We are introduced to the play though a sonnet in the prologue. A typical sonnet tells a 14-line story, with questions, answers and conclusions. The sonnet helps introduce the characters to the audience and the ill-fated destiny of two …“star cross’d lovers”… who’s …“death mark’d love”… will lead to the end …“of their parents’ strife”… The prologue is full of foreshadowing imagery that leads us up to …“the fatal loins of these two foes [Romeo and Juliet]”… and ensures that we are aware and ready for fatality, brutality and love. The prologue itself creates the fate for the two lovers by informing the audience that Romeo and Juliet will die even before the play has begun. This creates a destiny that the two lovers can just not escape.
In the opening scene we are introduced to Sampson and Gregory – the servants of the Capulet household. These two are unimportant to the telling of the story but immediately capture the attention of the audience. The servants being of lower class therefore naturally have a bawdy manner of speech. There views of love differ dramatically from Romeo’s. Sampson’s form of crass humour and sexist comments are shown as he refers to [Montague’s] women as …“being the weaker vessels”… linked to the theory of ‘Adam and Eve’. He enlightens Gregory that he will …“thrust his [Montague’s] maids to the wall”… and … “cut off their [Maiden] heads (virginity)”… From this we can tell that Sampson is a man who has never experienced real and genuine love before and has instead devout himself to maintaining the pride of the Capulet household. Both Gregory and Sampson instantly prove themselves to be distant from the rest of the Capulet household by talking in a crass and lewd style.
However, the lower class are not the only people in the play who use bawdy language. Surprisingly, Mercutio - kinsman to Prince Escalus and friend of Romeo – makes frequent use of bawdy language to put his point across. In Act2:Sc1 …“An open-arse and thou a poperin pear!”… This type of language is used often to engage in a simple conversation. Mercutio here is referring to Romeo’s affection for Juliet. He does not refer to any form of love, tenderness or compassion. Instead continues to make sexual innuendos through his lewd language.
With the bawdy language and crass humour presented in the first rendezvous with love, the audience of whom the majority are the lower class can relate to the feelings felt by the servants. It was made quite clear that the servants refer to the maids as ‘vessels’, sex objects. Therefore this is why the first type of love we presented with is sexual or physical love. As this would have increased the enthusiasm of the audience to carry on watching.
Parental love is the second type of love the audience are introduced to. In Act1:Sc1 …“O where is Romeo, saw you him today?”… Lady Montague shows genuine affection for him and his worried about his whereabouts. Lady Montague indulges in a conversation with Benvolio – Romeo’s cousin. She is …“glad he was not at this fray”… They are alert to the fact that he has been acting peculiar lately …“[He] Shuts up his windows, locks fair daylight out and makes himself an artificial night”… But are unaware that he is feeling very melancholy and has indulged himself in his green-sickness, which he feels over Rosaline. A troubled Lady Montague questions Benvolio about Romeo, Benvolio answers politely …“underneath the grove of sycamore…so early walking did I see your son”… Sycamores are most common associated with love-sickness.
Romeo appears to show no signs to Benvolio about love, marriage or companionship, instead complains that she will remain disappointed …“in strong proof of chastity well arm’d…she lives uncharm’d”… and drowns himself in sorrow that he will never be able to please ‘His Rosaline’, sexually! Romeo does not question her love for him, or converse with Benvolio with regards to marriage or commitment. This makes me ponder the thought in my head, is this genuine love or genuine lust? His use of oxymoron’s …“O brawling love…O loving hate…O heavy lightness”… signifies his confused state of mind and helplessness to come to terms with his situation. ‘He is helplessly in love,’ – so he feels. He believes that the only way to show his affection is to through physical//sexual love. This she has declared she will never do.
When Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time, it was by accident! From her onwards their relationship was foredoomed. His intentions were to attend Capulet’s masque ball in order to woo Rosaline. It could be argued that Rosaline were to blame for the meeting of the two ‘star cross’d lovers’ and effectively for the death. She was the cause of Romeo’s actions and she was the reason he was at the masque-ball.
Romeo’s behaviour when he sees Juliet changes dramatically then that of when he was in “love” with Rosaline. He compares her beauty to being priceless …“Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear”… He speaks in rhyming couplets and uses metaphors for effect and exaggeration, he did no such thing for Rosaline, now is this true love? – I think so, as he expresses himself through vivid images and descriptions …“A rich jewel in Ethiop’s ear…So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows”… This signifies innocence and purity in his eyes for Juliet. This speech ironically sets the scene for a potential tragedy!
The famous balcony scene, possibly the most renowned romance scenes ever. Repeatedly it is misinterpreted. It is often understood to be the beginning of a relationship, meeting of the two lovers signifying happiness and romance. However, doesn’t. It signifies the meeting of doom for the first time. A meeting which will lead to death, horror and shock. Nonetheless, the meeting also signifies the strength of the love between Romeo and Juliet. Romeo often compares Juliet to the heavens above …“Juliet is the sun…Arise fair sun and kill the envious moon”… This shows us that the feelings he has for Juliet are real, as he compares her to the sun which is constantly in the sky and never stops shining its bright light down to Earth.
