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Essay On Romeo And Juliet Sacrifice

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Oftentimes, the presence of love in a person’s life impacts their entire being, and whether it is a positive impact or a negative impact, it will still alter the course of their entire life. This impact can be seen in Act I of William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, and also in Marian Hill’s song, “Down”. The presence of love is not the only thing that these two works have in common, however, as they show similar ideas of how love toys with the human mind. To be specific, these two works share the thematic idea that love requires unprecedented sacrifice. If one is to recognize the idea that love requires sacrifice, they must also recognize that these sacrifices will not be at all miniscule or insignificant. Juliet seems extremely distraught and surprised when she finds out that she has fallen in love with Romeo when she says, …show more content…

He seems utterly dumbfounded in the case of Rosaline’s celibacy when he says, “She hath, and in that sparing makes huge waste, For beauty, starved with her severity, Cuts beauty off from all posterity. She is too fair, too wise, wisely too fair To merit bliss by making me despair. She hath forsworn to love, and in that vow Do I live dead, that I live to tell it now”(Rom.I.i.226-232). It seems as if Romeo cannot possibly fathom why such a beautiful girl would refuse suitors, but the problem lies more so in the fact that he is unable to handle his heartbreak. Obviously, Romeo was not expecting to be rejected so easily, so he is upset over the fact that he has not been able to obtain what he wants, therefore showing that he is not ready to accept the fact that love requires sacrifice. On the contrary of Romeo’s denial, however, Marian Hill portrays willingness to sacrifice for love in her song

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