The tale of Romeo and Juliet tells a tragic story of a pair of star crossed lovers. But were Romeo and Juliet really in love? This essay will investigate the play of Romeo and Juliet in order to see if love at first sight was truly possible with this iconic pair.
William Shakespeare was the man who wrote the play Romeo and Juliet, meaning that the play is fiction. So by that account, love at first sight is fiction and is not a viable reality. The play of Romeo and Juliet is a romantic tragedy. A young couple driven to suicide because they could not be together is a tragic thing. Shakespeare called attraction love because it made the play all the more tragic. In Act 2 scene 2 Juliet says “Deny thy father and refuse thy name; or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I’ll no longer be a Capulet.” In this part Juliet is contemplating what it is to be a Capulet and what a Montague is. She seems to be willing to forget her family in order to be with Romeo, who she has not even known for a night.
In today’s terms, what Romeo and Juliet experienced when they first saw each other was infatuation. Juliet was thirteen, almost fourteen, she could not understand what romantic love is like because she has never been in love. Romeo is seventeen, he does not know what romantic love is as well.
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If Romeo and Juliet’s families did not hate each other, there would be no suicide, and there would be no reason the two could not be married after meeting and being infatuated. The reason this is so important is because without this factor the play would most likely not be a tragedy, just a romance. If Romeo and Juliet had been married for a while, then true love could have been real between the two. Since the two did not know each other well, and were irrational teenagers, love was not the motivation here, the attraction the two had for each other was the
"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
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
“An intense feeling of deep attraction.” That is the definition of love. Love between a man and a dog, a kid and ice-cream, a mother and her family, and love between two selfless people. This is true love. In the play, Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, the feeling of attraction between the two main characters is not true love. The setting of this play is the streets of Verona, Italy, during a time when arranged marriages at the age of 14 were socially acceptable. Two young teens, Romeo and Juliet, were convinced that they had feelings for each other, but acted more out of lust than anything else. Lust is defined as “a very strong sexual desire”, and it becomes more apparent as the
Romeo and Juliet care for each other and would risk anything for each other. But they barely met each other and they both love one another because of their facial features. Romeo and Juliet are two protagonists who feel they have “true” love, but neither character knows what “true” love is.
Romeo and Juliet go through a lot since meeting each other. They are considered one of literature’s most exciting couples because they do whatever they can to be with each other. They also share a love that is one of the finest in all of history. Romeo and Juliet are truly in love with each other because they value their time together, they have constant thoughts about each other, and they are willing to sacrifice what either of them has to be together.
Similarly, Romeo forgets all about how he loved Rosaline and transitions into “loving” Juliet at the sight of her. Romeo mistaking love for lust is voiced by Romeo himself when he witnesses Juliet at the Capulet’s feast, he asks himself, “Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight, / For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night” (I.v.51-60). When Romeo asks if his “heart” loved, he refers to his eyes. Romeo’s reference to beauty is parallel to his feelings of love towards Juliet only with the recognition of beauty or infatuation. Also, Romeo forgets all about his love for Rosaline the exact second sees Juliet, which can conclude he was never really in love to begin with; therefore, proving Romeo’s desire for Juliet is nothing more than meaningless infatuation. Furthermore, Friar Laurence tells Romeo that his sudden change of heart to move on from Rosaline means his desire towards her lies in his eyes rather than his heart. At the time of these events Juliet is thirteen years old and Romeo is eighteen years old showing that they are just teenagers. Although, teenagers do not take love seriously and do not have a full metal grasp of what love
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.
‘Romeo and Juliet’ is a tragic play about two star crossed lovers written by Shakespeare in 1595. The play is a timeless teenage tradgedy. “The play champions the 16th Century belief that true love always strikes at first sight,” (Lamb 1993: Introduction) and even in modern times an audience still want to believe in such a thing as love at first sight. Act II Scene II the balcony scene displays that romantic notion perfectly.
The story of Romeo and Juliet is one of love and terrible tragedy. Many people have argued if it was actually love that they were experiencing, or if it was just a physical attraction. The article, “Love At First Sight“ by Elizabeth Bernstein, provides facts that prove Romeo and Juliet were not in love, but experiencing strong infatuation with each other.
Although the classic Shakespearean tragedy Romeo and Juliet depicts love at first sight between the two titular protagonists, such is not truly attainable in its entirety. Mainly, this is due to the nature of true love, which requires more than what can be obtained upon first sight, or even over the course of a few days, as in the case of Romeo and Juliet, where it is illustrated that the protagonists are so deeply in love with each other that they consider their romance to be of a higher priority than their own lives; that they had been willing to sacrifice themselves for their lover. In addition, love often segues
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
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is a tale about two feuding families in Verona, Italy. The forbidden love between Romeo and Juliet has tragic results to maintain their relationship. Their journey took no more than four days. By the span of their story, one can assume that it was love at first sight. Shakespeare’s ideas on romantical love are that love, at first sight, is not real which is demonstrated through his use of figurative language.
What is love? Is it an object? Is it a feeling? Is it even attainable? Love is everything, it is an object, it is an emotion, and it cannot be bought, stolen, given. Love can only be found. Love is discovered in the most unthinkable places during the most unimaginable times. It can never be predicted who you fall in love with or when you do but all you do know is that you are in love and you would give anything for that person, and for your love to always stay resilient through all other obstacles and distractions. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Montague’s and Capulet’s are know and expected to hate each other until the miracle of love presented its self. Romeo is a Montague and Juliet is a Capulet. They both fell in love when
Have you ever seen someone and knew they were the one from that second? In William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet the main theme is love at first sight. In act 1, there is evidence that Romeo had feelings for Juliet the moment he saw her. Also, in act 2 we see Juliet willing to do anything to be with Romeo, and Romeo is willing to do anything to be with Juliet.
Considering what Romeo and Juliet have said and done, It's not hard to realize that they love each other unconditionally throughout the story. At Lord Capulet's party, Romeo brakes in and mopes in the corner when everyone else is having fun because Roseline did not love him back. Juliet was told to check out Paris at the party because lady and lord capulet wanted them to marry. Later on, Romeo spotted Juliet and said “Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night” (1.5.50-51). Then he went up to her and worked his magic. The fact that when they laid eyes on each other they fell immediately in love. Some people could say that it takes time for true love to strike but had never felt this