In the play, Romeo and Juliet are faced with a series of impossible choices. They are forbidden from being together by their families, and they are both willing to risk their lives to be with each other. When Romeo is banished from Verona, Juliet agrees to marry Paris in order to avoid being forced to marry someone else. However, she knows that she cannot live without Romeo, and she eventually decides to take her own life.
Romeo's suicide is also presented as a tragic act. He is overcome with grief when he believes that Juliet is dead, and he cannot imagine living without her. He stabs himself with a dagger, and he dies in her arms.
Shakespeare's portrayal of suicide in Romeo and Juliet is complex and nuanced. The play does not glorify suicide, but it does present it as a tragic and desperate act that can have devastating consequences.
Evidence from the play that suggests Shakespeare does not glorify suicide:
* Romeo and Juliet are both young and impulsive, and they make decisions without thinking through the consequences.
* Their suicides are presented as tragic and desperate acts that ultimately lead to their downfall.
* The play shows the negative impact of suicide on the other characters, such as Friar Laurence and the two families.
Evidence from the play that suggests Shakespeare may condemn suicide:
* The play presents suicide as a sin. Friar Laurence says, "Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged! / Give me my Romeo, and, when I shall die, / Take him and cut him out in little stars, / And he will make the face of heaven so fine / That all the world will be in love with night / And pay no worship to the garish sun."
* The play shows the negative consequences of suicide, such as the deaths of Romeo and Juliet and the grief of their families.
Ultimately, Shakespeare's portrayal of suicide in Romeo and Juliet is complex and nuanced. The play does not glorify suicide, but it does present it as a tragic and desperate act that can have devastating consequences.