ROMEO AND JULIET - LOVE
Level 7-9
Shakespeare presents the love and relationship between Romeo and Juliet throughout the play as a sort of drug with elements of possessiveness and recklessness but at the same time the emotion strikes both Romeo and Juliet with passion and ecstasy. Both characters speak using hyperbolic language and metaphors which present love to the audience as controlling yet beautiful. Love is also presented as the main cause of the deaths of Romeo and Juliet because of the intensity of the emotion of them. Throughout the text Juliet and Romeo both become blinded by the power of love between them which ultimately leads to the tragedy that is the death of the youth of the play and the families.
In this extract, Shakespeare presents the love between Juliet and Romeo as problematic yet exciting and rewarding for both. This extract takes the form of a near soliloquy by Juliet but is overheard by Romeo. In her speech she acknowledges the issues regarding her deep feelings for Romeo. Arguably the most famous Shakespeare line “O Romeo, Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo” explains the complications between the lovers as being only their names and therefore families. Both Romeo and Juliet are defined by their families and the name attached, it is their entire social identity and there is nothing that they can do to rid themselves of it, it is permanent. Their names and families cause major issues for their passionate love as the Montagues and the Capulets have an “ancient grudge” that is expressed through all the members of the households. The society that Romeo and Juliet live in makes it impossible for their young love to flourish because of the continual violence and irrationality between the families. Juliet can wish and hope that Romeo could “refuse thy name” but it is ultimately always going to be a part of who he is and his identity to the real world. It is simply impossible to escape the pressures and expectations of society placed upon them all because of their name. For Juliet, she as a young Elizabethan woman has to be prepared for an arranged marriage to benefit her family name, that she is forever tied to.
In Juliet’s speech, she is incredibly forward about her emotions and opinions which is not always the proper thing for an Elizabethan woman to be able to admit. Juliet hints at her sexual attraction to Romeo talking about “any other part belonging to a man”. By saying this she highlights that in fact Romeo is the perfect man for her and there is no physical problem, only the name attached to the being and the brutal histories of their families. This statement is also extremely daring of Juliet to say as a young unmarried woman in the Elizabethan era. The audience is aware that she has admitted this to Romeo now, without her knowledge which makes the confession all the more embarrassing for her. Later in the scene she reveals that she has a ‘maiden blush” at the thought of what she had said about Romeo, but of course there is no taking it back and Juliet’s love is now out in the open and confirmed to Romeo as being genuine and authentic. Juliet furthers admits to this idea of her sexual desire towards Romeo with a double entendre ‘a bud of love … prove a beauteous flower”. Juliet could be hinting at her hopefulness to their love growing and flourishing into a passionate and intense relationship. However, flowers and buds are often used as symbols of purity and virginity in traditional poetry. Juliet could be implying her sexual attraction to Romeo and her covet to lose her precious virginity through ambiguous language. Juliet takes on her deep emotions in a mature, logical way as she considers the implications of her feelings and what she wants in the future but on the other hand she details the incredible emotions she feels and the fantasy she wishes she could live with her love, Romeo. Romeo on the other had approaches his dramatic feelings in a dazed, blinded state. His love and passion seem to take control of his thoughts and he barely contemplates the severe consequences the couple could face.
