To Glorify Or To Condemn - Romeo And Juliet vs Suicide

Okay, Okay. I know a lot of people have different opinions on this but I wanted to share my own opinion, a rebuttal of sorts to two other opinions, and a conclusion of ones that I've found online. Now, this is a very controversial conversation to have; Does Romeo and Juliet Glorify Suicide?! Especially nowadays where suicide is such a sensitive topic to talk about. I'm going to give a go anyway. And before anyone says something like, "What does this year 9 student know about suicide and Shakespeare?" do not underestimate someone's knowledge because of their age, they may know a little bit more than you'd think.

To begin, let's summarise the story of Romeo and Juliet. Two young teenagers, Romeo (Age somewhat unknown, though he is not much older than Juliet, probably anywhere between 14 to 16?) and Juliet, (Age 13. Yes. Juliet is 13 throughout the story.) as well as the rest of the city of Verona, are living in the middle of a feud between their families, (the Montague and Capulet families.) While Juliet is involved in an arranged marriage, Romeo falls in love with another girl, Rosaline, who does not share his feelings. The Capulet family holds a feast, in which Romeo only attends, or rather, sneaks in, because he sees Rosaline's name on the invite list. At the feast, Romeo and Juliet share their first encounter, where they each experience a strange attraction to each other. They kiss, without knowing who the other is. 

A lot of other stuff goes down, Juliet regrets her arranged marriage and tries to get out of it by pretending to be dead, using a potion of sorts that would render her lifeless for a short amount of time. Romeo only finds out that she is dead and decides that he can not live without her. He buys a vial of poison and heads to her grave where he finds Paris (The guy Juliet was meant to marry) scattering flowers. They fight to the death, in which Romeo wins, killing Paris. Romeo enters Juliet's tomb and sees her "dead" body. He then drinks the poison he bought and dies at her side. Soon, Juliet wakes up and sees Romeo's actually dead body. She figures out he used poison and kisses him in the hopes the poison left on his lips would kill her. When this does not succeed, she proceeds to stab herself in the heart with a dagger.

Okay, now that we know the basic layout of the story, let's weigh out our opinions/choices. Explaining how it condemns suicide is a little trickier and I couldn't find any opinions with information to back them up, so you'll just have to work with me here a little.

To begin, we have the glorified point of view. On this side of the story, people believe the story makes suicide a romantic notion. One that can be taken if it is for the sake of love. People can see this act as one that says, Romeo and Juliet are so in love that when one sees the other dead they can not bear to live without them, therefore they take their own life. This can be seen by some as a last resort, desperate act of love. While this was my thought when first reading and hearing this story, it isn't exactly the... whole picture. To be fair, how the story is focused does certainly encourage this to be the first thought, especially if you bring the movie adaption into it. 

On the other hand, this isn't really how the story was written. Romeo and Juliet is officially a tragedy, not a full-blown love story. Some see Romeo and Juliet as two star-crossed lovers who come to a tragic yet romance-filled end while others see them as two depressed teens with no other way out. I mean, come on, they're both caught in the midsts of a family "war" and Juliet is forced into an arranged marriage at the age of 13... I have read and seen some people say that Shakespeare, in saying this story is a tragedy, was trying to get across the idea of how upsetting the loss of two lives are rather than idolizing their deaths.

In my opinion, it does neither, condemn nor glorify. I believe it puts the action out as a choice that can be taken rather than one that should or shouldn't be. I believe the way people view suicide on it's own can and will affect their views on the story. To clarify, I'm not completely educated on the full subject, so everything here is my opinion and how I've built an understanding 

Don't be afraid to share your opinion or correct me if I've been misinformed! I'd love to hear your opinion and I'm always open to constructive criticism! Remember to respect other people's opinions, though. Not everyone sees things the same way as you do!

Sources/Opinions used throughout this post are - 
Mental Health America
Every Road is an Option
Yahoo Answers
Sparknotes