When Romeo and Juliet first speak Juliet calls Romeo a ‘‘pilgrim’’, pilgrims to show their faith ‘‘good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand to much,’’ this shows that Juliet is very well educated and is interested in Romeo. Romeo immediately compares Juliet to a saint or shrine. Religious imagery runs through their conversation, this is so they can compare each other to a higher status and to impress one another with their very high class of English. Romeo and Juliet kiss and is interrupted by the nurse that is there to call Juliet. They leave each other temporarily without finding out from each other that they belong to the opposite families of Capulet and Montague. Romeo find out by asking the nurse who the mother of Juliet was, ‘‘is she a Capulet? O dear account! My life is my foe’s debt’’, and Juliet finds out by sending the nurse and says when her fids out ‘‘my only love sprung from my only hate!’’, here Juliet uses many examples of the much opposition which run through the play: love/hate, unknown/known. Juliet also speaks in such a sombre mood before she finds out Romeo’s name ‘‘my grave is like to be my wedding bed’’, Juliet is imagining death as her bride groom, this image of death is constant throughout the play.
In the most famous scene of the play Romeo and Juliet meet at the balcony, Juliet appears aloft at a window from the house of Capulet. Juliet declares her love for Romeo in spite of his belonging to the Montague’s. When Romeo reveals himself she fears for his safety. In this scene Juliet is willing to give up her family name for the fact that she loves Romeo, ‘‘be but sworn my love, and ill no longer be a Capulet’’. This agrees with the statement that Romeo and Juliet’s love was genuine as Juliet is willing to give up her wealth, security, health, power all with her family. Juliet reveals to Romeo that the only thing that is restraining their relationship is Romeos' name ‘‘Tis but thy name that is my enemy’’, Romeo is knows among the Capulet's and is a much hated name. Romeo and Juliet exchange vows of love, but both are fearful.
Juliet fears because what is happening seems dream-like and that they have not properly discussed their so arranged marriage, ‘‘Too like lightning’’, this quote is a fitting description of the two protagonists love,
Romeo murders Tybalt shortly after his wedding due to the fact that Tybalt murders Mercutio Romeo’s very good friend. Romeo feared that his love for Juliet had weakened his courage so he killed Tybalt once he learned Mercutio was had parted from this world. Juliet learns that Tybalt is dead and Romeo banished. She begins to accuse Romeo of seeming beautiful but acting vilely, but then rebukes her nurse for wishing shame on Romeo. Juliet switches very abruptly from harsh criticism of Romeo to high praise. Juliet is loyal to her husband and believes he must have done it for a good cause, ‘‘shall I speak ill of him that is my husband?’’. Even though Juliet has only been Romeo’s wife for a mere three hours she still is loyal to him showing us that Juliet’s love for her Romeo is true love and not an infatuation. When Juliet heard of Romeo’s killing of Tybalt, she laments that a beautiful appearance can hide an evil reality, this is a very good use of oxymoron ‘‘Beautiful tyrant, fiend angelical.’’ Juliet also further uses a lot of animal imagery ‘’O serpent heart…’’, to describe Romeo’s killing and his appearance and reality of the murder.
Romeo gazes on Juliet’s body believing she is dead and admires her beauty. He asks Tybalt for forgiveness, and imagines death wants Juliet as a lover. To prevent that, and determined to join her in death he drinks poison to commit suicide. Romeo delivers a very lengthy speech at the graveyard of the Capulet’s where Juliet’s body lay, this speech was Romeo’s last words of his life. Romeo says ‘‘Sour misfortunate book’’ talking of the people that were afflicted by unhappy mischance and accident like the Capulet’s and Montague’s and Paris. These people all suffered heavy losses by death of Juliet as well as the death of Mercutio. Romeo suffered as much as the parents of Juliet. Juliet who was not actually dead when Romeo commits suicide found out that Romeo committed suicide immediately on the beliefs that Juliet had passed away without no hesitation, ignoring the friar she hastily takes her own life with a dagger present at her grave, ‘‘O happy dagger, this is thy sheath’. This clearly shows hat the love between the two young protagonists is true love and very strong not an immature obsessions, they decide to die for each other without hesitation this shows the clear love of the two young protagonists.
Romeo and Juliet would have had far efficient relationship if they had been in the same family with each other and also if they had been in the same family, Romeo and where only fourteen and thirteen so they where young and possibly immature. Juliet had never had any real role model to follow; this is where Romeo offered a way out. Romeo’s passion was evident: ‘‘I stand on sudden haste’’. The contrast with the friars advice is vivid as he urges ‘’love moderately, long love doth so’’, however the play is a simple contrast between youth and time or age although it was an effect on the relationship of the two young protagonists. Romeo wants to believe what happens in dream time: ‘‘my dreams passage some joyful news at hand’’. However premonitions are like baleful day dreams and those of Romeo and Juliet are full of ominous foreboding. Youth and Age both having their toll on their relationship only made their relationship stronger in my opinion, Romeo and Juliet handled the situation effectively as they got married, I further believe if they were under no constraint from the feud, they would have a very successful family with well raised children.
Romeo and Juliet where very similar in some certain ways, the fact that they both came from feuding families and furthermore they where both wealthy and very secure. They also both where the children of the heads of the two families. However they both also had very good language skills and techniques. Romeo and Juliet both came from rich families so they had a very well constructed education, we know this by the way they speak. Romeo and Juliet both speak in imagery, rhymes and metaphors, ‘‘Bloody Tybalt, yet but green in earth’’, is an excellent use of the language technique metaphor of Juliet’s just before she drinks the potion, this gave her the courage to proceed with the action, yet another example of true love.
Shakespeare has included many, many themes in this tragedy of his in many ways, such as hate in the feud, love as in Romeo and Juliet, Death as in suicide and murder. All these themes have relevance to the present day as it still happens, around the globe. Shakespeare has emphasised on the fact that it was all fate, the deaths were all foretold in the stars, ‘‘Star-crossed’’, ‘‘the yoke of inauspicious stars’’. Shakespeare introduces the characters slowly leaving the audience to first meet Romeo during his periods of despair and meeting Juliet when she is called in by the nurse. We first receive an idea of how things are between the feuding families by the fight in public in Verona, the market place which is public and for anyone to roam about if they wish. Immediately between the two families we generate an air of hate which is only natural with a feud. Shakespeare further introduces rejected love with Romeo and Rosaline which is then converted to accepted love between Romeo and Juliet.
In conclusion I believe that in my opinion that the relationship between Romeo and Juliet is genuine love and not an immature obsession. I believe this because Romeo and Juliet are young children and they actually die for one another even though they could have found love elsewhere, after all the world is big and they are so ever young. Without hesitation Romeo takes poison as he can not bear to exist without Juliet and Juliet takes her own life by placing a dagger through heart as she cannot exist or lead a normal life without Romeo, this is one of the many reasons I believe Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet is based true love for one another, as the prince says:
‘‘For never was a story more woe than
This of Juliet and her Romeo’’