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Emma Ogden

Ms. Price

English 1

May 31, 2019

The Reason Behind Juliet’s Death

People might wonder why Juliet, from the play Romeo and Juliet by William

Shakespeare, seems to have a lot of mood swings throughout the play. Well, it’s because she has

Bipolar Disorder. Juliet, a Capulet, falls in love with Romeo, a Montague, at a masquerade ball,

but their love is forbidden because they are a part of feuding families. Romeo and Juliet get

married without telling anyone, and in the end, both Romeo and Juliet end up killing themselves.

The death of these two characters could have been prevented if some notice had been taken to

the obvious signs of bipolar disorder that Juliet exhibited. In the article on Help guide called

Bipolar Disorder Signs and Symptoms it states, “Bipolar disorder (once known as manic

depression or manic-depressive disorder) causes serious shifts in mood, energy, thinking, and

behavior—from the highs of mania on one extreme, to the lows of depression on the

other”(Smith and Segal). It can be easily argued that Juliet, from the play Romeo and Juliet, is

suffering from Bipolar Disorder because she shows many symptoms of having depression, she

shows symptoms of experiencing mania, and she threatens to kill herself throughout the text,

even though some may disagree with this diagnosis.

There are two parts to Bipolar Disorder and one of these parts is actually feeling

depressed or experiencing depression. It is evident that Juliet has multiple depressive episodes

throughout the text. In the article Symptoms and Diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder on Very Well

Mind it states, “During a depressive episode, an individual may experience the following
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symptoms: -Crying for no reason or prolonged periods of sadness -Feelings of guilt or

hopelessness -Loss of interest in activities that usually give you pleasure...-Difficulty

concentrating or remembering things -Sleeping excessively or difficulty sleeping -Suicidal

thoughts or an impulse to self-harm”. Juliet exhibits many of these symptoms all throughout the

text. A person’s symptoms help to determine what disorder a person might have so the fact that

Juliet has multiple symptoms of a depressive episode helps show that Juliet was having one of

these episodes. One example of when she exhibits some of these symptoms is when the text from

Romeo and Juliet states, “For still thy eyes, which I may call the sea, Do ebb and flow with tears;

the bark thy body is, Sailing in this salt flood; the winds thy sighs, Who, raging with thy tears

and they with them, Without a sudden calm, will overset” (Shakespeare 3.5. 136-141). In this

example Juliet exhibits the symptom of having a prolonged period of sadness. Capulet was

speaking to Juliet when he said these lines and was referring to her excessive amount of crying

for the situation. Juliet was crying because Romeo got banished from Verona, and she had an

extreme feeling of hopelessness that they wouldn’t be together which is another symptom of

having a depressive episode. In this example alone Juliet exhibits three symptoms of having a

depressive episodes and in other places throughout the text she exhibits many more of the

symptoms. It is clear that Juliet experiences the first part of Bipolar Disorder, actual depression,

but why does she just not have depression. Juliet does not just have clinical depression because

she also experiences the other part of Bipolar Disorder.

The second part of Bipolar Disorder is having the extreme highs also known as Mania or

Manic episodes and Juliet has manic episodes throughout the text. In an article on PSYCOM,

called Bipolar Disorder Symptoms it states, “Because of this elevated sense of self-worth, they

might be in danger of making risky decisions that can be damaging to their health or their
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future.” Juliet models this trait talked about in the article very clearly. There are multiple events

throughout the text where Juliet’s actions are very risky and could end up harming her and

others. In Romeo and Juliet it states, “My dismal scene I needs must act alone. Come, vial. What

if this mixture do not work at all? Shall I be married then tomorrow morning? No, no, this shall

forbid it. Lie thou there. What if it be a poison which the Friar She drinks and falls upon her bed

within the curtains. Subtly hath ministered to have me dead, Lest in this marriage he should be

dishonored Because he married me before to Romeo? I fear it is. And yet methinks it should not,

For he hath still been tried a holy man. How if, when I am laid into the tomb, I wake before the

time that Romeo” (Shakespeare 4.3. 21-33). Here Juliet has racing thoughts, which is a symptom

of having a manic episode. She feels as though she can make it so her and Romeo can be

together forever, so she makes an extremely risky decision. She knows what she is doing could

end up killing her and she has no idea if the vial contains the sleeping potion that the Friar claims

it does. Typically, people would not risk their life like this just when they are in a normal state of

mind. This proves that Juliet does have Manic episodes in the play Romeo and Juliet meaning

that she has both parts of Bipolar Disorder, depression and mania. Even though there is evidence

to show that Juliet has Bipolar Disorder some may still not be convinced that this diagnosis is

correct.

Despite the evidence proving Juliet has Bipolar Disorder, many people believe that Juliet

is just overdramatic, but they fail to see the clear signs and symptoms of Bipolar Disorder that

Juliet exhibits. People may think she is over dramatic because of her crying and constant back

and forth about almost every decision. Although aspects of this argument are valid, it ultimately

fails to be a stronger argument because of all of her threats to take her own life. Juliet threatens

to kill herself multiple times throughout the text which is a clear symptom of having depression.
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The evidence to prove that the argument that Juliet is overdramatic is not as strong as the

argument that she has Bipolar Disorder can be found in the play Romeo and Juliet when it states

“Yea, noise? Then I’ll be brief. O, happy dagger, This is thy sheath. There rust, and let me die.

(She takes Romeo’s dagger, stabs herself, and dies.)” (Shakespeare 5.3. 174-175). Here Juliet

actually takes her own life and it can not be denied that this is a clear sign of depression. If Juliet

was just being over dramatic then she would not have made the choice to take her own life. Juliet

was not planning to kill herself and when she did she had racing thoughts which caused her to

take risky actions, and both of these are symptoms of mania. When closely analyzed it can be

easily proved that Juliet has Bipolar Disorder.

Due to Juliet’s symptoms of having depression, her showing symptoms of experiencing

mania, and her threats and actions of commiting suicide, it can be concluded that Juliet has

Bipolar Disorder. Based on these symptoms the conclusion can be made that Juliet has manic

and depressive episodes throughout the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. These

are the two parts combine to form Bipolar Disorder. Knowing that Juliet has this mental disorder

can help the reader to further understand some of her actions and responses to events in the text.

This will help the reader to better understand the text as well and can make interpreting

Shakespeare’s writing easier. Evidence from Juliet’s dialogue and actions proves that she has

Bipolar Disorder.
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Works Cited

“Bipolar Disorder Signs and Symptoms.” HelpGuide.org, 20 Mar. 2019,

www.helpguide.org/articles/bipolar-disorder/bipolar-disorder-signs-and-symptoms.htm/.

“Bipolar Disorder Symptoms: Manic & Depressive Episodes.” PsyCom.net - Mental Health

Treatment Resource Since 1986, www.psycom.net/bipolar-disorder-symptoms/.

Purse, Marcia. “These Are the Most Common Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder.” Verywell

Mind, Verywell Mind, 21 Apr. 2019, www.verywellmind.com/bipolar-disorder-

symptoms-and-diagnosis-379962.