Ever since Romeo and Juliet was written, people have debated whether it was written to be a love story or a tragedy. The play is centered around a romantic relationship, which may cause some to believe it to be a love story. However, Romeo and Juliet show tragic themes as well as themes of love. This play can be considered both, but even so, it shows more elements of being a tragedy than a love story. In the just prologue alone, the play establishes the fate of our main characters, Romeo and Juliet. The sentences, “A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;/Whose misadventured piteous overthrows/Do with their death bury their parents' strife.” (I.Prologue. 6-8) reveal that two do fall in love, but then the narrator states that they have
"LOVE IS A Certain Inborn Suffering derived from the sight of and excessive Meditation upon the beauty of the opposite sex, which causes each one to wish above all things the embraces of the other, and by common desires carry out all of love's precepts in the other's Embrace" is definition of medieval love. But Really, How much does Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet comes to terms of traditional " love"? Think about Romeo in the very beginning of the play, when he talks about Rosaline. He describes, rather about her looks as he says: " O, she is rich in beauty, only poor". Romeo talks of his unattainable love to the beautiful Rosaline. He sees Rosaline as strong, for she would never be hit by cupid's arrow. This is an example of courtly
A constant theme of infatuation progressively is displayed throughout Romeo and Juliet, starting with an innocent desire for true love, and ending in death. Romeo and Juliet are the main characters that display the obsession through dialogue. The first sign of infatuation began with Romeo. He claimed, “love, whose view is muffled still, should without eyes, see pathways to his will” (Shakespeare 20). Romeo is obsessed with the idea of love, and is convinced that love controls you. He ends up getting confused and makes statements about how love is “heavy and light”, “bright and dark”, “hot and cold,” (Shakespeare 20). These oxymoronic assertions show that Romeo is infatuated with the idea of love, even though he hasn’t even really
Romeo and Juliet is often referred to as a tragedy, but it is also a love story. Many people just see the love between the main characters Romeo and Juliet. The pair that defy fate and fall in love. The story illustrates that love has no boundaries. Along with Romeo and Juliet there is many more examples of love in this story, like Mercutio and Romeo,and Juliet’s Nurse and Juliet.
In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Shakespeare takes a romantic story of two star-crossed lovers, willing to go to the end of the Earth for each other, and turns their tale into one of the greatest tragedies of the modern era, filled with despair, devastation, and death. Whether Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy or romance is a disputed topic amongst historians and critics because there is evidence that suggests the play falls into both genres. Romeo and Juliet can be viewed as a tragedy because the main characters do not achieve their fundamental goal and instead, fall from the grand station they once held. Additionally, Romeo and Juliet can be considered a tragedy because a pair of innocent lovers die young due to a
The tale of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare will always be revered as one of the most tragic, classic tales of young love. However, is it possible that Romeo and Juliet’s feelings for each other could be something other than love? It is quite unlikely that two young teenagers who just met could be so passionately affectionate towards each other within such a short time frame. Yet, the situation becomes far more likely when one takes the time to carefully define what emotions they are truly experiencing.
“The course of true love never did run smooth” - William Shakespeare. Shakespeare often uses love as his main topic in his plays. Shakespeare expresses love through the characters in the play Romeo and Juliet. He shows how Romeo, changes, makes bad decisions and kills for love.
What runs strongly through the entire play is the theme of fate. Romeo following Tybalt’s death declares himself, “…fortune’s fool "The audience is left with the idea that the lives of all characters were set down by a higher power and they are moving and speaking like puppets. They may feel that they have free will but the audience can see that every decision and conversation brings the lovers closer to their deaths. It is no error that the start of the play reveals its end. Romeo and Juliet are called, “star-cross’d lovers,” which reveals their shared destiny. In Act 2, scene 3 it is Friar Lawrence who
We all need to thank God that he didn’t make us as crazy as Romeo and Juliet. They made choices in the play that were so spontaneous and crazy that they ended up costing them their lives by the end. However, there are many lessons to be learned from Romeo and Juliet. I learned to always be honest, to not rush love, and to keep an open mind about things.
Romeo and Juliet is the tale of two adolescents from rival families, who fight through the hardships to find love. In most of Shakespeare’s plays, the theme of love also comes with the theme of tragedy. It is within this style that Romeo and Juliet was written. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet can be classified as a Shakespearean tragedy because it contains the main themes of fate, tragic flaw, and revenge, which are essential to his tragic plays.
The art of love found in many of William Shakespeare’s plays, including Romeo and Juliet, can be explained by the science of love. This scientific explanation of love best explains Romeo’s irrational behavior as a Petrarchan Lover found throughout the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. In both relationships Romeo has during the play, he puts both of the girls on a pedestal above everything else. This is seen in Act 1 Scene one when Romeo is in a desperate state of loathing. He is caught up in this girl that doesn’t like him back, which is noted in the part of the play when Romeo says “Well, in that hit you miss/ She’ll not be hit with Cupid’s arrow/
Romeo and Juliet was Shakespeare’s most famous play which is about love of two teenagers of two rival families. Since Romeo’s family and Juliet’s family are rivals, their families don’t agree with the marriage of their children to each other. However, Romeo and Juliet despite the opposition of their families secretly get married at church and insist on reaching their goal of being together. The whole story is played in the theatre style of the Renaissance; audiences could see violence, young boys are playing female rolls without wearing masks, many scenes and time change. However, if it was played in Greek theatre style, the audience could see a different style of performance and there would be a different effect. In Greek Theatre we would
Romeo's love for Juliet is exactly the same as his love was for Rosaline. Although Romeo's relationship, or should I say lack of relationship, with Rosaline was not as intense as his relationship with Juliet, he talks about his love for each of them in the same way. In Romeo's eyes his love for each of the women is true, but in fact he only loves their looks. While going on and on about Rosaline, Romeo talks about how she is "rich in beauty." (1.1.208) Similarly, Romeo says that Juliet's beauty is "too rich for use, for earth to dear." (1.5.45) Unfortunately, this is as deep as his monologues get for the women, he vomits beautiful words about beauty and love, but the words have no actual meaning. I have no doubt that if Rosaline were interested
Hamish Bagshaw never thought he ever would fall in love- or ever be heartbroken by a girl he thought he loved as a young man.
Through the play, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet there is an unbreakable love between you and Romeo. The reason why I admire you is because you are a very independent young women. While you fought for the love you had for Romeo It showed me how much passion you had for him. As I learned more about you I realized you did not let a feud stop you from doing what you loved.
Cleopatra and Mark Antony, Lancelot and Guinevere, and Paris and Helena are some of the best and most know love stories of all time. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare stands far above all of these, and is definitely the greatest love story ever written. This play is renowned for its passion and is one of the most viewed plays ever, being republished twice in Shakespeare's lifetime. This story also contains several different kinds of love.