Despite the sad ending, this story remains a classic in terms of literature as it presents some great themes, such as: true love conquers all.
Could Shakespeare have had a HAPPILY EVER AFTER ending?
Come up with a new and appropriate ending to this classic play.
The theme of love conquers all was presented very clearly in this story, despite the tragic ending. I, however, think it could have also been presented as a lighter, happier version. If Romeo and Juliet had been upfront with their families and confessed their love to their loved ones earlier in the story, perhaps the sight of the two of them together would unite the families without the deaths. In the story, eventually the families did find out about it and it united them, so perhaps if this information that they withheld had come out sooner, maybe there wouldn’t have been so many deaths and the story could have had a happy ending for all of the characters. It could have backfired, but all the secrecy wasn’t doing them any good either, so what would the harm have been anyway? This is why I believe that while told an unfortunate story of star-crossed lovers, it could have been a charming love story.
ReplyDeleteYou make a great point! They end up dead anyways so whats the worst that can happen by telling their families?
DeleteThis book is a definite classic and is probably Shakespeare’s most popular play but I most certainly would change the ending. I agree that the deaths of both Romeo and Juliet are huge parts of the play but we already have 4 other secondary character deaths that are pretty tragic themselves. I think that a happy ever after would have been a great end to this tragedy, Romeo could have simply not killed himself or waited a few minutes before entering the mausoleum and it all would have been fine. Both him and Juliet could have hidden themselves there and later escaped to Mantua together. But sadly that’s not how I happens and in the end they both die however one could argue that love did conquer all because they are together even in death.
ReplyDeleteIt still confuses me why they didn't just run away together, as it's such a simple solution to all their problems! I like that you addressed that and I think it still would have been a good story with that as an ending.
DeleteI like how you end on a positive and interesting note. That in fact it is not such a sad thing that they died, at least this way they are together.
DeleteI love love stories. I don't know why, I mean they are totally predictable and cliché but I just love the happy endings and the warm feelings they brings so you could only imagine my horror at the end of this play. In a much happier world where teens don't kill themselves for love, Romeo and Juliet would have lived happily ever after. First of all they would have been together a little longer than just a day before they got married but second of all Juliet would have woken much before Romeo got there. She would have left to go look for him and she would have found him in Mantua before he even left. That way they could live out their days in the safety of Mantua without anyone knowing that Juliet was even alive, drama free! Although it was a nice change to all the clichés, I would much rather have seen this story have a happy ending instead its sad and depressing one.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that happy endings are better!!
DeleteI agree i think Happy endings are much better.
DeleteI think that Romeo and Juliet could’ve ended off as a happy ending of course. If I had to change it, I would change it to Romeo and Juliet running away together to another part of Italy or maybe even a new country and starting a new life together. They would be in a whole new world by themselves and they could plan the rest of their future together so that they can live happily ever after.
ReplyDeleteI really like that ending. I wonder if they would meet any new problems once they run away...
DeleteI would have much preferred that ending. I think moving away from they're families would be best for them, they would finally be able to live a happy life together.
Delete-Elisabeth Laflamme
That ending would for sure be the best especially getting away with their families who are forcing them to marry people they dont want to
DeleteThat sounds so smart.
DeleteI found that the ending of Romeo and Juliet was a bit harsh. Two perfectly normal teens killing themselves for love seemed a bit extreme! If I were to change the ending of the book I would have let Romeo and Juliet run away together and live a happy life. They could have snuck away and started a life somewhere else with new people, where no one knew who they were. Although that is a bit mainstream and the way they put it made it seem more tragic and surprising, I still think that it would have been better.
ReplyDeleteThat makes sense. I also think the ending was harsh.
DeleteGrace Makinson
Romeo and Juliet could have ended off on a happier note, I think a lot of people would rather this happen then what actually happened which is that everyone in the end just died. I understand its a tragedy but if I had to remake the ending of the story I would probably make it so that their plan actually worked and romeo could have waited a little longer for Juliet to wake up but now instead they both killed themselves for one another. If I didn't already know the story I would have never guessed that to be the ending. In the end maybe I would also add a summary of each act in modern English because some of those scenes were difficult to understand, but that's just me.
ReplyDeleteIf I could change the ending to Romeo and Juliet I would make a modern twist on the ending. An example is Juliet accidentally tweets the plan for Romeo and Juliet to run away and her mom reads it and locks her in her room. Or it could be something like Romeo ends up in love with Friar Laurence and Juliet is so depressed she kills herself and Romeo and Friar Laurence have a half funeral for Juliet and a half wedding and they live happily ever after. Another ending is Juliet realizes she actually loves Paris and kills Romeo and tells everyone he committed suicide the she get's married to Paris. My last ending would be one where before Romeo and Juliet commit suicide Lord Capulet finds out Lady Capulet is cheating on him with Lord Montague. That creates a whole scene and starts a war so Romeo and Juliet escape while that whole thing is going on. They go to Hawaii and live together forever. Those are some of the endings I have in mind
ReplyDeleteGrace Makinson
All of your ending are very interesting but I don't really understand the last one? would Romeo and Juliet kill temselves? Or do they go to Hawaii?
