Exploring Love and Lust in Romeo & Juliet

610 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Romantic love in romeo and juliet

Mason Webb
Mrs. Holt
Romeo & Juliet Final Paper
21 April 2017
Comparison of Love
The love that Romeo has for Rosaline compared to Juliet is that he really isn’t truly in love with Rosaline.
At the beginning of the play, Romeo is pining for the love of a woman named Rosaline. He has more of an infatuation with Rosaline and because of his lack of maturity, he fails to actually love her but instead insults her by offering to pay her money for coitus. Instead of feeling love for Rosaline he feels lust. The contrast between his feelings is vast - it could be seen that Romeo is still too immature to know the difference between love and lust as he falls in and out of love so easily. He falls for Juliet so quickly. In contrast to this he does explain …show more content…

However when Romeo falls in love with Juliet, he only speaks of her extolling her and not moaning of his love “sickness” a he had been when he supposedly claimed to be in love with Rosaline. He speaks of Rosaline as being “One fairer than my love? The all-seeing love Sun Ne’er saw her match since the first the world begun. But when he meets Juliet, he explains her as the sun itself, “It is the east, and Juliet is the sun, arise fair sun and kill the envious moon.” This shows that he loves Juliet more than he does Rosaline as Romeo mentions it himself, contradicting himself in Act 1 scene 5 when he first catches a glimpse of Juliet, he says "Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night." And in Act 1 scene 1 he says "In sadness, cousin, I do love a woman." As he knew Rosaline was also a Capulet, but, due to Romeo's love for Juliet and Juliet having a direct link to Sir Capulet, he worries. "Is she a Capulet? O dear account! My life is my foe's debt." Another last point is that, while talking about Rosaline in Act 1 up to scene 5, he always talks about love "Alas that love, whose view is muffled still" and "Is love a tender thing? It is too rough." As when he talks about Juliet, he does not talk about love at all but just

Show More
Related

  • Petcharchen Love in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

    536 Words  | 2 Pages

    Initially Juliet was just like Rosalynn. Romeo saw her once at the party and immediately fell in love. All of the sudden the idealism and the metaphors change titles from Rosalynn to Juliet. In addition, Romeo turns Juliet into a god like figure. 2.2. 114 “ o, swear by the moon the inconstant moon.” this is an example of the metaphor of which he compares his love towards Juliet to the moon. Again, this is not true love. Romeo has just met her and again he is infatuated. He is in love, with the idea of being in love. This is not true love. He just met her. He simply is so desperate to have someone to love him that he falls in love with every girl that he sees. The infatuation tendency of his is turned into true love.

    Read More

  • Romeo And Juliet Haste Quotes

    1504 Words  | 4 Pages

    In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Romeo’s impulsiveness contributes to the tragedy of the play. There is no doubt that Romeo rushes into love throughout the play. One example of this is when he falls in love with Rosaline. Although Rosaline is not a major role in the play, it shows the sorrow and uncertainty Romeo goes through after not being loved back. Marilyn Williamson said “During the time in which he was infatuated with Rosaline, he was … withdrawn into darkness” (6). The fact that Rosaline never shares the same feelings with Romeo, shows how quickly Romeo is to fall in love. “Out of her favor, where I am in love” (Rom. 1.1.158). Ironically, Romeo falls in love with Juliet during his plan to get closer to Rosaline. He is at a Capulet party when he first sees Juliet and

    Read More

  • Immaturity in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

    536 Words  | 2 Pages

    Romeo's inclination to fall in love easily was first shown in his love for Rosaline. It was illustrated perfectly when he first met Juliet. "Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight. For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night". (Lines 50-51, Scene 5, Act 1) He say this but he seemed to have forgotten Rosaline like old news, even though he speaks of Juliet as he spoke of Rosaline only a few short hours before.  "One fairer than my love! The all-seeing sun ne'er saw her match, since first the world begun" (Lines 94-95, Scene 2, Act 1). Romeo immaturity was further shown by the way he handled Tybalt's slaying of Mercutio.

