Romeo and juliet at 59

Romeo and Juliet at 59

fiction
Edward w Pritchard

Juliet had a fast couple days there in Shakespeare's play. Refusing to marry Paris, chit chat with Romeo to all hours, brush off her cousin's death, union with Romeo, marry, defy parents, contemplate death and then suicide. Things moved fast for a fourteen year old girl in those days. Yet throughout the play Juliet is more mature and less impulsive than Romeo.

Had Juliet not died in the original play " Romeo and Juliet" of which she is a title player, what would she be like to court at age 59? What would Juliet be like for a man to approach after her youthful hormones have become drenched in 45 years of life experiences?

Juliet as a woman of 59 would by then be a strong willed woman and her persona would be formidable, a mask to shield her anima from the eyes and judgments of a hostile world. What would the real Juliet be like and how would a determined suitor seek to charm and woo her as a mature woman?

Is it wise to rehash the past, revisit things Juliet did at age 14 or 20? How about discussing family relationships among her cousins and other relatives? How to breach with Juliet the other Romeos she has known, for every 10 or 12 years a new young Romeo circles across the stages of the world.

The subject of sex? To be or not to be? Wrong play or wrong decade? Should a subtle Romeo at 59 be sublime and ignore men's base urges focusing instead on spirituality, timelessness and philosophy to charm fair Juliet? Writing poetry and odes to her bare shoulder? Romeo should skip the balcony climbing scene and be realistic about the limitations of mature males of certain age in times before Viagra.

How to woo fascinating Juliet now that she is not an innocent  maid? What's the real Juliet like and is it possible to get to know her as a mature woman?

 "Hark, what light through yonder window breaks?" Ah, to write like that would be a start.