The Tragedy of Romeo & Juliet, by William Shakespeare, is one of the most well known and influential pieces in English literature; more importantly, most people recognize it as a story of true love, or star-crossed lovers. This play tells the story of Romeo and Juliet, who are from two feuding families. They fall in love with each other, despite being from rivaling families, and face numerous obstacles because of the feud. After a series of tragic events and miscommunication, Romeo and Juliet end up taking their lives for their “true love”. However, Romeo and Juliet’s decisions do not seem to be out of true love as they claim, but rather infatuation. In The Tragedy of Romeo & Juliet, William Shakespeare teaches readers that infatuation can …show more content…
For example, when Romeo encounters Juliet on her balcony right after the party, she says, “Three words, dear Romeo, and good night indeed. If that thy bent of love be honorable, thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow, by one that I’ll procure to come to thee, where and what time thou wilt perform the rite” (2.2.142-146). Juliet agrees to marry him right away, without knowing anything about him except his name and family. This suggests that Juliet is attracted to a superficial aspect of Romeo, most likely his looks; she doesn’t take the time to get to know him properly and decide whether or not she truly loves him. Additionally, Juliet’s strong rejection of her household is seen when Juliet refuses the arranged marriage with Paris: “I pray you tell my lord and father, madam, I will not marry yet; and when I do, I swear it shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate, rather than Paris” (3.5.121-124). In this scene, it’s clear that Romeo is hated by Lady and Lord Capulet (since he’s a Montague), and Juliet uses that to aggravate her mother. Juliet tells Lady Capulet that she would rather marry Romeo over Paris, which extremely angers her mother. The fact that Juliet uses Romeo to rebel against her parents indicates that to Juliet, marrying Romeo is a way she can rebel and possibly escape her oppressive household rather than an act of true …show more content…
This lesson is conveyed through Romeo and Juliet’s belief that they are in love with each other, although it is evident that they are merely infatuated: Romeo is easily swayed by a person’s looks, while Juliet is eager to break free from the confinements of her household by using Romeo. Although it is suggested that Romeo and Juliet don’t feel “true love” in the play, its reputation among the general public suggests otherwise. They are frequently mentioned as a classic example of star-crossed lovers, who fell in love at first sight. Shakespeare’s lesson is significant not only to people in love but can also suggest that the difference between other feelings or morals can be confusing when emotions come into
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet – popularly considered by many to be the quintessential love story of all time – is a play that we are all familiar with in one way or another. Whether it be through the plethora of portrayals, adaptations and performances that exist or through your own reading of the play, chances are you have been acquainted with this tale of “tragic love” at some point in your life. Through this universal familiarity an odd occurrence can be noted, one of almost canonical reverence for the themes commonly believed to be central to the plot. The most widely believed theme of Romeo and Juliet is that of the ideal love unable to exist under the harsh social and political strains of this world. Out of this idea emerge two
Romeo is criticized for falling in love with Juliet on the sole basis of physical appearance. What is often overlooked is that it is a reciprocal feeling. Perhaps Juliet was not as forward as Romeo, but she fell in love just as passionately based on his looks; she did not know his first name let alone anything about him.
This theme is best shown in Romeo’s soliloquy in Act 2 Scene 2. “ It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief that thou, her maid, art far more fair than she.” (Act 2, Scene 2). Romeo and Juliet brings up lots of debate about whether they were in love, or in lust. This essay brought those points to attention. There are many lessons to be learned from Romeo and Juliet, but this is definitely the most important one. As one can see, it is easy to confuse lust for love and vice versa. It is important to take time in relationships, and make sure that you know the full story before you react. If actions are taken to quickly, they can lead to a tragic
Romeo and Juliet, one of many Shakespeare tragedy plays, reveals that Shakespeare thinks love brings sorrow and grief. The play tells a story about “two star-crossed lovers” named Romeo and Juliet, who live in two different households that hate each other. Many problems arise with Romeo and Juliet loving each other, but being enemies in nature. The story is told by many characters, including Romeo and Juliet. Through this, Shakespeare uses dramatic irony, repetition of epithets, and pathos to show how love brings sorrow and grief.
Love is an emotion many-if not all- desire for in their life, but should a person’s past flings call that love into question? Romeo had strong feelings for two different people in Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, one being Rosaline and the other being Juliet. Romeo’s feelings for Rosaline were more of an infatuation than love, but this does not weaken the credibility of his love of Juliet. There are three reasons that must be taken into account when talking about the connection between his infatuation with Rosaline and his love for Juliet. Many people have infatuations at some point in their lives before they meet someone they truly love, he learns many things from his infatuation that help to deepen his
The play Romeo and Juliet has been considered to be the most touching love story of all time, but when you look closer and past all the initial “fantasies”, you see the truth. Romeo and Juliet believed that they were in love because of the mere idea of it, however based on their actions and the short amount of time that the stages of their “love” progressed in, it soon became clear that what they were actually feeling was infatuation.