    Read More

  • Tybalt's Downfall

    1091 Words  | 3 Pages

    Romeo has only met Rosaline once before falling in ‘love’ with her. Romeo later attends Lord Capulet’s Party in hopes of catching sight of Rosaline but instead finds Juliet who he now finds himself in ‘love’ with. By the end of the night Romeo leaves his friends to go to Juliet’s balcony. “Romeo: It is my lady, O it is my love:”. (Shakespeare.2.2.10.).

    Read More

  • Obsession in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

    678 Words  | 2 Pages

    Romeo has an obsessive personality. The morning before he meets Juliet, he is obsessing on Rosaline. To see Rosaline, Romeo snuck into a Capulet’s party; once there, he meets Juliet and instantly he forgets his obsession of Rosaline, thinking Juliet is the most beautiful creature on earth. Friar Lawrence even acknowledges this when he states, “Young men’s love then lies / Not truly in their hearts but in their eyes” (II iii 67-68). Romeo’s affection is easily swayed from Rosaline to Juliet.

    Read More

  • Hate In Romeo And Juliet

    503 Words  | 2 Pages

    "Did my heart love till now? For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night." Romeo says this when he first lays eyes on Juliet. The love Romeo and Juliet share are passionate although it is based on physical attraction. Romeo's love for Juliet is no different than his passion for Rosaline because he is merely in love with the idea of being in

    Read More

  • Romeo And Juliet Tragic Hero Essay

    702 Words  | 2 Pages

    Romeo has many tragic flaws such as being emotionally immature. In the opening scene of the play Romeo’s father is concerned about his well being, Romeo has been isolating himself since he found out that Rosaline has promised herself to God and he cannot be with her. In an attempt to get his mid off of Rosaline, Romeo is dragged to a Capulet party where he sees Juliet for the first time. With just one look at Juliet any thought of Rosaline abruptly leaves his mind and he becomes infatuated with her instead. He exclaims,

    Read More

  • Romeo And Juliet Unrequited Love Essay

    536 Words  | 2 Pages

    Romeo has two types of love in his life throughout the entire play. He suffers from unrequited love and romantic love with Rosaline and Juliet. His unrequited love is Rosaline and his romantic love is Juliet. Throughout the play you will find the major and minor differences between these two love types. Romeo’s first experience with unrequited love was Rosaline.

    Read More

  • Infatuation In Romeo And Juliet Essay

    1112 Words  | 3 Pages

    Before meeting Juliet, Romeo thought he was deeply in love with Rosaline. Romeo says, “When the devout religion of mine eye, Maintains such falsehood, then turn tears to fire; And these who, often drowned, could never die, Transparent heretics, be burnt for liars. One fairer than my love? The all-seeing sun Ne 'er saw her match since first the world begun.”(Act 1, Scene 2) Here, Romeo rambles on about how there never was a girl so perfect as Rosaline. However, no more than two acts later into the play, Romeo is singing praises into the ears of Juliet, attempting to bed her the night they met. Ann Lander’s poem, “Love or Infatuation?” states, “Love is not based on sex. It is the maturation of friendship that makes sex so much sweeter. You must be friends before you can be lovers.” Romeo and Juliet knew nothing of each other before that fateful night, and in fact were enemies because of their family 's schism. Their relationship is solely driven off off sex, as Romeo stated, “Wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?” (Act 2, Scene 2) To be able to have intercourse, Romeo and Juliet rushed to be wed under the secrecy of Friar Lawrence. “The Differences” says, “Infatuation says, "We must get married right away. I can 't risk losing him." Love says, "Be patient. Don 't panic. Plan your future with confidence." Romeo and Juliet did not plan their relationship at all, instead they rushed through it, throwing caution into the wind. If given time and different circumstances between their families, Romeo and Juliet would have had to keep their relationship secret. Alas, they were unable to do so, therefore Romeo and Juliet are not in love, but instead have an intense sexual desire between

    Read More

  • The Validity Of Their Love In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

    761 Words  | 2 Pages

    Because of this short lived love, they never got to know each other for who they really were. Romeo and Juliet did not really love each other because they both were avoiding something by getting together, it was short lived, and they were only in love with the others looks. Shakespeare also hints that they didn’t know the difference between love and hate since their families were rivals. When Romeo goes to the Capulet’s party he is looking for Rosaline but finds Juliet instead. He returns back to Friar Lawrence and says “Her I love now Doth grace for grace and love for love allow.

