From Shakespeare, to Someecards and Taylor Swift

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I had recently blogged a series of articles on `Romeo and Juliet, then moments ago I saw the top cartoon on our Google+ community on Shakespeare.

I commented:  lol... Is that all there was to this tragic love story?

The image posted was too small, so I Googled it, and lo and behold there were quite a few on the star-crossed lovers.

I love the hip, sardonic humor of Someecards, and it's clear the creators Brook Lundy and Duncan Mitchell have quite a pulse on contemporary matters.  I love the potshot, for example, on the popular Taylor Swift.  But interestingly the song that Someecards allude to was something Swift was very thoughtful about:

"Love Story" came along late into the production of Fearless.[3] Swift wrote "Love Story" about a male who was never officially her boyfriend. When she introduced him to her family and friends, they did not become fond of him.[4] "His situation was a little complicated, but I didn't care", said Swift.[5] Swift also felt like it was the first time she could relate to the plot of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (1597), one of her favorite narratives, which she described as, "The only people who wanted them to be together were them."[4] She conceived the idea for the song when she reflected about the scenario: "I thought, 'This is difficult but it's real, it matters—it's not simple or easy but it's real'." She then centered the song on the line, which was ultimately placed in the "Love Story"'s second refrain.[6] All events, with the exclusion of the end, narrated in the song regarded Swift's actual story. The song's conclusion differed from that of Romeo and Juliet. "I feel like they had such promise and they were so crazy for each other. And if that had just gone a little bit differently, it could have been the best love story ever told. And it is one of the best love stories ever told, but it's a tragedy." Instead, she chose to write a happy ending.[7] She took her favorite characters and conceptualized the ending she believed they deserved.[8] She perceived it to be the ideal ending that females hoped for, including herself.[6] "You want a guy who doesn’t care what anyone thinks, what anyone says." Although it was fictional, Swift said it was an enjoyable experience to write about.[5] Swift wrote the track on her bedroom floor in approximately twenty minutes, feeling too inspired to put the song down unfinished.[4]

Reference: Love Story (Taylor Swift song).

There is quite a bit of wisdom in what she says about this famous play (italicized).  Romeo was literally just a handful of seconds ahead of Juliet waking up, while they were both in the Capulet tomb.  But it was too late.  So that little bit differently could've been the timing.  Shakespeare, I believe, titled the play `The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.  Perhaps in its essence he didn't conceive it as a love story, but a destructive tale between warring families.  Shakespeare used two young lovers, who were indeed crazy for each other, as a vehicle for delivering a heartbreaking message to the two families.  But Swift is right: It remains one of the most breathtaking, yet harrowing love stories in English literature and theater.