Romeo and Juliet Love Essay Example

Romeo and Juliet Love Essay The play Romeo And Juliet by William Shakespeare deals largely with the theme of love. Throughout the play, many different aspects of love are conveyed effectively. At the beginning of the play we are introduced to love being conveyed in the sense of infatuation which is evident in the character of Romeo. In act one scene one Romeo is wandering the streets of Verona aimlessly with many thoughts of Rosaline whom he believes he loves. Romeo speaks of Rosaline and proclaims his love with conventional love poetry: Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers eyes We will write a custom essay sample on Romeo and Juliet Love specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Romeo and Juliet Love specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Romeo and Juliet Love specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer This suggests that he is only using thoughts from his mind and reciting someone elses feelings instead of proclaiming the way he feels about Rosaline by speaking from the heart. By using this poetry Romeo is showing signs of immaturity which is also evident in his actions as he hides away from the world around him by remaining in his room all day and refusing to see any family or friends. The characters we are first introduced to in the play Sampson and Gregory share a common likeness when considering love as they see it as means for sexual gratification. As they wander the streets of Verona they speak of taking the virginity from young women and use bawdy language to describe this thought: The heads of the maids, Or their maidenheads We are later introduced to Juliets Nurse who also has a mind for physical gratification when thinking or speaking of love. This becomes evident in act two scene four when the Nurse has left to find Romeo in order to arrange a time for the marriage. Benvolio and Mercutio meet the Nurse along the way and tease her with sexual innuendoes. Instead of leaving the nurse stays and attempts to react to the men in a refined manner without showing that she is enjoying the attention as this would have been frowned upon at the time. Mercutio is a joker and a prankster. He, like the Nurse, sees love as means for sexual gratification and constantly makes sexual innuendoes. He has never experienced passionate love to understand true passion. Love is also portrayed as being a business transaction. When Capulet and Paris meet to talk about Juliet, Paris requests that he have Juliets hand in marriage to which Capulet happily complies. Capulet wants his daughter to marry Paris due to his considerable wealth and so it is clear that he has a certain admiration for Paris. The main example of love in the play is expressed between Romeo and Juliet as they share a strong passionate love between them. When Romeo sees Juliet for the first time he immediately begins to speak from his heart to talk of Juliets beauty and we begin to notice immaturity fading: She doth teach the torches to burn bright A rich jewel in an Ethiops ear A snowy dove trooping with crows In these lines Romeo uses light and dark imagery to describe how he feels about Juliet and to contrast her beauty to the surroundings. Act two scene two sees Romeo in Capulets orchard with the hope of meeting Juliet. This is a very risky move for Romeo as he is at risk of being caught and therefore he risks his. When in the orchard, Romeo uses cosmic imagery to speak of Juliet. It is the east and Juliet Is the sun. Arise fair sun And kill the envious moon Here Romeo describes Juliet as an image of cosmic lightness, a great beacon that shuns all with her immense beauty. Although this is impetuous he is expressing his own true feelings for Juliet and not using conventional love poetry. The language he uses is very poetic and romantic which is also evident in Juliet. Juliet uses oxymorons when speaking of Romeo and she wishes that he were not of the Montague family: My only love sprung from my only hate Parental love is expressed when Lady Montague Romeos mother unexpectedly dies when her son is banished. This conveys a strong bonding love between parent and child as she dies from grief. Romeo and Juliets passion is heavily expressed in the final scene when Romeo discards all attributes of straight thinking to ignore his banishment from the city of Verona to return to his true loves deathbed. When Romeo kills himself and Juliet awakes, she is angry that Romeo has left any poison for her to commit suicide. Therefore she draws Romeos dagger and stabs herself. Although this is tragic, it also shows the couples unconditional love for each other and how they cannot live without each other. For them to commit suicide is a major extremity as in Elizabethan ages it was believed that if one committed suicide they were doomed to spend eternity in hell. Love is a main theme throughout the play, but through the love there is the underlying destruction at the climax of the play. The reader knows that the relationship is doomed from the beginning of the play as it states in the prologue that they are star- crossed lovers which suggests that although they share undying love, fate will eventually consume them from life.