The Perceptions of ‘Love’ in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
“Romeo and Juliet” is a love story written by William Shakespeare over
500 years ago. It is a story about two lovers trying their best to
keep their romance a secret. In the play there are many aspects and
perceptions of love made by a variety of different people.
Romeo is truly in love with Juliet, unlike when he claimed that he
loved Rosaline; this was not a genuine love, more of a ‘crush’ that
only lasted a matter of days. This can be seen when he talks with
Friar Lawrence.
“Thou chid’st me oft for loving Rosaline” (Act 2 Scene 4)
Even though this is the case Romeo felt shocked and heart broken when
he found out that Rosaline did not love him and that she was never
planning to get married. Romeo used oxymoron’s in his speech to show
his hatred. Oxymoron’s were commonly used in love poetry, as love is
combined of two opposite emotions. But here it shows the hatred
between the two families.
“O any thing of nothing first create!”(Act 1 Scene 1)
“O heavy lightness, serious vanity” (Act 1 Scene 1)
After he started to see Juliet there was a noticeable difference in
the mood of Romeo. He became much more open and friendly towards
others, especially towards the Capulet household, but this did not
last. Something that Romeo noticeably does is refer to light and
things of mystery to describe love and things he loves.
“The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars”(Act 2 Scene 2)
“O speak again bright angel,…” (Act 2 Scene 2)
“Two of the fairest stars in all of heaven” (Act 2 Scene 2)
It is obvious that Romeo is truly in love with Juliet. He risks is
life to see her, twice. Firstly in the balcony scene and secondly on
the night after her marriage. Juliet cares about Romeo. She was
frightened for the welfare of his life. But she was still disheartened
to see him leave.
Romeo and Juliet is one of the most famous love tales, but what if the play is not actually a tale of love, but of total obsession and infatuation. Romeo has an immature concept of love and is rather obsessive. Romeo is not the only person in the play who is obsessed though. Many people throughout the play notice his immaturities about love. Very rarely was true love actually shown in the play. attention. Romeo childishly cries to his friend, Benvolio because Rosaline will not love him back and says " She hath forsworn to love, and in that vow/ Do I live dead that live to tell it now" (I i 219-220). Romeo is stating that he's ready to die for loving Rosaline. This is exactly the same attitude Romeo had towards Juliet a little later in the play. During Scene I, Act ii, Romeo's friend, Benvolio tries to get him to go to the Capulet's party to help him get over Rosaline and meet other women Romeo gets very angry and emotional when he suggests this. “Now Romeo is beloved and loves again, / Alike bewitched by the charm of looks” (II 5-6). The chorus expresses Romeo’s juvenile way...
Juliet is a very loving person, especially towards Romeo. During the balcony scene when Romeo is about to leave, Juliet says, “A thousand times goodnight!/(2.2.154) I shall forgot, to have thee still stand there, Rememb’ring how I love thy company.”(2.2.173-174) Juliet feels true love with Romeo, as she expresses this through her actions, each time he speaks, each time they kiss, Juliet never wants to leave Romeo’s side. Shakespeare continues to make it clear that Juliet is a loving person through the people she close with. Romeo and Juliet have fallen in love so quickly that the nurse hopes that Juliet will get married while she’s alive, even if it means that Juliet marries at a young age.
Romeo, son of Montague and Lady Montague, is introduced into the story as a depressed, upset young man, moping over a girl who will never love him back. As he says to Benvolio, “She’ll not be hit with Cupid’s arrow. She hath Dian’s wit, and, in strong proof of chastity well-armed, from Love’s weak childish bow she lives uncharmed” (Romeo and Juliet I i 203-206). Romeo states that his true love will not love him as he thinks of her, as she intends to stay chaste and turn into a nun, thus upsetting Romeo and putting him in a depressed state of mind. He is a very extreme person, and in a way, that contributes to the hastiness of the whole play, as Romeo is always at either of his two extremes; his mood either quite happy or relatively dismal. He shows that in his thoughts, as he is at first convinced he should never love another woman, but then he meets Juliet only days afterward and forgets about his previous love. His encounter with Juliet is hasty, but he claims he “never saw true beauty till this night” (Rom I v 52). Romeo reveals his personality, and how quickly he is able to get over someone whom he thought he was in love with. However, after encountering Juliet and falling in love once more, Romeo develops an obsession of sorts w...
In act one scene two it says, "Benvolio urges Romeo to go to the party to see how Rosaline compares with other women." In scene five it says, "Romeo suddenly sees Juliet and falls in love at first sight." Romeo sees Juliet and immediately forgets about Rosaline. Romeo changed from loving Rosaline that broke his heart to Juliet that will eventually love him later in the story.
Romeo is desperate to be in love, and is in fact in love with the idea
How Shakespeare Presents Love and the Problems of Love in Romeo and Juliet With particular focus on Act 1 Scene 5 and Act 2 Scene 2, show how. Shakespeare presents love and the problems of love in Romeo and Juliet. In the book Romeo and Juliet we look at the love and passion between Romeo of the Montague house and Juliet of the Capulet house as well. the feud between the two houses. Act 1 scene 1:
1. Romeo is so love struck that he compares Juliet to many things that show contrast to one another. For example he says that she stands out against the darkness like a jeweled earring hanging against the cheek of an African. “It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night like a rich jewel in an Ethiope’s ear.” He also says that she is like a white dove in the middle of a flock of crows; “So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows.” At this point it clear that Romeo has fallen out of love with Rosaline and fell deeply in love with Juliet.
to be a quite romantic person, as, to start with, he is in love with
Although love is interpreted as a wonderful thing it can also ruin someone's life, “Love is a trap. When is appears, we see only its light, not its shadows.” (Paulo Coelho) Love doesn’t fix people it breaks them asunder. It waits and waits for its next target to make a mistake and ruin everything they worked for. As seen in various works including; “The Raven” , Romeo and Juliet, and “The Gift of the Magi”. Romantic love is a force that inflicts pain upon those who believe in it or those who have been through it.
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:
In the play of Romeo and Juliet the main characters are a young teenage boy named Romeo and the only daughter of his family’s enemies, named Juliet. These two teenagers fall in love with one another but their love is strictly forbidden by fate. There are two families in the story; the Montagues and the Capulets, who had been rivals for many years. As two servants of the Romeo’s household walk, they see two servants of Juliet’s household biting their thumbs towards them. The two argue in public then fight. After a public fight between two servants and one kinsman from each family, the Prince of Verona tells both heads of the families that whoever disturbs the peace because of the feud between the families, will be punished by death. After
Throughout the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, various types of love are portrayed. According to some of the students of Shakespeare, Shakespeare himself had accumulated wisdom beyond his years in matters pertaining to love (Bloom 89). Undoubtedly, he draws upon this wealth of experience in allowing the audience to see various types of love personified. Shakespeare argues that there are several different types of love, the interchangeable love, the painful love and the love based on appearances, but only true love is worth having.
When Romeo meets Juliet, he claimed to be immediately in love. Although he has been sulking over Rosaline, when he met Juliet, he states, “Did my heart love till now? forswear it sight! For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night” (Act 1.5 Lines 51-52). The entire time as he envisions love with Rosaline, it was all incoherent. Romeo’s impulsive attitude causes him to fall head over heels with Juliet, which begins the drama in this play.
(II.2.73) after Juliet asks if he is a Montague. He is willing to do anything for the girl he just met (again, touching on the theme of infatuation), and the fact that their two families don’t get along only makes the stakes higher for Romeo.
Juliet also undergoes a change in character, far removing herself from the naïve fourteen year old of Act One, she becomes increasingly strong and practical (Spencer 67). At the beginning of the play Juliet talks of marriage as ‘an honour that I dream not of’ (1.3.67) but by Act Two Scene Two it is Juliet who brings about the subject of marriage, encouraging Romeo to arrange their wedding. Romeo may have insisted on declaring their love for each other but Juliet takes it a step further ‘thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow’ (2.2.144).