"Art thou gone so? my lord, my love, my friend!

I must hear from thee every day in an hour..."

--Juliet to Romeo 

Act 3 Sc 5

Without a doubt, this is one of the saddest scenes in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, because it is, although they do not know it at the time, the last time the two lovers will speak. Romeo has just been banished from Verona for killing Juliet's cousin, Tybalt. He must leave, but he has the assurance from Friar Lawrence that he will be able to return one day to his love. Juliet wants him to write to her every day.

It reminds me of the modern day song, "Daylight" by Maroon 5:

Daylight

Maroon 5

Here I am waiting, I'll have to leave soon
Why am I holding on?
We knew this day would come, we knew it all along
How did it come so fast?
This is our last night but it's late
And I'm trying not to sleep
'Cause I know, when I wake
I will have to slip away

And when the daylight comes I'll have to go
But tonight I'm gonna hold you so close
'Cause in the daylight we'll be on our own
But tonight I need to hold you so close
Ooh whoa, ooh whoa, ooh whoa
Ooh whoa, ooh whoa, ooh whoa

Here I am staring at your perfection
In my arms, so beautiful
The sky is getting bright, the stars are burning out
Somebody slow it down
This is way too hard
'Cause I know, when the sun comes up
I will leave, this is my last glance
That will soon be memory

(A-Z Lyrics)

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The idea of sending letters as a means of communication is slowly fading away; however, in Verona , Italy, the tradition continues. Each year more than 6,000 letters addressed to Juliet pour in from around the world with tales of love and love lost. Juliet has become the go-to-girl as an expert in all things romance.

The letters began arriving in the late 1800's, but it wasn't until the 1930's that Ettore Solimani, the caretaker of Juliet's grave, began to gather the letters and reply to them. Today, the women of "Juliet's Club" answer the letters on a full-time basis. The responses are all hand-written and are answered in the language in which it was written.

Today Giovanna Tamassia is the Juliet Club manager. The pictures show postmarks from around the globe.

With all this faith in Juliet, it makes a person wonder---were Romeo and Juliet real? The Montecchi and Cappelletti families were families in 1302 in Italy. Dante Alighieri was the first person to write about the rivals. In 1530 the novelist Luigi Da Porto continued the story in a book, and that plot was used by Matteo Bandelllo, and that work was translated into French. Arthur Brooke then turned the novel into verse, and THAT was the inspiration for William Shakespeare, who wrote the most famous love story ever told in his play Romeo and Juliet in 1569.

PHEW!

(Who can resist a good love story?)

As a comment on the end of the play (no spoilers--Shakespeare tells the audience what happens in the prologue) I always talk with my students about how a theme can be misunderstood. The two lovers commit suicide so they can be together.

CLEARLY this isn't the answer.

That's why I like the idea of writing to Juliet...sometimes if one is troubled, all it might take is a letter or a kind friend to express one's feelings---in other words, talk about what is on your mind. Sometimes just putting the words out there can be healing.

On that Note, my words and wishes on Valentine's Day day go to all the people in my life (family, friends, students, colleagues) who I love and make me feel loved each day.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY<3

The Juliet Club.” The Juliet Club, 14 Feb. 2017, www.thejulietclub.com/.

Goldberg, Melissa. “Love's Labor.” Oprah, Feb. 2017, p. 24.