In my perception, throughout Act 2 it is lust not love. The couple, Romeo and Juliet, instantly fall in unacquainted love with each other’s looks and beauty. Falling in love straight way or in other words, “love at first sight” sounds strange in our modern days as it takes a longer time to fall in love. Romeo’s lust instead of love for Juliet is apparent where he speaks of how exhilarated he is to take Juliet’s virginity in a sexual soliloquy, ‘Her vestal livery is but sick and green, and none but fools do wear it. Cast it off!’ (2.2.8-9). The vocabulary Shakespeare has used, positions the reader to imagine how Romeo is implying that only fools hold onto their virginity and that Juliet’s virginity makes her look sick and green. It is obviously …show more content…
showing the lust Romeo has for Juliet and that he wants to cure her from her virginity. Shakespeare has positioned the play to the rules in the Elizabethan times where virginity is to be held until marriage.
Nowadays, this rule rarely applies depending on other people’s religions and beliefs. Many people found it sweet, but I found it rather peculiar how the couples are only teenagers and fall in love instantly. In Act 2 Scene 2, ‘Love goes toward love as schoolboys from their books, but love from love, toward school with heavy looks.’ (2.2.164-66). Shakespeare is poetic and uses an expansion of vocabulary, in this case contrast, to paint a picture of how the characters are feeling. This contrast and analogy highlights and emphasises Romeo’s feelings and emotions for Juliet. In this instance, Romeo is describing his contentment in seeing Juliet, but also his distress in losing her in which he cannot live without her. In my perspective, it is lust than love as the teenagers have only just met so consequently their hormones are raging. I believe, as a teenager, even I get confused between lust and love so it is not an uncommon …show more content…
emotion. The play Romeo and Juliet was clearly written in the Elizabethan era in the 1600’s.
Teenagers over the past 400 years have remained comparatively the same in my opinion; having sexual relations for one another. This desire is obvious in Act 3 Scene 2, “Gallop apace…lovers can see to do their amorous rites…It best agrees with night…O’ I have bought the mansion of a love. But not possessed it; and though I am sold, not yet enjoyed.” (3.2.1-28). In other words, the language features and vocabulary positions us to understand how Juliet is impatiently complaining how she has not yet relished the “rewards” of marriage, in a sexual monologue. In the Elizabethan era all women were expected to be married, however, in our modern century many women, but not all, have the opportunity to choose. Back in the time, it was considered imprudent to marry for love, making Romeo and Juliet’s relationship especially scandalous. It was common, in that era, for families to organize arranged marriages. Fortunately, currently across the 21st Century within western societies, we do not have to deal with arranged marriages, though very minor religions do. On the other hand, parental pressure still exists in that we have to live up to certain expectations. I still feel pressured by my parents to attain top grades. The forcefulness of arranged marriage is stated in Act 3 Scene 5, ‘But fettle your fine joints 'gainst Thursday next to go with Paris to Saint Peter’s Church, Or I will drag thee on a hurdle
thither.’ (3.5.157-59). Here, Capulet is forcing his daughter, Juliet, to marry Paris, but she refuses to. I find Capulet’s arranged marriage unacceptable as she should be free to choose whoever she admires and trusts is the right person. Generally, the 21st Century and the Elizabethan era do share a few similarities but also some differences. The theme of young love, as a cause of death and suicide, permeate in Act 5 of Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare has held up the possibility of suicide as a result of young lovers not being able to live without one another. Romeo and Juliet long to live for love, and even die for love. Shakespeare considers this suicidal compulsion, not as something distinct from love, but rather, as a component as much a part of it as the romantic euphoria. The double suicide demonstrates both the implementation of their love for one another and the self-destructive compulsion that has taken place. I believe that the way Juliet killed herself is an over exaggeration of the ‘love’ they had for each other. They are young and believe that they cannot live without each other, which is imprudent as Shakespeare states that Juliet says, ‘O happy dagger,’ (5.3.175). Juliet uses the word ‘happy’ as she is referring it to her reuniting with her love, Romeo. In my perception, this relates to today’s society as many teenagers believe that if a relationship does not work, it is going to be the end of the world. They believe that life is just based around having a boyfriend or girlfriend which is heavily reflected in Act 5 of Romeo and Juliet.
