The Influence Of Love In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is renowned as William Shakespeare’s most archetypal love story in English literature. The influence of love on the characters is exhibited both negatively and positively. It can be admired from the audience and the author itself that the bonds between Romeo and Juliet are so strong, despite their family’s rivalry. However, Shakespeare illustrates young love as ‘irrational’ and ‘inconsistent’. Love was also the unifying factor that aided the feud between the rivalling households. Though, Shakespeare writes Romeo and Juliet as a cautionary tale, demonstrating the consequences which arise and are provoked by love. These positive and negative factors regarding love have differing influences and outcomes on various characters

throughout the play.
Despite the families’ rivalry, it can be admired that the bonds between Romeo and Juliet remain strong. Love’s positive influence on the protagonists is recognised and exhibited as strong and genuine. Although the beauty of love is celebrated, it is overshadowed by the destructiveness of pride between the two families. Romeo and Juliet are forbidden to marry each other, so they do so in secrecy, and plan a scheme that would allow them to elope and spend their lives together. They undertake many sacrifices that in hope may bring them together, but tragically, fail. Juliet risks becoming disowned from her family after she refuses to marry her family’s desired husband, Paris. She claims that “It is an honour that I dream not of”. After standing up against her father, she cries “Deny thy father and refuse they name”, and that she is “Proud can I never be of what I hate, but thankful even for hate that is meant love”. Shakespeare is illustrating to the audience the courage exhibited by Juliet, which is also evident when Friar Laurence concludes “If rather than to marry Paris, thou has the strength to slay thyself then it is likely thou will undertake a thing like death to elude away this shame”. This bravery and determination is fuelled by her sincerest love for Romeo. Romeo, on the other hand, displays his love for Juliet as also true, as he slew Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt, and was then condemned banished from Verona. Romeo disobeyed these orders, and returned; on the premise of being sentenced to death, to be with his beloved Juliet. Juliet concocts a plan that would hopefully unite the two lovers, but after the plan’s disorganisation, Romeo believes Juliet to be dead, so he states “Juliet, I will lie with thee tonight”, and so then consumes a fatal poison, and dies instantly. Juliet awakes to find Romeo dead, so she raises a dagger to his name and their love, and cries “O, happy dagger!” These extremities and risks devoted by Romeo and Juliet are most definitely loyal, and so their devotion for each other, despite their possible inevitability to ever be together, promotes the idea that the brave actions produced by these characters were fuelled by their immense love for each other.
However, Shakespeare presents young love as ‘irrational’ and ‘disorderly’. Although Shakespeare respects the power of such a youthful, passionate love, he also laments the transience of it. In other Shakespeare works, he explored the sparks of infatuation, rather than long-term commitment. In Romeo and Juliet, this short-term burst of youthful passion was mainly produced due to their broken hearts, which fuelled their sudden changes in emotion. It can be argued that initially, Romeo and Juliet were rather just infatuated with the idea of love, and that their love started for each’s interest of looks in each other. This unstable love is exhibited only by the young couple, Romeo and Juliet, which can therefore be argued that Shakespeare deeply criticizes young love. Friar Laurence states “Young men’s love then lies not truly in their heart but in their eyes.” Friar Laurence is perhaps criticizing the young couple’s love, and looks down upon the urgency of it, which is also evident when he cautions “Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow”. Friar Laurence is cautioning the newlywed couple into taking things slow, as rushing will make the matters worse. Not only is it Friar Laurence who recognises this, but also Juliet, who claims initially that “it is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden”. This is of course stated before Romeo and Juliet become deeply in love. They became oblivious to their surroundings, and as quoted by Benvolio, “Blind is their love”. This short term burst of youthful passion transcended the young couple out of reality, and has metaphorically blinded them. It can therefore be argued that Shakespeare depicts love, especially on the younger generation, as a negative influence.
Love was the unifying factor that aided the feud between the rivalling households. Love was the key to unbind the tenacious feud between the feuding families, and therefore was a positive driving force behind the succession of the uniting households. It is unknown the context behind the reason for the family rivalry, but it is assumed that it has continued on for many years. Romeo and Juliet are forbidden the right to marry openly, so they do so privately, hiding their secret love for each other from their families. Their deaths due to the family rivalry awakened the Capulets and Montagues, and their realisation in their wrongdoings ended the feud. If it were not for the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet, this would not have occurred. Though excessive pride various characters displayed is the reason the feud was carried out for so long, love, from a different perspective, resolved it. This is already exhibited in the opening prologue, when the chorus chants “Doth with their deaths bury their parent’s strife.” This informs the audience already of the destiny of these ‘star-crossed lovers’. “The continuance of their parent’s rage, which but their children’s end, naught could remove” evidently concludes to the reader again at the beginning that nothing but the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet due to their forbidden love could cease to end the rivalry. Friar Laurence, an accomplice of Romeo and Juliet’s quest to hide their love, agrees to marry the two as he states “This alliance may so happy prove to burn your household’s rancour to pure love”. As predicted by the Friar, their love resolves the rivalry, and the two families unite confessing their remorse for their wrongdoings. The Prince states “Where be these enemies? Capulet, Montague, see what a scourge is laid upon your hate, that heaven finds means to kill your joys with love.” The two households mourn and forgive each other, with Capulet crying “O, brother Montague, give me thy hand”. Love is somewhat portrayed as a sentinel in Romeo and Juliet, which guides them, and is the medicine that healed the sickness between the two families. Love is indeed a positive influence on this part, and was crucial in resolving the major conflict permeated throughout.
Shakespeare writes Romeo and Juliet as a cautionary tale, illustrating the repercussions which arise and are provoked by love.

