Romeo and Juliet Literary Analysis

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage” (Tzu, Lao). Romeo and Juliet is the story of two families, the Capulet and Montague families. The two families have an ongoing feud which has created a lot of fights within the streets of Verona. A child from each family, Juliet Capulet and Romeo Montague fall in love with each other; it is a love that is certainly forbidden. If their parents ever found out, how would it end? Would there be more rivalry, or bring love between the two families? Romeo changes over the course of the play, at first feeling dark and depressed, then madly in love and ending with him thinking Juliet was dead and mourning over his loss of her.

At the beginning of the play Romeo is dark and depressed because he falls in love with a girl named Rosaline who does not have the same feelings for him. Romeo has built up his feelings and is crazy for Rosaline who in contrast could care less about anything to do with Romeo. Rosaline has no intentions to fall in love with Romeo, marry him or have children with him. But Romeo is blinded by his love for her and refuses to accept that she does not want him back causing him deep depression. Romeo when talking to his good friend Benvolio, explains his feelings, “Why such is love’s transgression. / Griefs of mine own lie heavy in my breast, / which thou wilt propagate to have it pressed with more of thine” (Shakespeare1.1.179-182). Romeo is saying that it is so hard to be in love with Rosaline; he is so much in love with her but there are so many reasons why he cannot see her and be with her. All he can think about is Rosaline, but because she has no intentions in ever being with Romeo. He is heartbroken and does not think he will love anyone ever again. In addition, Romeo goes to a masquerade ball in order to see Rosaline but instead meets Juliet and falls