In the wider text, the love between Romeo and Juliet is presented as intense and irrational as well as passionate and brings them extreme joy and delight at the profound new feelings they are exploring. Their first meeting and conversation takes the form of a sonnet which is often referred to as the poem of love and is often used as a symbol of a poet’s adoration and love for the recipient and are especially used for Valentine’s Day. The first conversation taking the form of sonnet suggests that there is an immediate attraction and connection between Romeo and Juliet. During this first meeting, Romeo uses religious language and imagery to woo Juliet through his intellectual ability and his witty charm. Romeo expresses his feelings as a journey, him a common pilgrim looking for forgiveness from a gorgeous saintly figure who is Juliet. He compliments Juliet and describes her as godlike figure but uses the extended metaphor of prayer as a kiss. As a pilgrim, he prays to Juliet for forgiveness of his sins, but Juliet is wary of course as a young woman of the Elizabethan period as it is incredibly risky to be caught in a position like that with a man that is not her betrothed. The religious imagery highlights the intensity of the emotion as it characterises the love as omnipotent and benevolent as like God for Christians. Romeo develops his complimentary language by using a metaphor to elevate Juliet as an infinite object or higher power stating “Juliet is the sun”. This incredible statement implies that he sees Juliet as powerful and life giving, like the sun. Just as the earth revolves around the sun, Romeo suggests that his world revolves around Juliet, that she is his life and light and that he cannot live without her anymore. The metaphor highlights to the audience the exceptional impact Juliet and her beauty has had on Romeo and the detail that everything through Romeo’s eyes is second rate to Juliet who is the light of the entire world. Later in the same passage, Juliet reflects the same hyperbolic phrasing expressing her deep love for Romeo using an alliterative phrase, “my bounty as boundless as the sea”. The imagery emphasises the sincerity of Juliet’s feelings but also the deep impact it has already had on the young girl. Shakespeare has intensified the romantic emotions of Juliet as he has written the character as a young 13-year-old girl rather than an older 16-year-old girl from the original source of the story. Juliet written as such a young girl escalates her devotion as she is just learning and experiencing the world for the first time which I believe is why Juliet is so in love and passionate at the thought of Romeo, he is her first love and tragically her last. Shakespeare has used an idea from Tennyson that “it is better to have loved and lost then to never love at all” to highlight the experiences that Romeo and Juliet have has and are worthwhile and emphasise that Juliet and Romeo had a right to follow their hearts rather than what society tells them is correct for the sheer adventure of love rather than sensibility.
Throughout the text, Romeo and Juliet demonstrate the passion and affection they share as they fall deeply in love as young men and women in Elizabethan society where they don’t have the freedom to follow their hearts and emotions. From the very beginning the love is characterised as “death mark’d”. Both Romeo and Juliet face inevitable death and they have no escape from the tragedy that is cast upon them. They have no way to avoid the tragedy if they want to pursue their love. To enforce the idea of inevitable death for Romeo and Juliet, it seems their love is destined to follow a tragic path as they are described as a “pair of star-cross’d lovers”. Romeo and Juliet are rejecting their fate to be enemies and following their family’s values to chase their young craving for one another’s affection.
Although Romeo and Juliet are presented and remembered as happily in love throughout the play before the tragedy, there are moments of tension for Juliet as she tries to decipher Romeo’s true feelings towards her. He often masks his genuine love behind sweet and exaggerated compliments which leads Juliet to question his true intentions. Juliet is confronting with Romeo, “dost thou love me” emphasising her need for the knowledge of his love as she cannot risk him taking advantage of her. Romeo continues the hyperbolic imagery by swearing on the moon which does not satisfy her yearning for the truth. Juliet uses religious imagery “swear by thy gracious self, the god of my idolatry” placing Romeo above God and breaking the first commandment which is a massive danger in their society where religion is the central part of life. The imagery also emphasises the power her love for Romeo has over her and the impact he is having on her mind and life. Another moment of tension for Juliet is her awakening to the consequences to their confessions of love. She encapsulates her flurry of thoughts as the conversation is “too sudden, too like the lightning” highlighting the blinding effects that love has had on the couple. The simile “like lightning” creates the perfect imagery of love being a flash of light in their lives that brings happiness for a moment but is also quick and irrational and disappears just as quickly as it arrived. Romeo and Juliet’s love depicts lightning, the love is dramatic and exciting but vanishes almost instantly and leaves them in grief and sorrow but united in death.
Overall, throughout the text, love is a key theme throughout Romeo and Juliet, pushing the story along and driving many of the character actions. Love is presented as being a source of ecstasy and delight, passion and excitement, but also despair and problems, death and danger. The love between Romeo and Juliet is literally to die for, using Romeos hyperbolic language, as no amount of love and passion could prevent the tragedy that “never was a story of more woe, than that of Juliet and Her Romeo”.