How does Shakespeare present different aspects of love in act one of Romeo and Juliet?

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                   How does Shakespeare present different

             aspects of love in act one of Romeo and Juliet?

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by playwright William Shakespeare and is one of the most well known plays in history. It deals with such themes as household rivalry, revenge, and death but the main theme of the play is love and the many different ways it can be presented.

The play is set in the romantic, Italian city of Verona, known for it’s grand architecture and heritage. It follows the story of two wealthy families at war over an ancient feud, whose children fall in love against all odds, but due to the complications and hatred around them the play ends with their deaths bringing about the end to their parents feud.

In Act One, there are many aspects of love shown throughout the play including the unrequited, superficial love Romeo initially had for Rosaline, the bawdy, physical love expressed through Sampson and Gregory, the compassionate and paternal love Capulet and the Nurse had for Juliet, and of course the emotional, true love Romeo and Juliet shared. In the end of the play it is this kind of love that proves to be the most important form presented. Romeo and Juliet’s love was tragic, but also so great that it has inspired many writers and dreamers for many generations after Shakespeare’s years.

The inspiration behind the play’s rival families, the Capulets and Montagues, is based on the Wars of the Roses between the House of York and the House of Lancaster which took place just before the Tudor and Elizabethan era when Shakespeare wrote. This is where the line, “two households, both alike in dignity“ comes from. The Wars ended with the victory of the House of Lancaster led by Henry Tudor, who took the eldest daughter of the leader of the opposing family, Elizabeth of York, as his wife. This symbolically united the opposing houses of York and Lancaster much like what the deaths of Romeo and Juliet did for their families.

The character of Juliet is portrayed as a figure of innocence and purity and the House of York’s family crest, a white rose, could symbolise this.

During the time that the play would have been performed, the brawls and mention of the feud within the play would have been looked upon as negative. This is because the Wars of the Roses were still fresh in people’s minds and the Tudor reign brought about a period of stability for England meaning anything that might disrupt society would be looked down on by the audience. However, the bringing together of the families at the end of the play shows that with the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet‘s deaths, something good was able to come from it.

In the play many of dramatic devices are used and most of them are seen in the prologue, the introduction to the play. Shakespeare actually reveals what will appear in the play and the ending; “A pair of star crossed lovers take their life”. Shakespeare reveals these things as during the time the play would have been written, the audience would boo or leave the theatre as soon as the play started to get boring so by telling them what was going to happen, it would keep the audience interested and wondering how the play  unfold into the tragic ending. This is a dramatic irony and the revealing of the end of the play and the constant reminder that the two protagonists will soon die; “yet hanging in the stars”, “untimely death”, increases the audiences emotional connection to what is happening and also heightens their interest and anticipation.

Many of the things mentioned in the prologue link to the theme of death in contrast to the main theme of love; “death marked love”, “buries their parent’s strife”. More dramatic irony that Shakespeare creates is that the first character to mention death in the play is Tybalt when he says, “look upon thy death”. This is ironic as he is the first person to be killed.

Another less obvious form of love that is subtly expressed in the play is the love that the rival families have for fighting each other. It seems neither family can even remember the reason they began fighting in the first place which is implied by the line “from ancient grudge” in the prologue. It is never established as to what caused the feud which just makes it seem irrelevant and petty making the tragic outcome of the story that much more stirring. The young nobles of the rival families do very much enjoy a brawl and until the murder of Mercutio and Tybalt, there have not been any major casualties beforehand and it has almost been like a sport to them; “Do you bite your thumb at us sir?” “No sir I do not bite my thumb at you sir but I do bite my thumb sir.” It is almost like competitive banter between the youths.

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The Montagues and Capulets place so much importance on the feud for the sake of family pride. Family pride plays a significant role and conflicts with family love in the play. Although the Montagues and Capulets hate each other, there is still a sense of honour and respect between them. Lord Capulet sings Romeo's praises at the ball; “To say truth, Verona brags of him, To be a virtuous and well govern’d youth.” and Romeo says after

 his marriage to Juliet; "Tybalt, the reason I have to love thee…"

 

The presentation of bawdy, aggressive “love” is shown by characters ...

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