I teach Romeo and Juliet every year. I remember hating reading the play when I was in ninth grade, but as a teacher, I can’t help but enjoy teaching it. I appreciate it that it’s about teenagers acting out such a dramatic part of life. I also appreciate that it is so sexually loaded without my kids interpreting it that way. Nonetheless, every year I have some rather interesting views from my students about Romeo and Juliet. I have my kids create a journal from the perspective of either Romeo or Juliet. I give the students 10 scenes from the play to summarize and analyze from the perspective of their character. One of the scenes that both the boys and girls have to write about is the honeymoon scene. I feel like the way in which my students write about having sex for the first time is very indicative of the roles men and women fulfill far behind 9th grade. Here are some of the best…
Funniest girl interpretations of the honeymoon:
“After we got in bed, Romeo told me he loved me. He made me feel so comfortable even though the sex part was really weird. ” At least she knows what to expect.
“Romeo and I made love with each other. It was great. Just like Allie and Noah from The Notebook.” I appreciated this response mainly because The Notebook does have a magnificent sex scene. I did have to remind the student that I don’t think The Notebook was out when Romeo and Juliet were around.
“Romeo stole my V card last night and it was awesome.” That good old V card.
“Romeo made love to me and opened my eyes and legs to a brand new world.” Clever. Yes, I did tell her to take out the legs part.
“Romeo and me had sex but it didn’t last long enough.” Preach it sister.
Funniest boy interpretations of the honeymoon:
“Last night I finally got to do it with Juliet. It was really hot.” So romantic.
“I went to Juliet’s room last night so I could finally have sex with her.” Mind you, when Romeo and Juliet have sex in the play, they have known one another for approximately two days.
“Juliet and me exchanged marital relations last night in her bed.” Awkward.
“All of the stress of the wedding was worth it because I got to sleep with Juliet all night. And no we didn’t do much sleeping.”
“I didn’t want to leave Juliet because I really liked having sex with her. And because I love her.” I like how the loving part of the equation is an afterthought even in the mind of a character in a play.
I can appreciate all of these responses. I think it’s funny how students this age generally don’t know how to correctly word a response that deals with sex. I also think it’s funny how the boys approach the task so differently than the girls. None of the boys made love to Juliet, while almost all of the girls made love with Romeo. The boys are also a lot more matter of fact about recapping the event. We had sex. It was good. Move on. The girls want to describe it and really bring the event to life. I think these approaches to sex will follow these kids far beyond 9th grade. You can tell by reading their journal entries the thoughts each kid has about sex already. You can also tell which kids have probably had an experience with sex themselves.
Once I started thinking about how telling these journals are about my students, I decided to go back and look at what I wrote when I was in the 9th grade (yes, I stole the idea for this assignment from my 9th grade teacher. I’m guilty). 14 year old Katy Schrodt had this to say about her interpretation of Juliet’s experience with sex: “We spent the most magical night in one another’s arms. As he held me close, I felt that nothing could be wrong.” When I read this, I was surprised that this was how I decided to allude to Juliet’s sexual encounter. It is much sweeter than I expected my version of sex to be as a 9th grader. It was tactful and not too revealing. It was mature and innocent. It kind of made me miss that kid. My 9th grade self who thought it was against the rules to say “sex” or “make love” in a school assignment. My 9th grade self who knew that no matter who it was having sex, it should be “magical” and “that nothing could be wrong.”
I feel really good about myself for not letting down that freshman in high school who had no idea when or with whom her first sexual experience would happen. I think over the rest of my high school years I definitely lost that “magical” interpretation of sex as I heard my friends recount their less than magical first experiences. I didn’t give in though. I didn’t let myself miss out on something right and good and magical. I didn’t let my 9th grade self miss out on how she knew sex should be. I think my 14 year old self would have been proud of my 23 year old self.
And yes, I did refer to myself in the third person in this blog. Deal with it.
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