Various ramifications arise due to events surrounding love, which suggests that love produces extremities, both good and bad. Different forms of love depicted in Romeo and Juliet exhibit the complex misfortunes and dangers of love, such as love being as powerful as hate, it’s cause of making rash decisions, the power to deteriorate relationships with others, arises powerful forces such as destiny, pain and hatred; and is displayed as a force of nature, so strong that it transcends social conventions. One single emotion that has the ability and power to produce such frightening and potent forces unto the even the strongest of characters, exhibits to the audience that love is dangerous, and should be tended to wisely. As quoted by Friar Laurence, “Therefore, love moderately” instantly produces to the audience a sense of warning, as stepping over the boundaries of love arises repercussions permeated throughout the play. Hate, being one of the most prevalent outcomes of love, is exhibited mainly on Tybalt, as the audience first witnesses at the scene of the Capulet party, when he is told to swallow his prise and refrain from fighting Romeo; he replied “I will withdraw. But this intrusion shall, now seeming sweet, convert to bitterest gall.” This evidently exhibits the hubris embedded throughout the differing families, and shows how strongly love influences hate. In fact, love so much influences hate, that after Romeo defeats and kills Tybalt, Lady Capulet is so enraged by the defeat of someone from her household, she seeks vendetta by stating “Romeo slew Tybalt. Romeo must not live.” This extremity of the medieval retaliation of ‘an eye for an eye’ displays the constant need for power produced by the families’ excessive pride in each other. Friar Laurence of course foreshadows these events, as he states at the wedding scene “These violent

delights have violent ends” forewarns the later events. As a result of Romeo and Juliet’s love, six people die, themselves included. Benvolio addresses this disguise of ‘innocence’ that love wraps itself around, as he states “Alas, that love, so gentle in his view, should be so tyrannous and rough in proof”. It seems to be that, Benvolio, one of the only characters not directly blinded or affected by love, sees its true dangers, and it’s only after experiencing the consequences of love first hand does Romeo then state “Brawling love”, and Juliet “Serpent heart”. If these characters weren’t so blinded by love, and had the wisdom and knowledge that Friar Laurence had, they would see that “The sweetest honey is loathsome in his own deliciousness and in the taste confounds the appetite.” As demonstrated by various characters, love is extremely powerful, and produces dangerous consequences. Shakespeare shines a light on these negative outcomes of love, and demonstrates love and its negative influences on characters.
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet empowering theme of love is portrayed both positively and negatively. Though it can be admired and respected by the audience that Romeo and Juliet still attempt to preserve their ‘genuine’ love for each other, despite their families’ rivalry, Shakespeare loathes the transience of it, and how young love is irrational and inconsistent. Love, was though, the unifying factor that aided the feud between their rivalling households. Despite these positive factors of love embedded throughout the play, Shakespeare portrays Romeo and Juliet as cautionary, illustrating the consequences which arise or are provoked by love.