The reaction of Romeo’s relatives and the audience is analogous to each other. Mercutio is not as subtle as Benvolio, instead he laughs directly at Romeo and says, ‘be rough with love,’ this crude attitude towards women is replicated across both families. Benvolio, views Romeo’s whimpering as pathetic, when he says, ‘dost thou not laugh, No coz id rather weep,’ he would say it in a sarcastic tone. Romeo himself is rather pompous and conversational considering his ‘griefs of mine own lie heavy in my breast,’ since he agrees to go to the party, it is obvious that his love for Rosaline is a visage, he justifies his decision by saying that he feels, ‘a Foreboding sense of fate about upcoming party at Capulet’s.’ This idea of fate as well as the sense of foreboding is included because at this time people where very mystical minded and believed that the stars were Omniscient, hence the phrase ‘star crossed lovers which is later used to describe the love felt between Romeo and Juliet.’
Also Shakespeare’s views on life are amplified through this section as the first appearance of false love is completely juxtaposed by Romeo and Juliet’s true love experienced later in Act 1 Scene 5. Also ‘brawling love,’ is an epitome of the whole story and how despite the feud between the elder siblings of both families, true love can still exist. As well as emphasising the prominence of Romeo and Juliet’s paranormal, star-crossed love despite the circumstances.
Act 1 Scene 5 welcomes the most important part of the play. Romeo meets Juliet and they are both instantly in love. Shakespeare stresses this ideology of love at first sight, by combining Romeo and Juliet’s speech into a sonnet, a fourteen line poem with a strict rhyme scheme. This has an effect which replicates that of both isolation and inclusion, it makes Romeo and Juliet appear to be united but in different worlds.
Romeo and Juliet meeting for the first time is where the element of love and how different people can interpret it, as well as the forms it comes in really starts to take commonplace amongst the other themes in the play. Romeo and Juliet’s romantic love is such a contradiction from the love Romeo felt before. Romeo has instantaneously forgotten Rosaline as well as any regard for his own safety.
Romeo is enraptured by love when he first meets Juliet; despite the fact he still reverts to the way he still thinks a man is expected to woo a lady. Regardless of his stereotype and the foundations of his words following Petrarchan foundations there is a lot more individuality in what he is saying. He is romantic and hyperbolises Juliet’s beauty and describes her as celestial, holy and he elevates her above himself. There love is so cliché it can be described as fated, almost as if it was meant to be. Romeo is childish and talks and acts with no restraint he is oblivious to his own safety as if blinded by love. Romeo has discovered true love but he appears shallow as he talks in a similar way to when he talked about Rosaline and she has now become a distant memory.
Juliet on the other hand is much more mature given her age, her father says she "hath not seen the change of fourteen years", and although they love each other very dearly and to the same extent they express it in different ways. Juliet is more thoughtful and though she loves Rome dearly she realises she cannot expose both her feelings and intentions to the maid. Juliet shows quick wit and clarity of thought; but when she speaks an aside when no-one is expected to hear her true feeling become evident, when she says ‘my only love sprung from my only hate,’ and ‘What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.’ Although one aspect of Juliet that strays away from her innocence and purity that so often represents her is that how both she and Rome are thinking in similar mindsets, she is not frigid, in fact she uses several sexual references, ‘or any other part belonging to a man,’ is one of them.
Romeo and Juliet together act rather crudely although Romeo does supplicate himself, his use of flowery metaphors and religious references, regarding her purity, are still combined with physical advances. Romeo’s spiritual flattery could be considered as worship unto Juliet and Romeo carries bad habits through with him his words still sound rehearsed and are out shadowed by Juliet’s spontaneity. The play is called Romeo and Juliet perhaps as a pun considering Juliet tends to have the psychological advantage above Romeo throughout the play. The continual mention of religious language through this courting scene shows us both the mood at the time and references to the individuals involved own purity.
The epitome of this scene as mentioned before is the sonnet which is a symbol of love, as is the rose both of which are utilised very effectively by both characters. It also symbolises the complete union or harmony between the two characters as if they were one being and although highly unrealistic in a real life situation it is a masterpiece of creative insight and general English literature.
They are a pair of star-crossed lovers who feel insignificant in a world of fate, they have fallen in love and are from two rival families and they can all ready foresee a future of trouble and death.
Love is exemplified in Romeo and Juliet as coming in many forms; We have seen the effects of a complete deficiency of love, and its effects on the Capulet family; We have also seen Romeo fashionable yet subjective love, with no purpose but to appease his kinsmen we have also seen the flawless-fated true love that Romeo and Juliet experience but this embodiment of love that is their relationship is expressed in different ways, we are awoken to how the same love can be expressed by people in different ways .