    Read More

  • Contrasting Views of Love in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

    962 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the views of love held by the character Romeo contrast sharply with the views of Mercutio. Romeo's character seems to suffer from a type of manic depression. He is in love with his sadness, quickly enraptured and easily crushed again on a passionate roller coaster of emotion. Mercutio, by contrast is much more practical and level headed. His perceptions are clear and quick, characterized by precise thought and careful evaluation. Romeo, true to his character begins his appearance in the play by wallowing in his depression over Rosaline who does not return his love:

    Read More

  • Various Attitudes Toward Love in Romeo and Juliet

    709 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the first scene of Act one there is the servants Sampson and Gregory talking about sexual love. As they both talk about taking girls virginity. They both sound arrogant as they talk as if it is through experience. To them the thoughts of taking a girl’s virginity seems a joking matter.

    Read More

  • Love And Love In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

    817 Words  | 2 Pages

    Romeo and Juliet are renowned for their romantic tale. However, seldom do we remember that the play is entitled The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, and their story is not a happy one. Shakespeare uses fire to show the two sides of passion, love and hatred, in order to remind the audience that the story of Romeo and Juliet is, after all, a tragedy by hinting that their relationship was doomed from the start. He does so by demonstrating that Romeo’s love for Juliet is not as intense as we would think, indicating the existence of two passions represented by fire, associating fire with love and hatred and linking the two, and ultimately showing that Romeo and Juliet’s passionate love could not be separated from their families’ passionate hatred for

    Read More

  • Love And Infatuation In William Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

    1014 Words  | 3 Pages

    Even before Juliet is introduced, Romeo considers himself to be in love with Rosaline. Although he says that it is true love, stating “..Doth add more grief to too much of mine own. Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs; Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes..” (Shakespeare, I.1.23), it is clear that his obsession with Rosaline is purely surface-level-- later on in this same scene, it is revealed that Rosaline is taking a vow of chastity, and after that, it could be inferred that Romeo does not know Rosaline well at all. He is simply interested in the concept of her, rather than being in true love with her. After he pursues Rosaline, and quickly gets over her at the masquerade party, Romeo moves on to Juliet, the two immediately “fall in love”, even though they are meeting for the first time. Romeo experiences the same thrill, speaking of Juliet in poems and flowery adjectives, for example, saying that “..It is the East, and Juliet is the sun.” (II.2.69) There are many other incidents where he speaks similarly about the two women, even though they are different. His similar fixation with the two different girls tells us something about Romeo: he is not in love with them specifically-- moreso, the idea of being in love and its caveats, a strong theme that Shakespeare

    Read More

  • Directing William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

    1458 Words  | 3 Pages

    Before I discuss my modifications to the play and how I would go about directing my own version, the way I see the relationship between Romeo and Juliet should be looked at. In my opinion, the couple isn’t genuinely in love. They feelings they have for each other is pure lust, rather then a deep passionate love. I find it unlikely that they can know each other well enough and on such a personal level to have a lasting, meaningful relationship. One minute Romeo is entirely in love with Rosaline and the next Juliet comes in to the picture and Rosaline goes out of his mind entirely. Shakespeare made note of this, by having Friar Lawrence state a question about Romeo’s short love affair with Rosaline. ‘Holy Saint Francis, what a change is here! Is Rosaline, that thou didst love so dear, So soon forsaken? Young men’s love then lies Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes.’ (2, 3, 65-68)

    Read More

More about Exploring Love and Lust in Romeo & Juliet

Open Document