The Theme of Love in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

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The Theme of Love in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

'Romeo and Juliet' is a play written in the 16th century by William

Shakespeare. The play is about love and is based around two rival

families, each wanting power over the other. The two families (the

Capulets and the Montagues) each have just one child. The Capulets

have a young daughter called Juliet and the Montagues have a son

called Romeo. The two children fall in love at soon as they lay eyes

on each other, a reminder of John Clare's poem 'First Love'. 'First

Love' is a poem about love at first sight. Both the poem and the play

portray love at first sight in the way that they have the effect that

time stands still when they are thinking, speaking or looking at the

girl/woman that they have fell in love with. The play was written in

the 16th century and the poem was written in the 17th, therefore they

are similar in some ways as things had not changed much between the

two centuries and they are written in a similar way. They are both in

a male perspective but 'Romeo and Juliet' show a mutual love, whereas

in 'First Love' it is just one sided.

There is a lot of love portrayed in the play; the first shown is lust.

Romeo thinks he is in love with Rosaline but really it is just an

infatuation. Romeo only sees Rosaline as a beautiful young girl and

really only wants her for the physical side of a relationship, but he

doesn't realise this. His best friend Mercutio and his cousin Benvolio

know that it is not love and try and get him to find another girl that

may like him back, "By giving liberty unto thine eyes; Examine other

beauties." However, Romeo is not convinced at first, as he is so

sexually attracted to Rosaline.

Romeo only realises that his love for Rosaline was just an infatuation

when he meets Juliet. He realises that it is love because he sees her

inner beauty not just external.

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