Is Romeo and Juliet a True Love Story?

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Everybody has heard of the famous play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare but, hardly anyone knows that it was not a love story. For years there has been a debate whether or not Romeo and Juliet is actually a love story. Romeo and Juliet is not considered a true love story, according to many sources because it does not follow the guidelines of a true love story, Romeo and Juliet are too young to know what love is and cultural traditions could have pushed them to marry.
To start off with, the harsh cultural traditions could have played a role in Romeo and Juliet’s false love. As published in Bard Graduate center “the Italians society use to be very critical to those women who did marry” (“wedding traditions in Italy” Para 1). These harsh cultural traditions could have pushed Juliet to feign love affair with Romeo so that she would not be judged. Furthermore the cultural traditions could have contributed to their so called love. According life of Italy “modern concepts of marriage as an act of love was just beginning and wedding of the time were more a social contract between families” (“life in Italy During the Renaissance” page 6). This contradicts the cultural traditions due to the fact that Romeo and Juliet’s wedding was in confinement. In the play Romeo does not want to go agents the Capulets, and this shows that he wanted to connect the Capulets and Montagu. These cultural traditions contributed to their false love for each other showing that Romeo and Juliet were not truly in love.
Also, the well know “love story” of Romeo and Juliet follows the guidelines of a tragedy, not a love story. As stated by Harlequin “a love story should contain no drugs or alcohol, relationships that emphasize emotional intimacy rather than s...

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Works Cited

Krohn, Deborah L. "Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History." Weddings in the Italian Renaissance. The Bard Graduate Center, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
"Life in Italy During the Renaissance." Italy. Life in Italy, 2014. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. .
"Love Inspired Historical." Harlequin. Harlequin Enterprises, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. .
Marseillaise, Puka. "Romeo and Juliet: True Love?" Teen Ink. N.P., n.d. Web. 29 April. 2014 < http://www.teenink.com/nonfiction/academic/article/344820/Romeo-and-Juliet-True-Love/>
"Romeo and Juliet Tragedy, Love Story or Both? By Studymode." Romeo and Juliet: Tragedy, Love Story or Both? Studymode, Oct. 1999. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. .

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