Romeo and Juliet must have had a very strong sense of love for each other or they would not be so passionate about making vows and getting married. Throughout the play Romeo uses complex imagery to profess his love for Juliet, whereas Juliet speaks much more plainly about her thoughts on love. She is very straightforward and focused on what she directly wants. At the beginning of Act 2 Scene 2, both Romeo and Juliet speak soliloquies, and then speak together. Romeo used a lot of imagery to describe what he feels and thinks of Juliet.
“But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun”
He is saying that she shines out through all of the surrounding dullness. He is comparing her to the sun.
Their love for each other is not as straightforward as they want it to be. Montague and Capulet are constantly warring in the play and all of the people on either side have a great hatred towards each other. This therefore prevents the lovers from having an open relationship. In Act 2 Scene 2 Juliet speaks aloud about her feeling for Romeo and the prevention of them being together due to their families names.
“O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father, and refuse thy name”
Here she is asking herself why he has to be a Montague.
“So Romeo would, where he not Romeo called,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes with out that title”
Juliet believes that Romeo would still be perfect even if he were not a Montague. While Romeo is listening to what Juliet is saying, he speaks aloud how he too believes that a name should not come between their love for each other.
“My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself.
Because it is an enemy to thee.”
He makes it very clear that he would rather they killed him because of their hatred, than go on living without Juliet’s love.
“My life where better ended by their hate, than death prorogued, wanting of thy love.”
Juliet wants a simple answer to whether Romeo loves her the same way as she loves him, she doesn’t feel any more loved when he uses emotional descriptive speeches. This shows that Juliet is a more forward person.
They play opens with a prologue, mentioning that the feud that exists from long before, will still come between Romeo and Juliet’s love for each other. Shakespeare is contrasting love and hate against each other. Romeo and Juliet should have perhaps accepted that they weren’t meant to be together, with their families it could never work.
Romeo shows he is violent by killing Tybalt so hastily.
“Romeo slew Tyblat”
If he is violent in this incident it suggests he is not mature enough for marriage.
Juliet should have considered obeying her parents instead of rushing into marriage with Romeo. She should have thought about, her welfare. In the long run she would have had wealth and if she had married Paris wouldn’t have had to sacrifice her whole life, like she had to do with Romeo. She could have kept her family, friends, her home, money and clothes. It was not necessarily love. They sacrificed their lives for an idea of what could be love. The impatience and haste caused by their sudden surges of lust lead to the avoidable death of them both.
Shakespeare included another opposition in the play, which is the contrast between old and young. In Act 1 Scene 5, this scene is at a party, most people at this party are young, however Lord Capulet is old and this is shown when he isn’t able to dance.
“I have seen the day”
This on the other hand does not stop him from encouraging the rest of the party from having a good time.
Romeo and Juliet are both very young, but yet are acting very maturely. They are ready to get married, but they do not mind going against their parents beliefs to do so.