Complexity Of Love In Romeo And Juliet Essay

Brianna Pau Preto
Mr. McCready
ENG1D
Date
The Sacred Complexity of Love in Romeo and Juliet
Love is one of the most sacred and fragile aspects of life. It can occur in many ways, but none of them go without hardship and complexities. Many examples of this are present in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Within the text, us readers could see many different forms of love, and many different relationships between characters. These types of love progressed greatly within the text, and we were able to see the many difficulties involved with love. The main types of love that Shakespeare wrote in Romeo and Juliet are infatuation or romantic, platonic, and parent/child.
First, infatuation and romantic love caused plenty of hardship over the course

Because of Rosaline’s general disinterest in Romeo, he is in a state of depression at the beginning of the play. While in a conversation with Benvolio, he says that he is “Out of her favor, where I am in love” (1.1.168). It is made obvious that Romeo is not actually in love with Rosaline, as he barely knows her. Rather, he is infatuated with her. It seems that mistaking infatuation for true love causes many problems for Romeo within the play. Another example would be the complexities caused by the infatuation that Romeo and Juliet felt for one another. Their mutual infatuation caused them to move way too quickly while pursuing their relationship. In the play, Friar Lawrence says: “Young men’s love then lies not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes” (2.3.67-68), saying that young men often mistake attraction with true love. Regardless of these wise words, Romeo is insistent that it is true love he is experiencing, and that he will marry Juliet. This poses many problems for Romeo and Juliet throughout the play. If they had not moved so rapidly in their relationship, they could have taken their time and explained the situation to their family members. Finally, Paris (who

For example, the distant relationships between Romeo and Juliet, and their parents cause many problems in the story. As a consequence of these distant relationships, both Romeo and Juliet turn to other adults as parental figures. Friar Lawrence acts as a father figure towards Romeo, and the nurse acts as a mother towards Juliet. Had Romeo and Juliet’s relationships been stronger with their parents, they may have been better advised while making decisions. Friar Lawrence and the nurse never would have set up Romeo and Juliet’s marriage, and in turn, nobody would have been killed. If there had been more love between parents and their children within Romeo and Juliet, perhaps the play would not have been a tragedy. Another example is when Capulet (Juliet’s dad) forced Juliet into an arranged marriage with County Paris. This resulted in Juliet taking drastic measures. At the beginning of the book, Capulet talks about his daughter highly, and is reluctant to allow Juliet and Paris to marry, but says that if that is what she would like, then he will allow it. However, in Act 3, Scene 5, Lady Capulet brings news to Juliet that she is to be married to Paris within four days. It is obvious that Juliet’s father loves her, and while wrong, perhaps his reasoning for marrying his daughter to Paris comes from love as well. Paris is related to the Prince of Verona, which would increase