Romeo and Juliet is one William Shakespeare’s greatest and known novels. There’s no simple answer to whether the story is true. That hasn’t stopped it being one of the greatest love stories in history. The play has been a huge success over the many years it has been around.
The natural instinct most people have about the play is that it is about true love. However that is not the only theme there is also Hate, Fighting, Action and Death. True love is the most important in the play but there is also other types of love Lust, Wise love, and Infect. Shakespeare has made dramatic contrasts between love and hate, but also between the different kinds of love. When the different types of love are being shown Shakespeare has used different kinds of language for instance imagery. In this essay I will tell you which character uses each love and how Shakespeare has shown which love the feel.
The first type of love I will talk about is false love or in faction. This love was experienced by Romeo. He feels this way very on in the story over Roseline. He thinks he has feelings for her “this love feel I” he thinks he loves her. He is upset as Roseline doesn’t love him back “she ” ll not be hit with cupids arrow.” Romeo is shutting everyone out from comforting him. Shakespeare says “his own affections’ counsellor.” Romeo is moping around and so his days seem to go on for ages “sad hours seem long.” Romeo letting Roseline affect him deeply “makes himself an artificial night.” Romeo is over reacting over her.
Benvolio his cousin is the one who finds out what is wrong with Romeo tells Benvolio how she will never pass on her beauty as she won’t have children “beauty staved with her seventy, and beauty off all posterity” she won’t sleep with him. Benvolio tries to convince him that she isn’t worth moping around about “forget to think of her.” Romeo has tried to charm her and win her over but she won’t let him “in strong proof of chastity well armed.” We can see that Romeo’s feelings for Juliet are not real. Benvolio knows it too. Romeo’s words are artificial and fake they are not from the heart.
They are like a speech and are too forced and thought out. Romeo uses Oxymoron’s “Cold fire Sick health.” Romeo is convinced he will never find anyone who matches up to her “show me a mistress that is passing fair.” He thinks he won’t be able to forget her “teach me how I should forget to think of her.” Benvolio tries to get him to take his mind of her and to “Examine other beauties.” Romeo is not willing to do that. In those days when Shakespeare was alive it was fashionable for young men to want women they couldn’t have. They would write poems about them.
It was mostly married women that the men wanted.
The second type of love that I will tell you about is Moderate, wise love. This was experienced by Friar Lawrence, Friar Lawrence believes that love should be slow and not rushed. The Friar thinks the couples who take things slowly will stay together “Wesley and slowly.” The couples who take things too fast will not stay together “they stumble that run fast.” Friar Lawrence thinks that by Romeo and Juliet getting married there might be some hope that the feuding will end between the Montague’s and the Capulets. “To turn you households’ rancor to pure love.” There is a contrast between the Friar’s point of views on love and Romeo’s. It says “That’s by me wounded; both our remedies.” Romeo thinks love should be fast but the Friar thinks it should be taken slowly.
The third kind of love that I will tell you about is an arranged marriage. There is an arranged marriage between lady Capulet and Capulet. There is also an arranged marriage arranged for Juliet and Paris. Even though it is an arranged marriage between Paris and Juliet he does have feelings for her. It might seem unreasonable for girls so young to get married. In those days women had to get married young as they died young.
The average age was about 40. Another thing about those days is that the farther organized the whole arranged marriage. Most of the time the daughter knew nothing about the marriage.
Paris seeks to Capulet about marring Juliet. Paris thinks Juliet is old enough to get married. Capulet isn’t so keen though as he wants to wait till she is two years older.