The Ideas Of Love In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet
In Shakespeare’s most popular tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, many themes and ideas about love, violence, and fate are shown. The most prominent theme that influences virtually every scene and line in the play is the idea that desire and passion can act as a very destructive force. Almost every character in the play is influenced by the forces of love and passion, and those who are not at the very least feel the effects of them. The overwhelming feelings of love and passion have a tendency to result in distrust between two or more characters, a broken heart or relationship, and worst case scenario death. This idea is most easily identifiable when looking at the actions of Romeo, Juliet, and just about any other character. Throughout the entirety
…show more content…
of the play, Romeo is completely dominated by love. In the beginning of the play, he is in love with Rosaline. Romeo is devastated to learn the his love cannot be with him because she decided to become a nun. He spirals into depression and when his cousin, Benvolio, asks him what the matter is, he responds by saying “Tut! I have lost myself, I am not here; This is not Romeo, he’s some other where.” (Shakespeare I.1.188). Romeo has no idea what to do with himself to get over her, but when his friends offer to take him to a party, he reluctantly agrees. Romeo and his friends to go to the party, and at the party he meets Juliet. Romeo winds up with a broken heart from Rosaline’s decision, but that is only the first of his woes that can be traced back to his love and passion. The second Romeo spots Juliet, he instantly forgets Rosaline. Romeo is so caught up in the heat of the moment that even though they are members of feuding families, he still talks to her and kisses her. In the play’s most iconic and remembered scene, Juliet is standing outside on her balcony. Romeo and Juliet talk for a while and after just a few minutes of knowing each other they agree saying that “If that thy bent of love be honorable, Thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow...”(Shakespeare II.2.144). Romeo and Juliet agree to get married after a single night of knowing each other because Romeo is so eager to fall in love and Juliet does not really know what she is doing, they make a mistake that cannot be undone. “Romeo and Juliet are actually on stage together for only 330 lines of the play...” (Bond 4). This observation made by Bond shows how little the two characters really knew each other throughout the entirety of the play. The lovers only spend about a tenth of the play on stage together, yet they live and die for each other. Tybalt, Romeo’s cousin in law, has a bone to pick with Romeo. He does not know that Juliet has married him, so he treats him as he used to-with no respect. Romeo refuses to fight Tybalt, but Romeo’s best friend decides to fight Tybalt in his place. Romeo breaks up the fight, but Tybalt takes a cheap shot at Mercutio and kills him. When Romeo gets caught up in the heat of the moment and flies into a rage. “Either thou or I, or both, must go with him.” (Shakespeare 91). He kills Tybalt without thinking of Juliet nor the Prince’s warning. Romeo goes throughout the entire play making decision after decision based almost purely on the love he feels and the passion in the moment, but he is not the only character who is guilty of that. His actions not only change his life, but change everyone’s around him. Juliet is a level headed thinker compared to Romeo, but that is not saying much. In the beginning of the play, Juliet tells her mother that she will marry whoever they want as long as they consent. Very shortly after, Juliet meets Romeo. Romeo and Juliet agree to marriage after a single night of knowing each other. “And all my fortunes at thy foot I’ll lay And follow thee my lord throughout the world” (Shakespeare 147-148). She says that if Romeo’s intentions are truly honorable then they should get married in the morning and she will give him everything she has and follow him to the moon and back. Juliet does not think of the consequences she will face because of their families or because of how hastily they act. Juliet is very upset to hear from her parents that they want her to marry Paris. She knows she cannot break the news that she is already married to a Montague so she instead goes to Friar Lawrence’s and asks him to come up with a plan. The Friar tells her to fake her own death and then she can live with Romeo who has been exiled to Mantua as a result of Tybalt’s death. Juliet is so upset about Romeo being exiled and the marriage she faces with Paris, she agrees to the plan without giving it too much thought. This idea that, “Beyond just a feeling, this love produces a willingness to do anything to obtain and keep it” (Naden 3) pushes Juliet into a corner and she does anything to be with Romeo. Had she taken a step back, cooled off, and really thought about what she was doing, she may have acted differently and could have kept a relationship with her family. When the Friar’s plan very unsurprisingly fails, Romeo ends up dead. Juliet sees his body in the tomb and goes next to him. Juliet is broken and no longer sees a reason to keep on living. She tries to take some of the poison off of Romeo’s lips, but when that fails she takes his dagger and plunges it into her chest. “This is thy sheath. There rust and let me die” (Shakespeare V.3.169). Juliet’s last words really capture the pain she feels after Romeo’s death. She was so caught up in love and in the passion of the moment, she could not think things through and she could not make smart decisions. Middelstaedt points out that, “Whenever Capulets and Montagues meet in the play, civil disorder is either at the forefront or on the horizon” (Middelstaedt 111). This is very true and much of the civil disorder can be attributed to the fact that many of the characters involved were being led by their love or the heat of the moment. Love and passion is a very good motivation at times, but can also be a very destructive force that resulted in several deaths throughout the play. Many other side characters also feel strong emotions of love and passion all the way from feisty Tybalt to loving Lady Montague. At least once, the vast majority of characters in the play either get caught in the moment or act out of love.
