Love's Young Dream

New Zealand Listener, Volume 5, Issue 106, 4 July 1941, Page 5

Love's Young Dream

D° you know that Juliet was only thirteen when she had those impassioned love scenes with Romeo? This is clearly stated in the conversation between Juliet’s mother (Lady Capulet) and her nurse in Act 1, Scene 2, of the play. I remember on one occasion giving a lecture to a Young Ladies’ Mutual Improvement Society on "The Heroines of Shakespeare." (I do talk about subjects other than Scotland, you know.) I mentioned

Juliet’s age and, emboldened by a gasp of suppressed excitement from the young ladies, I expressed the candid opinion that if a child of thirteen conducted herself in such a manner to-day, she would obviously need a dose of medicine and a sound spanking from her father! But, as a dour Scot, I have always been of the opinion that Shakespeare’s heroines were altogether too

young, and that Juliet, in particular, was nothing but a precocious youngster. It may be sacrilegious for a Scot to criticise Shakespeare, but I contend that if a child of thirteen were to take the part of Juliet on the legitimate stage to-day, the audience would gasp with horror, I even go so far as to say that, if it had been possible for Juliet to make love to Robert Burns, our national (and impetuous) bard would have been "dumfoonert," and would have sajd in his amazement, "We'd better bide a wee, lassie!" My grievance against Shakespeare is that it would have been easy for him to add ten years to Juliet’s age, No one would have been any the wiser, and my Presbyterian conscience would have remained quiescent.-(Talk by A, J. Sinclair, 1ZM, June 22.)