True love is selfless. It is prepared to sacrifice. This is the dominant theme in Shakespeare 's The Tragedy of Romeo & Juliet, a play is about two rival noble families from Verona, the Capulets and Montagues. Indeed, the two families have such an ongoing hatred for each other that they are constantly feuding violently without end. Having had enough, Prince Escalus, the Prince of Verona, one day decrees the penalty of death to be upon the person who disrupts the peace again. It is against this vicious backdrop that Shakespeare by contrast, accentuates love in Romeo and Juliet. Three different types of love are depicted: the infatuation of Romeo, the son and heir of Montague, with a woman named Rosaline; the arranged love between Juliet, the daughter of Capulet, and Paris, a kinsman of Prince Escalus, whom Juliet’s parents have chosen to be her suitor; and ultimately, the true love between Romeo and Juliet, whose families are each other’s worst and greatest enemies.
Throughout William Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, two teenagers fall in love. In the end, they kill themselves over one another. Between these two teenagers, only physical attraction was present. The “star-crossed” lovers faced many trials, and ultimately lost. The lack of Amor doomed Romeo and Juliet’s relationship.
The love story Romeo and Juliet is regarded worldwide as the pinnacle of western literature, but were the two in deep love, or were they hormonal teenagers infatuated with each other? William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet has attracted debate from opposition sides for centuries. Some claim that Romeo and Juliet were nothing but two melodramatic teenagers while others believed that everyone should aspire to their level of love. When utilizing Ann Lander’s article “Love and Infatuation” for definitions on love and infatuation, it becomes clearly apparent that the two were nothing but infatuated teenagers. Thus, it is irrefutable that the love story of Romeo and Juliet was actually
In the ‘timeless classic’ Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, the author brilliantly utilizes several literary devices to convey the motif that true love cannot be stopped. He does this by using many opposing ideas such as love vs. pain, day vs. night and
Romeo and Juliet, one of William’s Shakespeare most famous classic works, is a heart-wrenching tale which is composed of passionate love and anger. It is a timeless piece of literature that has lasted to this century. The beautiful story is set in the remote town of Verona. This play recounts a tale of two star-crossed lovers, forbidden to pursue their inescapable love due to the long history of a violent family feud. Passion is strongly represented in Romeo and Juliet’s undying romance. As the story continues, passionate and uncontrolled anger is clearly expressed, fuelled by the noxious hatred of the family’s feud, intensifying as the plot progresses.
People who fall in love can experience countless powerful emotions that can lead to numerous conflicts. This pattern can be seen in the book Romeo and Juliet as two adolescents fall in love, not realizing their families were rivals. In the end, all the tragic events and emotions caused by their love for one another led to them both committing suicide. In the book Romeo and Juliet, the author, William Shakespeare, uses multiple literary devices to convey his opinion that love causes people to feel strong emotions, including being sorrowful and infuriated.
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy that involves young lovers, their “untimely death,” and a feud between their two families. The Capulets and the Montagues war against each other. The feud continues to escalate and provides the background for the story of these “two star-crossed lovers.” This literary masterpiece is still relevant today since it involves parental ambition, family fighting, and young love.
Love is defined as the intense feeling of deep affection. In the play, Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare, the attraction between the two protagonists, Romeo and Juliet, does not factually classify as true love. Meanwhile, lust is a concept in which is commonly mistaken for love, which is very apparent throughout this classic “love story” of Romeo and Juliet. While others could debate that Romeo and Juliet’s love, was love at first sight, it is debateable that their feelings towards one another were pure lust. Romeo and Juliet are too immature to fully understand the concept of love as they are too young and hormone-driven, they were both in search for escapism from their present troubles, and they had an excessive amount of
The word love can mean many things. Love can be an object, emotion, and a life. However, love could lead to a loss of power, prosperity, and status. In the literary work “Romeo and Juliet” written by William Shakespeare, the readers are introduced to a tragic love story. In this play, readers are also shown the different perspectives of love and the many downfalls it could lead to. The central theme of this work is the recklessness of love. The theme is significant because it is shown throughout the whole story and it’s a strong force that takes place of all the other emotions and values. In this play, Shakespeare uses characters to present different aspects of love. In addition, Nurse, Mercutio, and Romeo completely show what actual love is and what it is like to lose it due to their experiences.