DeleteI think Romeo and Juliet is a great play, and to be honest I really like the idea of a tragedy; I really enjoyed the ending and the plot twist. But if I could have the chance to change it, I would REALLY change it. I think it would be neat if Romeo and Juliet realized that there would be no ending to the two different families conflicts, so they decided to run away together. It would be cool if the play ended when Lord Capulet enters Juliets room to wake her up, and all he finds is a note that is saying her farewells and that he no longer has to suffer watching her have a relationship with an enemy. We don't know what happens to Romeo and Juliet after they run away, which also gives everyone of us the chance to come up with an ending of their own, and let their creativity take charge.
ReplyDeleteoh thats true woww
DeleteI love that! it keeps us thinking
DeleteI wasn't a huge fan of the classic Romeo and Juliet ending. I think an ending with a huge twist is what the play needed after all. What if Juliet's plan didn't work? What if she didn't wake up? What could Romeo have done other than killing himself? I think what would have been a huge unexpected ending was if Romeo was done with Juliet as soon as he saw her dead body. Then we find out that Romeo was never over Rosaline and went straight to look for her. Finally we find out that Romeo and Rosaline live happily ever after.
ReplyDelete-Elisabeth Laflamme
That would actually be a really good ending.
Deletei hated the tragic ending but i can think of some happy endings to make the story even better. He was in on the plan with Friar Laurence and new she would seem dead but really won't be, then when he arrives he finds her and carries her to his horse and rides off to Mantua, she wakes up in his arms and is as happy as she could be. Then Paris is heartbroken but then seeks for a new wife and falls in love for Rosaline and then live happily ever after. The star crossed lovers stay together, Paris and Rosaline are together, the families worked things out thinking their kid was either dead or banished. Every one is happy! The End.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you said that Paris and Rosaline end up together! That would be so cool
DeleteI think that would really change the story and be interesting if Romeo knew about the plan the whole time.
DeleteThe story of Romeo and Juliet was a huge tragedy and i wish that it wasnt. So i came up with the happily ever after ending for the story. Romeo knew about the plan and he was working with the Friar and he went to Juliet in the Capels Monument. They both escaped to Mantua and both of their families would make up since both their children are "gone". Everything would be at peace in Verona and as for Paris, he met a girl who looks like Juliet some place in Verona. He couldnt get over Juliet so he married the look-alike and he also lived happily ever after in Verona.
ReplyDeleteAt least Paris doesn't die and ends up meeting the look-alike of Juliet :)
DeleteI think that Romeo and Juliet was not that big of a tragedy. In the end the families make up and Romeo and Juliet get to spend eternity together in heaven. The only real sad part is when Mercutio dies, and in every story, someone has to die, or get hurt, or have something wrong other than just that one main problem, it's inevitable. But since this is considered a tragedy becasue of the deaths at the end, it could have gone better. A happy ending would be Juliet waking up on time. If Juliet had woken up on time to meet Romeo before he had killed himself by her side they could have lived till old age together in Mantua, and Paris would not have died. That however still leaves the family feud. After the children escape, Friar Laurence could tell the families the story of "Romeo and Juliet", the star-crossed lovers, who even over the family hatred, got along and loved each other no matter what, then went to Mantua to live happily ever after. This story would have been believable because he has 2 witnesses (Balthasar and Friar John) of them running away, and 1 witness (Nurse) of them getting married.
ReplyDeleteI think that Romeo and Juliet could have had a happier ending, but not a better one. First of all I don't think running away would help because both their parents are really really rich and would probably just end up trying to track them down. They would then effectively be living on the run which would suck. I guess what could have happened is that Juliet could have woken up earlier and both her and Romeo could explain the plan to their parents who would see what their kids have gone through to stay together. I guess maybe that would work. Or maybe not. However I think the story ended well. No more drama and problems, plus by pretty much stopping the family violence they can save many lives in future Montague and Capulet generations.
ReplyDeleteRomeo and Juliet could have definitely ended on a good note. I think that when Romeo goes to save Juliet in the Capels monument, he should have found her lying ‘dead’. He carries her outside into the light to see her face more clearly. When he thinks that she is dead, he wants commits suicide using his dagger, but right before he does that, Juliet could’ve awoken from her two-day rest, and grabbed Romeo’s arm right before he stabbed himself. He would look down to see that his beautiful 13 year old wife is in fact not dead, but looking at him with hearts in her eyes because her Romeo came to save her. In the end, the parents would make peace and Romeo and Juliet can have a proper wedding.
