REVIEW

Auden, W. H. "Commentary on the Poetry and Tragedy

of 'Romeo and Juliet'." Romeo and Juliet. By William Shakespeare. The Laurel Shakespeare. Ed. Francis Fergusson. New York: Dell, 1958. 21-39.

Thesis: The main purpose of this rambling essay by the famous poet is to preach his sermons on life. He says that Romeo and Juliet is "a play about sympathetic, well-meaning people . . . who come to disaster because each insists on having his own way irrespective of the common good" (22). Auden admits that chance plays some part in the tragedy, but asserts that bad choices play a much larger part. He even goes so far as to make up a chart of the wrong choices. Here it is:

Character	Wrong Choice	Consequence	Right Choice
1.  Prince Escalus.	Delays in banning the Montague-Capulet feud until the fourth outbreak.	Memories have grown too long and passions too high, so that the feudeaks out again despite his ban.	He should have issued his ban after the firstawl.
2.  Mercutio.	Allows himself to be baited by Tybalt.	He gets killed and Romeo is tempted to take personal vengeance.	He should have listened to Benvolio and avoided a quarrel.
3.  Romeo.	Takes personal vengeance on Tybalt for Mercutio's death.	He is banished.	He should have left the punishment of Tybalt to the Prince.
4.  Capulet.	Insists on a speedy marriage of Juliet to Paris.	She takes the potion to avoid it.	He should have stuck to his original intention of letting Juliet make up her own mind.
5.  Friar Laurence.	Gives Juliet the potion.	Believing her dead, Romeo is tempted to suicide.	He should have gone to Capulet or to the Prince and told them that Juliet was already married.
6.  The Nurse.	Advises Juliet to forget Romeo and commit bigamy.	Juliet does not confide in her about the potion scheme.	She should have kept her mouth shut.
7.  The Apothecary.	Sells poison to Romeo.	Romeo's temptation to suicide is strengthened by his possession of the means.	He should have obeyed the law and refused to sell Romeo the poison.
8.  Romeo.	Kills himself.	He is damned.	Even if Juliet had really been dead, he should, at whatever cost of suffering, have remained alive and true to her memory.
9.  Friar Laurence.	Leaves Juliet alone when he hears the watch coming.	Juliet's temptation to commit suicide is strengthened by being given the opportunity.	At whatever cost to himself, he should have stayed with Juliet to prevent her killing herself.
10.  Juliet.	Kills herself.	She is damned.	She should have remained alive and true to Romeo's memory.
(30-31)

Evaluation: Auden pushes his point of view no matter what. For instance, despite the lack of any mention of any such thing in the text, Auden says that both Romeo and Juliet are "damned"; later in the essay he adds that "the fact that they kill themselves is, in the profoundest sense, a failure to love, a proof of selfishness" (38). His only support for his moralistic pronouncements is the assertion that everyone in Shakespeare's audience would agree with him because they all believed that "suicide is a mortal sin, and that suicides go to Hell for all eternity" (38).

Warning: This edition of Romeo and Juliet is hard to find, and if you do find a copy, the cheap paper on which it is printed may crumble at a touch.

Bottom Line: Auden doesn't explain the tragedy -- he passes judgment on it.