Depression

In the scene that follows after the big fight,- the Montagues are discussing how Romeo is depressed.

"And private in his chamber pens himself,
Shuts up his windows, locks fair daylight out,
And makes himself an artificial night.
Black and portentous must this humor prove
Unless good counsel may the cause remove."

Why do you think that Romeo is so depressed that he would want to shut all of the light out of his room. The obvious answer for us would be that he is longing for love, because we all know how the story goes. But if we were the audience seeing this play for the first time our guess might be otherwise, right! For all they knew, Romeo's cat had died. Here are the leading causes of depression today I wonder if they were the same back then, or if someone really could "die of a broken heart." (see #4)

• A death of a family member or close friend.
• An assault, car accident or painful physical event.
• A painful mental, or emotional event.
• Marriage breakup, or love lost suddenly.
• Constant physical, mental, or emotional pain that goes on for a length of time.
• Developing a disease or illness that will not get better.
• Major Financial setback.
• Something "embarrassing" happens.
• Failing an important exam a school.
• A best friend moves out of town.
• Consistently bad eating habits (carbonation, white flour & sugar)