ReplyDeleteThe ending of Romeo and Juliet could have went in a completely different direction. If I could change the ending of the story to make it happier this is how it would go. Romeo finds Juliet dead (well he thinks she's dead) and is very sad about it. Then just like how the original went Romeo chooses to kill himself with the poison. As he is about to drink it Juliet wakes up and grabs his arm before he could continue. They have one of those happy ending memorable kisses. They then escape and live happily ever after together!
ReplyDeleteThe ending of Romeo and Juliet could have ended in many different ways. One way that I'm thinking of is one where Romeo, in the end when he's about to drink the poison from the vile, Juliet awakens in time to ask what he is doing with that vile, before he drinks it. The they both leave and run away to Manchua just like what the Friar told Juliet as he gave her the "potion" that would "kill" her. Then eventually they one day decide to tell their parents to hopefully get them to understand that the other family isn't bad and that they just disagree in a couple of things. That is one of the ways that I think Romeo and Juliet should have ended.
ReplyDeleteif I had to change the ending of Romeo and Juliet, I would go super basic and get them back together so they live happily ever after. I find that would be so cute because even though they were young, they killed themselves for each other because they loved each other so much. They had true love so instead of making it a tragedy, I would make it a happy ending by Romeo actually getting the news that Juliet faked her death and Romeo got her and brought her to Mantua and lived a very long life with each other.
ReplyDeleteI agree that one of the only ways of ending this in a better fashion is the super "basic" way like you said!
DeleteAll right so imagine Paris next to Juliet’s dead body and then in comes Romeo. His face has an expression on it that has only been seen when someone has lost everything. Paris tries to talk to him but he sticks a gun to his head. Why would Romeo have a gun well while he was at the Apothecary’s house he found a time machine that the Apothecary was trying to hide and went to future and grabbed a gun. He shoots Paris and the gunshot wakes Juliet up. Together they rekindle there love and because Romeo has a gun he because the Prince of Verona and they live happily ever after.
ReplyDeleteWho ever said that the ending to Romeo and Juliet was a tragedy? In my opinion, it was the opposite of a tragedy. In today's society we learn that the most important thing is happiness. If the only way that Romeo and Juliet could have been happy is that they had to be together then so be it. They got it. Even though they paid their lives for it. They still felt happiness and they will for the rest of eternity! So what more can they ask for? Although if it had to be a stereotypical happy ending then Juliet would have stopped him before he would have drank the poison. Then they would have lived happily ever after.
ReplyDeleteIf I could have changed the ending to Romeo and Juliet, there would be a few things that I would modify. Firstly, I would make it that Juliet and Paris got married even though she did not want to. On their honeymoon, she would suggest to Paris to go somewhere beautiful, without telling him it was near Mantua. Juliet would then run away from Paris and end up in Mantua, where she would find Romeo. Romeo and Juliet would flee Mantua and go as far as possible. They wouldn't die in the end, and they would end up living together for the rest of their lives.
ReplyDeleteI believe that famous tragic love story was so famous because of how tragic the ending was. They were willing to die for one another, proving how strong their love for each other was, and how it conquered all. However, killing yourself is not always the best way to prove your love for someone. I believe Shakespeare could have lightened the mood by keeping the dramatic storyline but eliminating their deaths. If Romeo and Juliet fled Verona and hid from their parents, it would prove that they were willing to leave everything they ever knew behind for one another. If they ran away, leaving a note behind explaining they were in love, it could have united the two families. They would've come to the conclusion that because of the feud, Romeo and Juliet had run away and wold end it. Whether they had ran away or were dead, their parents would still never see their children again.
ReplyDeleteIf I had to re-wright the ending to Romeo and Juliet I would make it that romeo gets in a fight with Paris and the winner would win the love of Juliet. Romeo would win and marry Juliet, there families would stop fighting and everything would end happy. Unfortunately i did not wright this play and the ending had to be sad and kill off the two main characters.
ReplyDeleteIf I were to change the ending in romeo and Juliet I would get rid of all the drama at the end of the story. I would make it so that romeo get the letter from friar Laurence when he is in Mantua and that he is able to make it to the Capulets mausoleum so that when Juliet wakes up, they will be reunited. I will also make it so Paris doesn't die, he will have said goodbye to Juliet before Romeo arrives. Also Romeo and Juliet will tell their parents about their love for each other and will live happily ever after in Verona.
ReplyDelete