Romeo is also fortunate in his friends. He has a strong fraternal bond with Friar Lawrence. We see this fatherly love portrayed by the Friar in many parts of this play. When Romeo is not home one night because he was at Juliet’s house the friar asks him “Wast thou with Rosaline?” The relationship between Romeo and Rosaline was merely a courtly relationship, with no intention of marriage involved in it. That is why the Friar shows his great concern for the purity of Romeo. He wants to be sure that Romeo has not been sleeping with her, for this reason. The friar has a great worry for Romeo in a paternal and also in a religious way, even though he is not blood-related to Romeo.
Romeo feels a strong sense of filial or dutiful love, after he marries Juliet. He has an encounter with Tybalt Capulet. Tybalt had been a deadly enemy to Romeo and his family ever since his birth. During this meeting Romeo tries to explain to Tybalt that he is a relative to him without actually telling him that they are blood related for fear of his life, by saying, “Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee doth much excuse the appertaining rage of such a greeting.” This shows that after his marriage to Juliet he feels as if he has a family duty now to both the Capulet’s and the Montague’s. Romeo realizes that Tybalt can no longer be his enemy, because now he is related to him. After Romeo says, “Villain am I none; therefore farewell, I see thou knowest me not,” Tybalt is disgusted and in his disgust and an uproar arises. In all the confusion Tybalt kills Mercutio. The murder causes hatred to rise up inside of Romeo; so much that he avenges his friend’s death, and kills Tybalt. I believe that these two deaths could have been stopped had Romeo told the truth to Tybalt about him being blood related. But because he does not tell Tybalt he forgets his filial duty towards him and goes on to murder him. Ironically, his refusal to raise a hand against his new kinsman, in honour of dutiful love, has led to the loss of his dear friend, along with Romeo’s banishment from Verona.
Although hate and death play high roles in the play about love, love does play a part, in no small part the love between Juliet and the Nurse, which can be seen as both maternal and platonic love. I believe that the love between the two of them is more maternal than platonic through seeing that Juliet’s nurse exhibits great love towards Juliet in an understanding and caring way. Platonic love can be presented in this way as well, but the reason that I believe that this love is maternal is because of the way that the nurse cares for Juliet. She understands why Juliet is depressed and lovesick at times and is always there to help, as a mother would do. The nurse is, in actuality, Juliet’s surrogate mother. She shows how compassionate and devoted she is when she meets with Romeo to work out their secret marriage. Juliet confides in her nurse, and calls her “honey nurse,” which in turn shows her love for the nurse. Juliet is in a sense afraid of her mother as we see after Tybalt’s death, at which time her mother tries to convince her to marry Paris, but Juliet asks to delay the wedding. Juliet’s mother is very upset that she does not want to get married and declares, “Talk to me not, for I’ll not speak a word,” this shows the audience that the relationship between Juliet and her mother is not true and pure but rather unforgiving. Her mother is only concerned about her material status and wants Juliet to get married to the rich governor, Paris, for her own selfish means, not considering Juliet’s lack of affection for him. The nurse on the other hand understands that Juliet loves Romeo and arranges the secret wedding. She goes to great lengths to find Romeo, although she herself feels that, “Paris is the properer man,” for her charge to marry, “When I say so, she looks as pale as any clout in the versal world.” She also displays her maternal love by simply knowing and understanding more about Juliet’s life than Juliet herself knows about it.
Romeo and Mercutio’s love for each other is platonic love. This is for the obvious fact that there is no romance involved in their love but they are still extremely close to each other. Romeo goes so far as to kill Tybalt for the death of his friend Mercutio. This care that they had for one another is great. Mercutio gets very frustrated when Romeo is in love with Rosaline because he knows that this love is not real and he wants the best for Romeo. He asks Romeo, “Why is not this better than growing for love?”
Without being blood related or in some sort of relationship, we believe that Romeo and Mercutio’s love for each other is the strongest love portrayed through the whole of the play. Mercutio wants Romeo to be with him more, and not with Rosaline. Mercutio knows that Romeo is in a mournful state of being and desires that Romeo be cured from his love sickness, which is doing no good for the both of them. This is real friendship displayed by Mercutio, towards his lost friend Romeo.
In contrast there is a type of lustful love known as bawdy or sexual love. This is not displayed in a human sense in the play, but is seen in many of the jokes that are told by the characters of the lower class. The main character that enjoys using bawdy jokes is the nurse. An example of her bawdy humour is when she jokes after speaking with Romeo and arranging the secret wedding, “…you shall bear the burden soon at night.” To a Renaissance audience this would be very comical. There are others that take part in this sexual humour as well, such as Gregory and Sampson. The reason that Shakespeare uses these types of jokes is to create humour for the audience of the lower classes. Sampson in the beginning of the play uses bawdy humour, boasting to Gregory of the house of Capulet, “ the heads of the maids, or their maidenheads, take in what sense thou wilt.”