Juliet’s practicality despite her situation of overwhelming feelings, combined with Romeo’s peripheral blindness is a phenomenal accolade considering women at this time were looked down upon as inferior. Shakespeare has chosen to embody a sense of power and psychological direction in Juliet’s character which is not seen anywhere else in the play.
Whereas Romeo hours after meeting Juliet behaves rashly towards friends, disregards his own safety and breaks back into the Capulet Mansion. His cousin Mercutio still maintains his demeaning view towards women, He makes lewd comments continuously which eventually triggers a reaction from Romeo when he says, ’you jest at scars that never felt a wound.’ Shakespeare adapts Romeo’s character to incorporate rashness perhaps to symbolise men generally. Despite Romeo being bounded by love, he still fails to change his perception of the way in which you have to speak, he feels as if there is a template of Petrarchan poetry. This ignorance and shallowness he displays could be considered as fundamental flaws in Romeo’s character. Romeo does still when he is alone on the stage use celestial imagery and he does indeed worship Juliet but his language does combine the physical and the spiritual, this shows he is bounded by the shackles of real of love considering now there is no-one to hear what he is saying in some ways his lines are spoken in the form of a soliloquy, but it is a manifestation of feelings out loud this technique is repeated later on in the most famous scene in Romeo and Juliet.
Juliet is often misinterpreted as loving Romeo less than he loves her. Juliet breaks away from this association in her supposed soliloquy on the balcony. Juliet talks extensively about Romeo’s beauty and enters refutation in which she describes attempts to psychologically nullify the importance of the family name; she says ‘What's Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot,
nor arm, nor face, nor any other part belonging to a man.’ There are sexual references here which indicate that she is indeed similar to Romeo in her advancement but she does undeniably consider the consequences of her actions, prompting her to think things through.
Rationality is the approach which Juliet takes in order to attempt to overcome this situation, when she hears Romeo’s voice though she feels embarrassed and vulnerable but yet inquisitive into how and why Romeo managed to break into the Capulet mansion. The difference between Romeo and Juliet is hyperbolised in this instance when Juliet asks a serious question,’ How cam'st thou hither, tell me, and wherefore? The orchard walls are high and hard to climb,’ and Romeo responds in a ridiculous and deluded way by saying,’ With love's light wings did I these walls,
For stony limits cannot hold love out, and despite Juliet’s age and gender we begin to see how she manages to remove Romeo’s advantage over her and get on level terms. Romeo is guided by Juliet through the conversation and interrupted where need be, she manipulates him despite her immediate concern for his safety she still loves being with him. Romeo’s glib responses help to foreshadow the inevitability of fate that plagues their relationship it shows how unable Romeo is to think ahead as well as his inability to understand the danger as well as significance of certain events.
Juliet is well spoken and intelligent she quickly picks up on flaws in Romeo’s glib responses such as when Romeo swears his love by the moon, ‘Lady, by yonder blessed moon I vow, That tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops--,’ and Juliet responds by saying, ‘O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon,’ as this is the same moon that changes each month it alternates in size every week and sometimes it’s not there at all this rapid response hyperbolises Juliet’s forward thinking and intelligence. Juliet’s interruption, ‘it’s to rash...too sudden,’ shows how she is the voice of reason between the two of them. Juliet just wants the complete truth when Romeo is talking to her she says,’ Do not swear at all. Or if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self, which is the god of my idolatry, and I'll believe thee.’
The clearest indication of Juliet’s control is that she essentially the one who proposes as she is the one who mentioned marriage, ’If thy bent of love be honourable, Thy purpose marriage,’ also her insightful nature is recognisable despite her youth especially when she says, ‘Parting is such sweet sorrow.’
Another theme in Romeo and Juliet that tends to go un-noticed but is less significant than the sense of love is the sense of light and darkness, and hypothetically what they represent either hypothetically or through inference, darkness representing evil and a foreboding sense of destruction whereas love symbolising hope as well as destiny and purity. The title characters often refer to each other using celestial imagery as it is romantic but it also is a juxtaposition of the dark evil surrounding them in their lives, at times this is used to make humorous dramatic irony, Romeo and Juliet love stands out against their family feuds but the feuding and fighting tends to happen during the day and Romeo and Juliet’s actions are often at night in secret. This also creates a sense of inevitability that their love is destined to end obliquely in death.
Throughout the play Romeo and Juliet act and display their emotions in different ways. Romeo is boisterous and easily aggravated and deceived it was out of haste that he killed Tybalt and in an almost sadistic frame of mind it is his haste that led him to his grave, had he waited another day Juliet would have woken from her sleep. During the play Juliet shows how love can be expressed through practicality and care by carefully analyzing all the situations they experience and acting responsibly. The difference between characters and how they express their love is hyperbolised in the later sections of the play Juliet seeks the advice of father Lawrence whereas Romeo himself just acts impulsively.