The Elizabethans believed in the “game of love”, that a man should seek his lady and then try to impress her. In the play Romeo and Juliet Romeos love for Rosoline was just of that nature. Exaggerated, elaborate- and in our day just plain stupid and pointless, I find that the way in which feelings are dabbled with is immature. Mercutio mocks Romeo- (A2 s1) “Nay I’ll conjure too, Romeo! Humours! Madman! Passion! Lover!” shown. While Romeo was involved in such a love, his language was shallow and exaggerated , like he was in a trance , almost as if he was in love with being in love. The fact that Shakespeare did not show Rosoline in any scene tells the audience that it is shallow.
The first meeting of Romeo and Juliet is very starry and fantasy, Romeos and Juliet’s language intertwine, they start to speak to each other in sonnet form, this is a blatant sign to an Elizabethan audience of the nature of their love (A1s5) “Romeo is entranced by Juliet’s beauty” Unlike Romeos love for Rosoline I feel that his love towards Juliet is, stronger, deeper, equal, and can contrast with the love Romeo had for Rosoline. But Shakespeare introduces the warning to “Love moderately” to Romeo and Juliet early in the play, this is a very important point because as we know Romeo and Juliet didn’t follow the Friars advice. (A2s3)
The love that Lord and Lady Capulet have for their daughter is very strong, strong to the point of almost restricting Juliet. I think that she then rebelled and this was one of the many motives that led to the lovers death. The Capulet’s had plans for their daughter, safe plans for her to marry a respectable man, but she did not follow them, angering her father mostly (A4s5) And because Juliet’s parents were so caring it stresses her love and makes her character look shallow and only looking out for herself.
Sex is not an essential part of Romeo and Juliet’s togetherness, I think it goes deeper than physical loving. It is mental and spiritual. The first speaking of sexual love is by Sampson and Gregory (A1s1) they boast about their sexual powers and turn everything into a sex joke “stand” “thrust” Its awkward that Shakespeare put so much emphasis on the crude sex jokes when the whole play is about love. The nurse is also a very crude lady, she make remarks about Juliet and sex throughout her parts in the play, but I do think it was appropriate to have links to sex otherwise they play would not be truthful to the times it was written in. She uses objects as a lighthearted contrast to the seriousness of Romeos love.
The most important type of love in the play is the True love that both lovers are tormented by, there is a lot of dramatic first Romeo thinks Juliet is dead and then Juliet wakes up to find Romeo is dead. The love is set against a tricky situation where there seems to be no way that both lovers are able to be together. The power of the love was the only thing that could stop the ancient grudge (A5s3) “Where be these enemies? Capulet? Montague?” The Friar was certain the deaths would end the grudge but it was the loss of both the Capulet’s and the Montague’s that did end it..