There are many bawdy jokes like this that Shakespeare uses throughout the play, which creates humour, and helps decrease tension so that when something tragic happens it will have more of and impact on the light hearted audience.
Elsewhere in the play, courtly love is made known to the audience. This was an important literary convention in the Elizabethan era. In some cases of courtly love in literature, both parties do not love each other, but simply go through the motions. In “Romeo and Juliet”, the type of courtly love shown involves a strong physical attraction. Often it entails a one-sided love, which in the case of Romeo and Rosaline is on Romeo’s side. Because he loves Rosaline, but this love for her is not returned, Romeo has “sad hours” over her. “Away from light he steals,” in to “private chambers…and locks fair daylight out,” making himself “an artificial light.” Romeo at this point in time sees love as “smoke made with fumes of sighs.” This gives us the impression that Romeo feels confused and cannot see clearly. He also refers to love as “a choking gall” which implies that love is some sort of poison. Shakespeare uses these oxymorons to show the audience the different ways in which love can be seen. Mercutio mocks Romeo’s love for Rosaline, giving the audience the view that this love was not true, proclaiming, “If our wits run the wild-goose chase…was I with you there for the goose?”
It also shows that Romeo is on a wild-goose chase after Rosaline. He is lovesick for her. His friends do not approve of this love, because they know that it is doing no good for Romeo. They mock him for loving her, which causes us to believe that this love is artificial. Shakespeare does this purposely so that when Romeo meets Juliet the audience does not go against Romeo for changing his mind so quickly. If the love for Rosaline had been revealed, as a truly romantic love, the audience would not take Romeo’s love for Juliet genuinely because they would prognosticate that Romeo would just find another girl after he was finished with her.
After witnessing this artificial affection, the meeting of Romeo and Juliet sparks a light, and the audience knows that this is a truly romantic relationship. Romantic love is seen in this play as an unselfish, spiritual love, perceived through Romeo and Juliet. These two persons are the only ones, in this play about love, who have a idealistic relationship. Romeo and Juliet, on first sight fall in deeply into love for each other. This is the first hint that this love between the two of them is going to be romantic. During this magical moment where Romeo and Juliet first meet Shakespeare uses spiritual language to elevate their love for each other, to show the audience that their love for each other is much more than a courtly love but is a spiritual love. He shows this through the lofty language that they use in their first conversation. “O then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do…then move not while my prayer’s effect I take. Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purg’d”. This incredibly strong love for each other is why they take their own lives; because they know that they will not be able to live together. Romeo says to Juliet, “Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?” This is meant to promote their love above the love that Romeo felt for Rosaline. Romeo goes so far as to climb the wall, risking his own life, just to get near to her. This shows that nothing can stop block love out and Romeo is willing to go to any height just as long as he could be with his beloved Juliet. This love between Romeo and Juliet is the only true idealistic love that is portrayed throughout the entire play.
Their love grows rapidly throughout the play. In the beginning, they seem somewhat like children playing games. The audience hesitates a little bit when Romeo first meets Juliet because they know that Romeo already has a relationship with Rosaline. This is quickly forgotten though through the language in which they speak. We see this love mature much in the course of less than a week. Romeo kills Juliet’s beloved cousin and grieves much over this but is even though this is a great tragedy, Juliet recovers from it and forgives Romeo understandably. This touch of affection confirms to the audience that this love is strictly romantic. Romeo is banished from Verona for killing Tybalt and Juliet is forced to marry Paris but takes of a potion which makes her sleep for three whole days. A funeral is held for Juliet while Romeo gets the news of Juliet’s death. Romeo goes to an apothecary and ask for, “a dram of poison… that the life-weary taker may fall dead.” Romeo gives the apothecary his gold saying, “There is thy gold, worse poison to men’s souls, doing more murder in this loathsome world.” This shows us that Romeo romantic love for his wife has risen above the realm material things, nothing, even life itself matters no more to Romeo.
Romeo did not know that Juliet was just sleeping. He goes to her deathbed and drinks the poison and falls dead. Juliet awakes shortly afterwards to find Romeo dead and inserts a dagger into herself. Instead of death parting them though, Romeo and Juliet believe that it will keep them together, “ I still will stay with thee, and never from this palace of dim night depart again. Here, here, will I remain…”
The tragedy does not end on a sad note despite the death of the two main characters. For people watching this play for this first time may not realise the rich sense of love, which is contained in the play. We have seen this deep of love, which has been shown to the audience. In the romantic love between the “two star crossed lovers” and in the platonic love between Romeo and Mercutio, and also in the maternal love between Juliet and the Nurse. There are many other types of loves as well that play a large role throughout the play. We see that love is very powerful and can end in many different ways. In less that a week the ancient grudge that had been held between the two houses is broken because of the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, when Capulet says, “Oh brother Montague give me thy hand.” The love of Romeo and Juliet mends the grudge and the families live on in peace. The families still have learnt that the love of material things is not as important as true and pure love and build a statue of Romeo and Juliet in remembrance of them.