Lust or Love: An Essay Analyzing the Relationship of Romeo and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet
In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet the two “so called lovers” are having their lust being mistaken for true love. While critics of the argument will argue that “the couple wouldn't have killed themselves if they were only in lust” the fact of the matter is that they met each other purely on the basis of looks. The first example of the couple’s lust emerges when Romeo sneaks into the Capulet’s party. Just hours after loving Rosaline, Romeo spots a new girl. He then turns to a servant and asks who the girl is,“Oh, doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night like a rich jewel in Ethiop's ear” (1.5.42-44). This demonstrates
Romeo and Juliet choose their own actions through their judgments, which were caused by their belief of everlasting love. Due to their unsound and absurd attitudes, both characters are dazed by love in a puerile manner. The relationship they created was actually built on lust and desperation. Firstly, Romeo is the first character whom shows immature love in the story as a whole. Once Capulet’s party is over, Romeo’s attitude leads him to jump over the wall to Juliet’s house and exclaim to her,” And what love can do, that dares love attempt./Therefore thy kinsmen are no stop to me”(2.2.68-9). The effect of love caused Romeo to not pay attention to the consequences of jumping over the wall and talking to the daughter of his enemy. The flaw is that he is beginning to think that his love is as hard as nails. It is illogical for Romeo to think this...
Romeo and Juliet was first published around 1595. At this time in England the family was one of the most central and pivotal figures of social order. Children were expected to honor and obey their parents and seek their assistance in any decisions made. Especially in choices made concerning marriage. At this time children were finally able to take a more active role in choosing their husband/wife, but parents were essentially given the final decision (Amussen 94). Romeo and Juliet took it upon themselves to make such an important decision and hardly even considered their parents in the process. During the first half of the 17th century the average age for a woman to marry was 26 and for a man, 28 (Amussen 86). Shakespeare’s central characters are barely entering their teen years. As a son coming of age, and more importantly the singular male heir for the Montague family, Romeo should be entering University to prepare himself for handling the family fortune, not marrying in secret. This is merely the beginning of his show of irresponsibility towards his family and ultimately the role he is meant to play in society.
Love, with its binding, twisting labyrinth of emotions, often has diverse effects on those caught in its grasp. To the lovers in Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, love is an overwhelming, overpowering emotion to which all else must yield. Both of the teenagers felt an immediate tug at the first sight of one another and desperately acknowledged that nothing was to be left in the onslaught of that sweeping tide.
True love is one of the most genuine, not to mention precious feelings in the world. In Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet, a pair of lovers denotes the strength of true love and it's ability to overcome nearly all obstacles. However, this kind of love is a rarity due to it's pureness but somehow many cheap imitations are still mistaken for real love. Romeo and Juliet's love is authentic and by no means an infatuation seeing as first of all, they both risk their lives to see each other and would rather die than be separated. Juliet also has an unusual level of loyalty towards her partner for her age which supports the idea of true love. In addition, throughout the play, Romeo's demeanour started to change and he began to mature in a considerably short period of time. Young love is a petty sentiment nonetheless when it develops into a fully-fledged unconditional love, both partners will begin to evolve and will do nearly anything for the other.
Romeo's inclination to fall in love easily was first shown in his love for Rosaline. It was illustrated perfectly when he first met Juliet. "Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight. For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night". (Lines 50-51, Scene 5, Act 1) He say this but he seemed to have forgotten Rosaline like old news, even though he speaks of Juliet as he spoke of Rosaline only a few short hours before. "One fairer than my love! The all-seeing sun ne'er saw her match, since first the world begun" (Lines 94-95, Scene 2, Act 1). Romeo immaturity was further shown by the way he handled Tybalt's slaying of Mercutio.
Capulet and Romeo Montague, face a bigger problem; forbidden love. Taking place in Verona, an ignorant Romeo first meets a childish Juliet at the Capulet’s party. Romeo and his kinsman, Benvolio, attend the party masked, searching for his first love, Rosaline. Coincidentally, Romeo meets Juliet, a new beauty, and falls in love with her not knowing the fact that she is a Capulet. The feud continues, leading one mistake after another, until both families realize their selfishness at the last minute. The unfortunate tragedy of two “star-crossed lovers” is ironically caused by the impetuosity of Romeo and Juliet themselves (Shakespeare 7).
Despite what many people think, Romeo and Juliet is not a love story; rather a story of desperation and obsession. People have been reading Shakespeare for hundreds of years and several people have mistaken it for a love story, due to the fact that Romeo loves Juliet so much he is willing to kill himself when he finds her supposedly dead; she does the same when she wakes up to find him dead. But in fact, Romeo is more taken aback by her beauty than he is in love with her. Juliet is intrigued by the fact someone could love her because her parents are very unsupportive of her. When the two find each other, they immediately become obsessed, mistaking this for love at first sight.
