 Another central theme is haste : Shakespeare 's Romeo and Juliet spans a period of four to six days , in contrast to Brooke 's poem 's spanning nine months . Scholars such as G. Thomas Tanselle believe that time was " especially important to Shakespeare " in this play , as he used references to " short @-@ time " for the young lovers as opposed to references to " long @-@ time " for the " older generation " to highlight " a headlong rush towards doom " . Romeo and Juliet fight time to make their love last forever . In the end , the only way they seem to defeat time is through a death that makes them immortal through art . 
