Different Forms of Love in "Romeo and Juliet"

In the early stages of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare conveys love in many different ways. Love is shown as being imperfect, such as bawdy love, unrequited love and fatherly and maternal love, this contrasts greatly to Romeo and Juliet’s pure, perfect and requited love, and makes it seem all the more true before it is shown to be deadly.

At the very beginning of act1 scene 1, bawdy love is shown by two lower class characters, Sampson and Gregory, who don’t think of women as equal but think of love in a purely sexual way, this is shown when they say “therefore women being the weaker vessels are ever thrust to the wall.” This shows that they feel that because they are stronger than women, they have more power over them and so the woman can be “thrust to the wall” whilst the men rape them. They also say “I will cut off their heads.

The heads of the maids?

Ay, the heads of the maids, or their maidenheads.” This is another indication of rape, because the maids’ maidenheads are their virginity. Shakespeare also writes this in prose, not verse which indicates their lower class; it also helps to highlight Sampson and Gregory’s bawdiness as well as their lack of belief about pure and true love. Furthermore; saying “I will cut off their heads” is another reference to being stronger than women, and shows the disrespect that Sampson and Gregory feel towards them. The nurse is also very bawdy, we find this out in act 1, scene 3, when the nurse is talking to Juliet and she says “thou wilt fall backward when thou comest to age; Wilt thou not Jule.” By saying this, the nurse indicates that Juliet will fall on her back, or have sex. This shows her bawdy sense of humour, however, the nurse refers to Juliet as Jule, which sounds like a jewel, a...

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Romeo is very hyperbolic in love, and makes many holy references to describe Juliet, however these references also foreshadow the end of the play, such as when Romeo says “winged messenger of heaven” this hints that she is a gist from god, but will have to return soon, as messengers must always return. He also says that she is a “bright angel” and is “glorious to this night”, which indicates that he thinks of her as a gift from god, as angels are associated with God and heaven, but he also hints that she is more beautiful than just an angel, the is a “bright angel”. By saying that she is “as glorious to this night” Romeo suggests that she is the most beautiful thing in the night, this shows that he is hyperbolic.

In conclusion, using a combination of…….. Shakespeare manages to dramatically convey many different types of love in his play, Romeo and Juliet.