Romeo and Juliet is one of the most famous love tales, but what if the play is not actually a tale of love, but of total obsession and infatuation. Romeo has an immature concept of love and is rather obsessive. Romeo is not the only person in the play who is obsessed though. Many people throughout the play notice his immaturities about love. Very rarely was true love actually shown in the play. attention. Romeo childishly cries to his friend, Benvolio because Rosaline will not love him back and says " She hath forsworn to love, and in that vow/ Do I live dead that live to tell it now" (I i 219-220). Romeo is stating that he's ready to die for loving Rosaline. This is exactly the same attitude Romeo had towards Juliet a little later in the play. During Scene I, Act ii, Romeo's friend, Benvolio tries to get him to go to the Capulet's party to help him get over Rosaline and meet other women Romeo gets very angry and emotional when he suggests this. “Now Romeo is beloved and loves again, / Alike bewitched by the charm of looks” (II 5-6). The chorus expresses Romeo’s juvenile way...
Have you ever been in love before? Many would say that love is hard to come by, and even harder to maintain, while some would say the opposite. In Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Romeo & Juliet, he explores similar concepts related to love and infatuation. Although the reader never directly hears from Shakespeare, one could infer that his own thoughts are similarly mirrored in his characters, with the play serving as a warning tale of sorts, and the various roles echoing different dangers when it comes to love, which of there are many. More specifically, Romeo Montague and his actions in the play are very intentional, as they help explain Shakespeare’s intentions and his own personal thoughts on the topic of love and its hazards, as well
Based on what I know of love, I believe that the attraction between Romeo and Juliet is exaggerated quite extensively. The first time they had met, they had shared nothing but eye contact and claimed they were in love with one another, they hadn’t shared anything about themselves, including age, religion or anything for that matter. Juliet believes Romeo is ‘the one’ and almost completely disregards the idea of marrying Paris, who is financially stable and seemingly a kind and charming gentleman whose manners are akin to that of his friend, Mercutio, who took drugs and crashed his parent’s rivals party. The love shared between Romeo and Juliet seems too short and extreme to have been portrayed as real, it could’ve seemed just as possible that the two were obsessed with one another and not necessarily in love, but they were intrigued by the thought of being in love with each other.
69-70). This makes their love, lust, because it explains how he loves her for her beauty rather than what is in her mind. In the play it states, “Heaven is here Where Juliet lives, every cat and dog and little mouse, every unworthy thing Live here in heaven and may look at her, but Romeo may not.”(Shakespeare, 3.3. 30-35) In this scene, Romeo is complaining about how he cannot look upon Juliet, which shows how he only loves her for her beauty. Not only this, but in the play it also states, “..It cannot countervail the exchange of joy That one short minute gives me in her sight [...] It is enough I may but call her mine”(Shakespeare, 2.6. 3-9). In this part of the play it is saying how Romeo would not be bothered if he only spent a few minutes with Juliet, just as long he could marry her. This shows that the love they have is lust because he only mentioned her beauty from the outside but not from within. This type of love influences the plot of the play because without this love, there would be no such thing as Romeo and Juliet for the love they have, created the entire plot of the
Teens for the past five hundred years have always wanted a sexual relationship with the opposite sex. Romeo and Juliet were no different. In the beginning of “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare” Romeo is in love with this girl Rosaline. As soon as Romeo sees Juliet at the mascaraed bowl he claims he is in love. If he moved on from Rosaline to Juliet that instantly than he never loved Rosaline, he just liked her in a sexual way only, that’s probably the same with Juliet. He is still in love with Rosaline at this time but then completely forgets about Rosaline and moves on to Juliet as soon as he sees her. He doesn’t know her at all he just fell for her just by looking at her physical appearance. This fact proves that The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is in fact a lust story.
When a man is attracted to a woman they express the feeling mutually. An example would be in “Michelle”, sang by Paul McCarthy where a man sings to his lover in French. Context clues point to the fact that she does not speak English, which is why he sings in French, “the words she will best understand.” In “Romeo and Juliet”, written by William Shakespeare, Romeo spots Juliet and immediately notices her great beauty. By saying what he did, he shows her that he noticed her over all the other ladies in the room. Looking at what both sources portray about how men show their emotions, we are to see that when a man feels attraction towards a woman, they are compelled to express this by talking and complimenting the woman they feel attraction to.