Rosaline...Who is That!?

Many people are shocked and appalled when they are either told of or witness for themselves, through reading or seeing the play, Romeo's love stricken desire for not Juliet, but Rosaline in the beginning of Romeo and Juliet. This shock is due in fact to the focus of the play's main characters, Romeo and Juliet. However, Rosaline is a very imperative character, specifically to Romeo, because if it wasn’t for her there perhaps wouldn’t be a Romeo and Juliet! Why you might ask? Well if you didn’t already know, Romeo goes to the Capulet party because he knows Rosaline is going to be there. He wasn’t in pursuit of wanting to crash the party or to even meet some Capulet honeys. He wanted to see the initial love of his life. - Benvoilio: At this same ancient feast of Capulet’s sups the fair Rosaline whom thou so loves...Romeo: I’ll go along, no such sight to be shown, but to rejoice in splendor of mine own. (Romeo and Juliet Act 1: Scene 2)

Now you might ask what does Rosaline have to do with a theatrical abstraction, she is in the play Romeo and Juliet. Well just as it is astonishing knowing about Romeo's infatuation with Rosaline, it is also astounding to know that Rosaline is a character that was originally only referred to in Romeo and Juliet. So in laymen's term, she was originally an unseen character. Starting in the 1950's film and theatre directors began to have Rosaline's character physically appear. Franco Zeffirelli and Renato Castellini are credited for being the first film directors to have Rosaline appear on camera. Now Stofer states that dark matter refers to the invisible dimension of theater that escapes visual detection, even though its effects are felt everywhere in performance. (Dark Matter, Page 3) Although Rosaline is a character that isn't represented in a naturalistic detail, her dark matter inevitably plays a vital role in the production of Romeo and Juliet. She not only impacts Romeo's life, but Mercutio and Benvolio are affected as well. She even serves as the catalyst behind Mercutio's Queen Mab speech. If Romeo wasn't head over heels in love with her and rejected by her at the ball, would he have noticed Juliet? It is Romeo's love for her initially and decline of reciprocated love that affects Romeo and even gives Juliet a chance. Some directors choose to have Rosaline represented on stage which many of us witnessed with Ashley Adams (pictured above) playing Rosaline in Swine Palace's 2014 SummerFest Production of Romeo and Juliet. The audience was able to witness for themselves through Rosaline's decline to Romeo, that he wasn't in love with her, but in love with the idea of being in love. 

Now I am a firm believer that if you choose to represent something whether through artwork, film, or the theatre, it should be a true authentic presentation of it. I don’t care how ugly or disturbing the subject is. Beautifying something horrific to me is a contradiction to its being. Either go big or go home. If you don’t want to give an accurate depiction, then just leave it alone. This goes beyond just the Holocaust. This can be said for Slavery, 9/11, even the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ.