“The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet” Essay True love is something that occurs naturally, without compulsion and pressure from any influential factors. The characters Romeo and Juliet die fighting for their infatuation that Shakespeare attempts to label as love. Neither character has an eloquent idea of what true love is; they are so inexperienced that they mistake their lust to be love. In the play, “The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet,” Shakespeare expresses a romantic lust between the protagonists that fails to prove itself as true love because of struggles and conflicts that bring Romeo and Juliet together. Although Romeo claims that his love for Juliet is true, it is evident that he is only using …show more content…
As Shakespeare introduces Romeo and Juliet as a couple, he shows the immediate, yet haste, intimacy between them. Romeo kisses Juliet, not once, but twice upon meeting while he says, “Then move not while my prayer's effect I take (He kisses her)...Give me sin again (He kisses her)” (1. 5. 105-110). Upon meeting each other Romeo and Juliet proceed to lock lips twice, without even knowing each other. Romeo finds Juliet to be one of the most beautiful maidens that he has ever encountered and he feels like he has reached love at it’s capacity, but it is only lust. Romeo described Juliet’s beauty as he says, “Juliet is the sun. Arise fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief. That thou, her maid more fair than she.” (2. 2. 4-7) Romeo repetitively comments on Juliet’s looks, but never does he expand on what her personality is like, demonstrating the clear difference of his lust for Juliet, as opposed to true love. Romeo and Juliet don’t love each other, they love lust; they find each other so magnificent that they can’t bear not being
By the end of the play, Romeo and Juliet have completely fallen in love, which ultimately led to their premature deaths; with their relationship beginning as lust and blossoming into love. While Romeo and Juliet's interest in each other starts off as just physical attraction, through spending time together and learning about each other, their relationship transitions into true love because of the constant fear of living without each other.
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.
In Act I of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare demonstrates different forms of love that characters face. From the beginning, Romeo struggles to find true love and what love really is. As for Juliet, she also struggles on what love is, but also finding her own voice. And when finally finding true love they discover that they have fallen in love their own enemy. They both realize that the idea of love can be amazing, but also a painful experience. Shakespeare demonstrates love versus evil and the forms love takes that is acknowledged as an universal issue that connects different types of audiences. Audiences are captured by relating on love and the emotions that are displayed. From Romeo and Rosaline’s unrequited love, Paris and Juliet’s false love, and Romeo and Juliet’s ill-fated love, create the forms of love that establishes love as a leading theme in Act I.
Loving and being loved adds a feeling of purpose to our lives. Humans accept love from anyone and anything they can receive it from, it’s just human nature. In the literary work of “The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare, the reader is introduced to two characters, Romeo and Juliet, who believe they share feelings of “true love” towards each other. However, such deep affection that both characters had for each other is not something that can be developed in a short amount of time, for that would not be love, it would be lust. Romeo and Juliet were two impulsive teenagers who did not understand the concept of “true love”.
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...
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.
Romeo’s false pronouncements of love, his incapacity to see beyond love, and approaching love in an almost dreamy and unreal way were all parts of his daily demeanour. "Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night." (1. 5. 44). Romeo was lost in his passion, and exaggerated his remarks about his love for Juliet, since he had just loved Rosaline minutes before. Another point was Romeo’s blind love, which proved he did not think of the problems that could arise; “If love be blind, love cannot hit the mark”. (2 .1. 33) Mercutio’s phrase of Romeo’s actions was correct in the sense that Romeo take into account the background of his love. Also, Romeo’s blind love proved to ‘not hit the mark’ as his romantic views of love turned out to be fatal, as well as impaired his judgement heavily. Romeo again, was so lost in his romantic thoughts that he did not give any reflections for the future, rather, wanted to live in the moment. Romeo’s approach to love was also very glamourous and unrealistic, worried only what he might do next to woo his love. "See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand! That I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek!" (2. 2. 25) Romeo was beginning to pursue Juliet, and all he was worrying about how he should approach her, which reinforces the fact that Romeo’s overly romantic personality
It shows that he prioritized her looks above anything else which by definition is not true love. Subsequently after “meeting” the couples short term infatuation becomes more apparent. Romeo pulls Juliet into a hallway and convinces Juliet to kiss him, “My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a render kiss” (1.5.95-96). Romeo’s actions once again prove that he is not truly in love. Instead of getting to know Juliet he decides to kiss her. The two demonstrate that any non physical characteristics are close to irrelevant to each other. After their affair Romeo leaves the Capulet’s party. Juliet then turns to nurse to and asks for Romeo’s name. Nurse responds by telling Juliet that she knows not who the man was, “What’s he that follows here that would not dance”? “I know not” (1.5.132). The simple action is all that is
the play is not solely about love but also a lot of hatred is involved
In the play “Romeo and Juliet”, Shakespeare shows that love has power to control one’s actions, feelings, and the relationship itself through the bond between a destined couple. The passion between the pair grew strong enough to have the capability to do these mighty things. The predestined newlyweds are brought down a rocky road of obstacles learning love’s strength and the meaning of love.
... off.”(“Love’s Bond”, Robert Nozick) If that is true when loving someone, Romeo evidently made the wrong decision to kill Tybalt. By fulfilling this revenge, Romeo not only caused Juliet to be upset, but he also placed a burden on himself: an imprudent decision. After analyzing Romeo’s careless approach to risking to lose Juliet’s love, it becomes clear that Romeo’s love for Juliet is not a real romantic love, but it is a hormone-driven, passionate, hasty love that is portrayed as ruinous and preposterous by Shakespeare through Romeo’s actions.
Romeo and Juliet is a romantic love story about a young lad named Romeo who has fallen in love with Lady Juliet, but is unable to marry her because of a long-lasting family feud. The play ends in the death of both these characters and the reunion of the friendship between the families. Romeo is in love with Juliet, and this is a true, passionate love (unlike the love Paris has for her or the love Romeo had for Rosaline) that nothing can overcome, not even the hatred between their two families that is the reason for the death of their two children. Throughout the play, Shakespeare thoroughly explores the themes of both true love and false love and hatred. Without either of these themes, the play would loose its romantic touch and probably would not be as famous as it is today.
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
In the story of Romeo and Juliet created by spectacular poet William Shakespeare, both characters have the decision of choosing true love to each other. Unfortunately this causes their possible family members and friends to potentially be killed due to both of their families being in the middle of a feud. However true love is not worth sacrificing family and friends.There are multiple reasons as to why this is such, but you will have to go along and these read these reasons to understand why true love is not worth you friends and family's lives.
True love is one of the most genuine, not to mention precious feelings in the world. In Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet, a pair of lovers denotes the strength of true love and it's ability to overcome nearly all obstacles. However, this kind of love is a rarity due to it's pureness but somehow many cheap imitations are still mistaken for real love. Romeo and Juliet's love is authentic and by no means an infatuation seeing as first of all, they both risk their lives to see each other and would rather die than be separated. Juliet also has an unusual level of loyalty towards her partner for her age which supports the idea of true love. In addition, throughout the play, Romeo's demeanour started to change and he began to mature in a considerably short period of time. Young love is a petty sentiment nonetheless when it develops into a fully-fledged unconditional love, both partners will begin to evolve and will do nearly anything for the other.