time, two feuding, wealthy families, the Montagues and the Capulets, lived in Verona, Italy. At the time, Romeo Montague was suffering from heartbreak because the woman he was in love with wanted to remain chaste, and didn't want to have any relationships.
        The characters are very dramatic. Romeo locked himself in a dark room all day because the person he loved didn't love him. I understand that he might have been hurt, even devastated, but his behavior was extremely odd he spoke to Benvolio, his cousin of how he felt like "a lead feather". This shows that he was in agony, because he used these two contradicting terms to describe how he was feeling.
         The people of this time and place seem very violent. A servant of the Capulet family spoke of how he wanted to rape and kill Capulet maidens. They have an odd sense of loyalty to their households. I guess at the time, one's family was most important; but murder in the name of your household is foolish in my opinion. Instead of showing how strong the Capulets are, they seem weak. I see weakness in them because rather than tolerating those they dislike (which can take a LOT of strength) they want to let go of their anger. Sampson, a Capulet servant, seemed to demonstrate his lack of control in the beginning of Scene 1. He seemed like the type to kill many people in a fit of rage, rather than controlling his negative emotions.
         The language of the book is a bit confusing, but I understand the focus of each character's line. The Old-English, when explained, makes a lot of sense.