Towards the middle of the play, Juliet asks the Nurse what she really thinks about her predicament. Juliet has just been told she must marry Paris and she needs to hear that there is a way out of it and she can be with Romeo. The Nurse realizes that in the end, it might not all be worth it and in an effort to save Juliet a lot of heartache, she says “I think it best you married with the County” (III.5.218). Even though Juliet knows the Nurse just said that out of love for her, she still gets very angry. Focusing on her own love for Romeo, she then cuts the Nurse out of her life and does not tell her of the Friar’s plan. Had the Nurse and Juliet just communicated better and recognized the love they shared, their relationship would not have been ruined.
Tybalt is the antagonist in the beginning of the play. Even after his death, his actions and the following consequences are still felt. He is responsible for the death of Mercutio which leads to Romeo killing Tybalt and Romeo’s eventual exile. Even though Tybalt is the bad guy, he cannot really be blamed because like almost all of the other characters; his actions are caused by his love for the Capulet name and the passion he feels. In this case, his passion leads to many many deaths including his own, Romeo’s, Juliet’s, Paris’, and Lady
Montague’s. “Grief of my son’s exile hath stopped her breath” (Shakespeare V.3.226). At the end of the play, it is revealed that Lady Montague has died too. She died because of the grief she felt after Romeo’s exile. This is a pretty unexpected death that showed how deep parental love is. Lady Montague was not in many scenes and she was not talked about much so hearing of her death felt like it was out of nowhere. In reality, it is a good demonstration on just how much impact you can have on someone without realizing. The love Lady Montague felt for Romeo was her undoing.
of the play, Romeo is completely dominated by love. In the beginning of the play, he is in love with Rosaline. Romeo is devastated to learn the his love cannot be with him because she decided to become a nun. He spirals into depression and when his cousin, Benvolio, asks him what the matter is, he responds by saying “Tut! I have lost myself, I am not here; This is not Romeo, he’s some other where.” (Shakespeare I.1.188). Romeo has no idea what to do with himself to get over her, but when his friends offer to take him to a party, he reluctantly agrees. Romeo and his friends to go to the party, and at the party he meets Juliet. Romeo winds up with a broken heart from Rosaline’s decision, but that is only the first of his woes that can be traced back to his love and passion. The second Romeo spots Juliet, he instantly forgets Rosaline. Romeo is so caught up in the heat of the moment that even though they are members of feuding families, he still talks to her and kisses her. In the play’s most iconic and remembered scene, Juliet is standing outside on her balcony. Romeo and Juliet talk for a while and after just a few minutes of knowing each other they agree saying that “If that thy bent of love be honorable, Thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow...”(Shakespeare II.2.144). Romeo and Juliet agree to get married after a single night of knowing each other because Romeo is so eager to fall in love and Juliet does not really know what she is doing, they make a mistake that cannot be undone. “Romeo and Juliet are actually on stage together for only 330 lines of the play...” (Bond 4). This observation made by Bond shows how little the two characters really knew each other throughout the entirety of the play. The lovers only spend about a tenth of the play on stage together, yet they live and die for each other. Tybalt, Romeo’s cousin in law, has a bone to pick with Romeo. He does not know that Juliet has married him, so he treats him as he used to-with no respect. Romeo refuses to fight Tybalt, but Romeo’s best friend decides to fight Tybalt in his place. Romeo breaks up the fight, but Tybalt takes a cheap shot at Mercutio and kills him. When Romeo gets caught up in the heat of the moment and flies into a rage. “Either thou or I, or both, must go with him.” (Shakespeare 91). He kills Tybalt without thinking of Juliet nor the Prince’s warning. Romeo goes throughout the entire play making decision after decision based almost purely on the love he feels and the passion in the moment, but he is not the only character who is guilty of that. His actions not only change his life, but change everyone’s around him. Juliet is a level headed thinker compared to Romeo, but that is not saying much. In the beginning of the play, Juliet tells her