Purging the Polls

The art of poll making -- which pollhost.com allows you to do (blessings on its name) -- means you take 'em down once the initial mad rush of interest is over. In the case of this poll

If William Shakespeare had decided to have one of these "title" characters survive, which would you have recommended?		Votes
Romeo	0%	0
Juliet	100%	7
7 votes total

the rush was over early, and left this poll up far too long.

But the results are conclusive, to the degree that a flawed and inadequate sample can be. I'm not sure I agree with answer. I don't think it is inherently more tragic to have a female pining for lost love -- unless you are both cynical and realist and think she is grieving over the fact his earning power was greater than hers. I think I would be just as sad without my wife as my wife would be without me.

I think I might be sadder, actually.

Here's why. When I put up this poll, my wife said something really smart about it. She said that within the logic of the play, if only one person is to survive, it must be Juliet. You see (she said) if Romeo does not kill himself, then there he is when Juliet wakes up and all is well. Only Juliet has the option NOT to die under the conditions of the one she loves already being dead.

So you see why I'm lucky. That's elegant thinking.