In the beginning of the famous balcony scene, Romeo overhears Juliet’s speech without her knowing. She expresses herself her true feeling in probably of the most famous lines ever written …“O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?”… This line is often misinterpreted. To gain a full understanding of this line and therefore of Juliet’s full speech, you must replace ‘wherefore’ with ‘whyfore’. This is a significant turning point. Here she is almost asking Romeo to strip down what he is, a Montague. This could be considered an insult. But instead he replies …“Call me but love, and I’ll be new baptis’d: Henceforth I never will be Romeo”… This indicates his true feeling for her; he is willing to strip down from his honour in the name of love. This to me seems like a very convincing point that the love shared between Juliet and her Romeo is nonetheless true.
The love between the two is significantly different from any other love faced in this play. This love grows from simple flirtation …“My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand”… to great family conflicts …“My only love sprung from my only hate”… Here Juliet is confused, angered and saddened. By this she means that her only Romeo, her only love, the one person – happens to be the son of her father’s greatest enemy!
Parents are the centre of conflict much of the way through this tragic play – however, of whom we don’t learn a great deal. Romeo’s parents, Lord and Lady Montague are not heard of much apart from the first scene in act 1. Their initial behaviour towards Romeo leads us to believe they are genuinely concerned for their son. Whereas Lord and Lady Capulet’s feelings for Juliet differ throughout the course of the play. In Act1:Sc2, Paris – Kinsman to the Prince – asks Lord Capulet for Juliet’s hand in marriage …“now my lord, what say you to my suit”… Lord Capulet replies…“My child is yet a stranger in the world…Let two more summers wither in their pride”… He discloses that Juliet is yet still 13. Here Lord Capulet plays a protective father over Juliet’s hand in marriage. Paris being of noble birth would have been an excellent choice for marriage. As marriage for the parents was a bond to increase the family’s status on the social ladder. This was custom for the father to arrange. However, Lord Capulet does give Paris a chance to attend …“an old accustom’d feast”…he is holding. Where he encourages Paris to …“woo her gentle...[and] get her heart”… This was unusual for a man of Lord Capulet’s nobility to decline an offer as grand and fabulous as this. Nonetheless he does so, expecting Juliet to be besotted by Paris and let him acquire her heart and overall hand in marriage. Lord Capulet here acts as the caring and loving father of Juliet – but soon this does change.
In the Elizabethan era, within marriages there was a lot at stake for the upper class. Marriage was a bond between two powerful households and was more of a business affair than a love affair. Marriages were designed on the basis of who you were, what you owned and what you would gain.
"Marriage was part of a system of inheritance and economics so ingrained and pervasive that the emotional affections or physical desires of a man or woman diminished in importance.”
(McDonald, 263)
Therefore, for Lord Capulet to decline such an offer by …“a man of wax [Paris]”… was very rare and ironic. Maybe he wanted Juliet to experience courtship and love for her own.
Lady Capulet in Act1:Sc3 comes across the conversation of marriage with Juliet. She waits for the nurse to arise the situation and theme of marriage. She is unable to do this herself as she is like a stranger to Juliet. Whereas the nurse has looked after Juliet since she was born and has bonded with her. Lady Capulet tried to ‘advertise’ and ‘sell’ the figure of Paris. She insists that Juliet …“behold him at out feast”… Juliet agrees just as the dutiful daughter should!
Paris’ love for Juliet is dutiful love. It characterises all the requirements for arranged marriages of the time. Lord Capulet also feels that this marriage is a ‘God-Send’ and should be kept sacred. So the idea of rejection from Juliet shocks her father. And therefore does not take rejection well …“fettle your fine joints’gainst Thursday next…Or I will drag thee on a hurdle thither”… However, at the end of the play these feelings being to differ.
The next type of love we come across is Brotherly love (friendship). Mercutio in Act3:Sc1 shows great affection and loyalty towards Romeo. Romeo refuses to battle with Tybalt. This is a slander on ones name. Mercutio – being of high-class nobility – fights in place of Romeo and sadly is murdered. This is significant and ironic to the play because Romeo refuses to battle with Tybalt as they are now cousins, of course no one else knows. The scenes before and during the battle create immense tension between the rivalry families. After Mercutio’s death Romeo must uphold his honour and battle Tybalt. At this point only the audience and Romeo would know that Romeo is Tybalt’s cousin. This is pathos. Tybalt’s selfish manner enduces Romeo into anger and then kills him.
The tension in the violent scenes contrasts directly with the scenes concentrating on just Romeo and Juliet. The atmosphere shared between the two lovers is consistently calm and comforting, creating a vast exchange of perceptions of love and feelings. Romeo and Juliet try to conquer the fuelling anger between their two rivalry families but sadly are their dreams were destroyed.
In conclusion, there are several different paths the two lovers could have taken to find their sanctity of love. In the end they decided to take the wrong path. There are several different reasons that the destruction of love between the two lovers was destroyed. One of these could be argued to be Rosaline. If there were no Rosaline, Romeo would not have gone to the masque ball, would not have met Juliet and would not have destroyed his and his Juliet’s life. This romantic tragedy will forever be remembered as a story of love, despair, love and tragedy. The love between the two ‘star cross’d’ lovers was destined to destruction right from the beginning. And so forth this story will forever be remembered as the one of the most renowned love stories of all time.
Word Count – 2,500 words approx