mother that she will marry whoever they want as long as they consent. Very shortly after, Juliet meets Romeo. Romeo and Juliet agree to marriage after a single night of knowing each other. “And all my fortunes at thy foot I’ll lay And follow thee my lord throughout the world” (Shakespeare 147-148). She says that if Romeo’s intentions are truly honorable then they should get married in the morning and she will give him everything she has and follow him to the moon and back. Juliet does not think of the consequences she will face because of their families or because of how hastily they act. Juliet is very upset to hear from her parents that they want her to marry Paris. She knows she cannot break the news that she is already married to a Montague so she instead goes to Friar Lawrence’s and asks him to come up with a plan. The Friar tells her to fake her own death and then she can live with Romeo who has been exiled to Mantua as a result of Tybalt’s death. Juliet is so upset about Romeo being exiled and the marriage she faces with Paris, she agrees to the plan without giving it too much thought. This idea that, “Beyond just a feeling, this love produces a willingness to do anything to obtain and keep it” (Naden 3) pushes Juliet into a corner and she does anything to be with Romeo. Had she taken a step back, cooled off, and really thought about what she was doing, she may have acted differently and could have kept a relationship with her family. When the Friar’s plan very unsurprisingly fails, Romeo ends up dead. Juliet sees his body in the tomb and goes next to him. Juliet is broken and no longer sees a reason to keep on living. She tries to take some of the poison off of Romeo’s lips, but when that fails she takes his dagger and plunges it into her chest. “This is thy sheath. There rust and let me die” (Shakespeare V.3.169). Juliet’s last words really capture the pain she feels after Romeo’s death. She was so caught up in love and in the passion of the moment, she could not think things through and she could not make smart decisions. Middelstaedt points out that, “Whenever Capulets and Montagues meet in the play, civil disorder is either at the forefront or on the horizon” (Middelstaedt 111). This is very true and much of the civil disorder can be attributed to the fact that many of the characters involved were being led by their love or the heat of the moment. Love and passion is a very good motivation at times, but can also be a very destructive force that resulted in several deaths throughout the play. Many other side characters also feel strong emotions of love and passion all the way from feisty Tybalt to loving Lady Montague. At least once, the vast majority of characters in the play either get caught in the moment or act out of love.
Towards the middle of the play, Juliet asks the Nurse what she really thinks about her predicament. Juliet has just been told she must marry Paris and she needs to hear that there is a way out of it and she can be with Romeo. The Nurse realizes that in the end, it might not all be worth it and in an effort to save Juliet a lot of heartache, she says “I think it best you married with the County” (III.5.218). Even though Juliet knows the Nurse just said that out of love for her, she still gets very angry. Focusing on her own love for Romeo, she then cuts the Nurse out of her life and does not tell her of the Friar’s plan. Had the Nurse and Juliet just communicated better and recognized the love they shared, their relationship would not have been ruined.
Tybalt is the antagonist in the beginning of the play. Even after his death, his actions and the following consequences are still felt. He is responsible for the death of Mercutio which leads to Romeo killing Tybalt and Romeo’s eventual exile. Even though Tybalt is the bad guy, he cannot really be blamed because like almost all of the other characters; his actions are caused by his love for the Capulet name and the passion he feels. In this case, his passion leads to many many deaths including his own, Romeo’s, Juliet’s, Paris’, and Lady
Montague’s. “Grief of my son’s exile hath stopped her breath” (Shakespeare V.3.226). At the end of the play, it is revealed that Lady Montague has died too. She died because of the grief she felt after Romeo’s exile. This is a pretty unexpected death that showed how deep parental love is. Lady Montague was not in many scenes and she was not talked about much so hearing of her death felt like it was out of nowhere. In reality, it is a good demonstration on just how much impact you can have on someone without realizing. The love Lady Montague felt for Romeo was her undoing.