Tadgear's Articles #2: A Tragedy Is Bipolar Disorder

In article 2 of this series, I will research "Romeo and Juliet" and bipolar disorder's symptoms to see if I can diagnose the character Romeo of this condition.

At least in the International Academy of Macomb, every student had to read "Romeo and Juliet" in their freshman year. It is one of the most memorable works by Shakespeare, and its underlying meanings are still being deciphered today. I noticed though that while reading the story that the character Romeo acted unusual compared to other characters. His emotions and actions seemed to be some of the most excessive out of all of them. This brought up to mind a condition that I learned in the past called "Bipolar Disorder". So in the name of research, and getting a good grade on this project, I began to research both the famous Shakespearean work and the mental disorder.

First, the story of "Romeo and Juliet" must be explained. Spoilers ahead if you're a freshman at my school, although you all probably already know what happens. "Romeo and Juliet" is the story of two lovers who come from enemy families (Shakespeare 1597). When the two are about to be split apart permanently by the rivalry between houses (another term for families), they die for each other in an over-dramatic finale (Shakespeare 1597). The suicide alone, while dramatic, is not why I wrote this article though. We will have a more in depth analysis when comparing the two later on.

Next, Bipolar Disorder has to be explained. Bipolar can be split into "bi" which means 2, and "polar", which stands for opposites. This means that Bipolar Disorder is when the subject's mental state experiences both extreme high points and extreme low points (Signs and Symptoms of Mood Disorders). High points can include over-the-top actions and expressions, as well as an extremely inflated ego, while low points can include extreme emotional and mental turbulence (the opposite of an ego) as well as self-harm (Signs and Symptoms of Mood Disorders).

After researching both, the connections were quite blatant. While there is the self-harm category connecting to Romeo's constant suicidal thoughts, it dives much deeper than that. The morning after Romeo meets Juliet for the first time, he is so ecstatic that he jumps over her house's fence to see her again. Benvolio, seeing this, responds, "He ran this way, and leap'd this orchard wall," (II.i.6). He also, later that day, marries Juliet goes to a friar to get married with Juliet. He tells the Friar,

"Then plainly know my heart's dear love is set

On the fair daughter of rich Capulet:

As mine on hers, so hers is set on mine;

And all combined, save what thou must combine

By holy marriage: when and where and how

We met, we woo'd and made exchange of vow,

I'll tell thee as we pass; but this I pray,

That thou consent to marry us to-day." (II.iii.61-68).

This is a dramatic change considering yesterday he said,

"Why, such is love's transgression.

Griefs of mine own lie heavy in my breast,

Which thou wilt propagate, to have it prest

With more of thine: this love that thou hast shown

Doth add more grief to too much of mine own.

Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs;

Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes;

Being vex'd a sea nourish'd with lovers' tears:

What is it else? a madness most discreet,

A choking gall and a preserving sweet.

Farewell, my coz." (I.i.192-202).

On the first day, he compares love to smoke and grief. On the next day, he calls it "holy" when talking about marriage. This is a major change that occurs in less than 24 hours. These are just thoughts though, so that action section is still left to be desired. That is until you see that Romeo ends up killing 3 people by the end of the work, including himself. The first was Tybalt for killing Romeo's friend Mercutio, and the second was Paris so that he can go to Juliet's corpse to die with her (Shakespeare 1957). This, may I include, takes place after he gets married to a girl he knew of for a day. The drastic changes in such short amounts of time is quite astonishing, especially compared to the lack of changes in other characters' thoughts and emotions.

There is one major blemish though, culture. Present day American culture is much different compared to ancient Veronan culture. For example, the 14-year-old Juliet was arranged to marry Paris, who is in his mid-20s. This shows that ancient Veronan culture accepted the marriage of young individuals. With this in mind, it is not unusual to see why Romeo would marry Juliet at such a young age. There is also the prevalence of weaponry that Romeo uses during his low points, but one of the largest aspects of Veronan culture was the celebrity status that gladiators had (Cartwright 2014). This influenced citizens to follow suit and show off similar to how people today try to follow in our celebrities' footsteps.

Either way though, there are rebuttals to these counterclaims. First, there is the fact that Romeo's first low point was caused by a love of a girl named Rosaline, a girl that didn't love him back. Then, to change loves this quickly, seems unusual. The friar even says, "Holy Saint Francis, what a change is here!

Is Rosaline, whom thou didst love so dear, So soon forsaken?" (II.iii.69-71). Even if the ages were appropriate, this doesn't excuse the irrationality of Romeo's thoughts. Second of all, the prevalence of weaponry doesn't make Romeo seem more normal, it just better allows his bipolar emotions to be seen more easily. While it is true that violence is more common in ancient Verona than in modern times, Romeo still is one of the most violent characters in the entire story. The counterclaim is a false excuse.

Finally, I want to talk really quick about Juliet. After all, she did commit suicide along with Romeo, agree to marry him, and so on. Could she have it too. Well, it more has to do with child imitation. Just like the saying, "monkey see, monkey do," Juliet is seeing the actions of Romeo and imitating them. A study done by Mark Nielsen was done to determine the level from which kids imitating what they see from others. From the results, a vast majority of the students imitated what the adults did exactly (Telis 2010). Simply put, it is only Juliet trying to figure out what is right in love and what isn't.

In conclusion, I would diagnose Romeo with Bipolar Disorder. In the end though, I am not a doctor, so I could be wrong if I glazed over something during my research. Anyway, I still feel confident in my answer, and maybe the doctors of the world agree with me. If only I could know if Shakespeare agrees with me. Either way, my sources are below, and may the world benefit off the research that we all may take part in.

Sources:

Cartwright, M. (10 April, 2014). Roman Verona. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from ancient.eu/Verona/.

Shakespeare, W. (1597). Romeo and Juliet. United Kingdom.

Signs and Symptoms of Mood Disorders. Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. Retrieved from secure2.convio.net/dabsa/site/SPageServer/?pagename=education signs symptoms. 

Telis, G. (7 May, 2010). Kids overimitate adults, Regardless of Culture. American Association for the Advancement of Science, 360 (6396). Retrieved from sciencemag.org/news/2010/05/kids-overimitate-adults-regardless-culture.

Author's Note

Sources are at the bottom. This is in APA format.