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 such as Sampson and Gregory, the Nurse and Mercutio. This kind of “love” is basically lust. A "bawd" is the Elizabethan word for whore. As all sorts of people would come to Shakespeare's plays, he had to keep them all happy and the bawdiness appealed more to the lower classes for humour. The first two characters that the audience is introduced to are Sampson and Gregory, members of the Capulet household. They make many sexual references and do not see love as involving emotions but as a purely physical thing, sexual not emotional. Both Sampson and Gregory have petty and narrow perceptions of “love” and neither of them appears to have ever experienced true love. They talk in a crude and coarse manner and see women as objects not people. The kind of “love” they express is aggressive and they use a lot of sexual innuendo; “thrust his maids to the wall”. They also talk about cutting off their “maidenheads” these phrases imply rape and taking the virginity of young women purely for the pursuit of pleasure; “Me they shall feel while I am able to stand; and 'tis known, I am a pretty piece of flesh.” This type of lewd love is also illustrated by the Nurse and her comments to Juliet about Paris; “A man, young lady! Lady, such a man As all the world – why, he’s a man of wax”. A “man of wax” refers to a man of striking beauty, or a man with no imperfections. This shows how the nurse also places importance on looks in love or having any real emotion in a relationship.
Another character who presents a view of love is Mercutio. He uses constant puns to provide his cynical view of love; "This is the hag, when maids lie on their backs, That presses them and learns them first to bear, Making them women of good carriage. This is she-." Mercutio, Romeo’s best friend, is a very interesting character who presents similar views to Sampson and Gregory of love. He acts in contrast to the love struck Romeo and the peaceful Benvolio and is a witty and quick-tempered sceptic of love. Mercutio teases Romeo for his melancholy attitude to his “love” for Rosaline by sarcastically using images of Petrachan infatuation to emphasise Romeo's naive view of love. An example of this is when Romeo refuses to dance at the feast because he is so overcome by his emotions. Mercutio mocks him by saying: "You are a lover, borrow Cupid's wings, And soar with them above a common bound". Mercutio is an anti-romantic and believes that love is a physical pursuit which he demonstrates through his bawdy wordplay: "If love be rough with you, be rough with love, Prick love for pricking and you beat love down." Mercutio's repeated references to the sexual aspect of love casts Romeo's pure and passionate love for Juliet in a more spiritual light.
Mercutio treats the subject of love like the subject of dreams with witty scepticism, as he describes them both as "fantasy." Unlike Romeo, Mercutio does not believe that dreams can foretell future events and he paints vivid pictures of the dream world people inhabit as they sleep. In his “Queen Mab” speech, Mercutio suggests a mythical fairy brings dreams to humans as a result of their worldly desires and fears. For example, he suggests that lawyers dream of collecting fees and lovers dream of lusty encounters. Using the juxtaposing images of lawyers and lovers his speech touches on a number of the play's opposing themes such as love and hate.
Another form of love presented in the play is the parental compassion that the parents of Romeo and Juliet have for them. Lord Capulet cares a lot for his daughter because she is his only child and therefore she is very special to him; "Earth hath swallowed all my hopes but she; She’s the hopeful lady of my earth." He only wants the best for her. Lord Capulet comes across to the audience as a compassionate man and demonstrates this mainly towards Juliet. When Paris asks Capulet for his daughter’s hand in marriage; “But now, my lord, what say you to my suit?”, Capulet does not agree to it. At the time the play would have been performed, a man in Capulet’s position would be very tempted to arrange for his daughter to be married to a man of such high status as Paris. But instead he thought of Juliet’s well-being and happiness first which shows his caring and compassionate paternal love for Juliet. He also shows that he wants what is best for Juliet and believes that Paris will be a good match for her, but he cares about what she thinks and says to Paris: "But woo her, gentle Paris, get her heart, And she agreed, within her scope of choice Lies my consent and fair according voice", meaning he will consent to the marriage only if Juliet does.
Capulet also reveals some of his relationship with Lady Capulet and uses it as his reason why he believes Juliet is not ready for marriage; “Younger than she are happy mothers made” “And too soon marr’d are those so early made”. He is suggesting that marrying too soon could ruin Juliet’s character and he probably knows this from his experience of Lady Capulet. The audience learns that Lady Capulet married at the age Juliet is in the play; “I was your mother much upon these years”, and she and Lord Capulet were most likely arranged to be married by their own parents. Lady Capulet’s view of love is based completely on the physical aspects as she reveals when she tries to persuade Juliet to love Paris; “Can you love the gentleman?” “Read o’er the volume of young Paris’ face. And find delight writ there with beauty’s pen; Examine every married linement, and see how one another lends content;”. Lady Capulet is trying to romanticize falling in love with Paris by just looking upon his beauty to make marriage seem more appealing to Juliet.
Lady Capulet does show a love for her daughter but it is very distant as she has not looked after Juliet for much of her life, and this shows that she does not know her very well. In the Elizabethan times the higher classes tended to have a wet nurse to care for their children. It would not have been fashionable for noble ladies to feed their own infants. instead they would give the baby to a peasant woman who had recently given birth and who had plenty of healthy milk in her breasts. She would have nursed the baby for three to four years and it would be likely for the nurse to develop a maternal bond with the child. We know from the Nurse’s speech that her own baby, Susan, had died and so she has developed a very paternal love for Juliet and treats her like her own. It is clear that Lady Capulet is not very close to Juliet and this is shown when she calls the Nurse back when she realises that she does not know how to act with Juliet; "We must talk in secret - Nurse, come back again. I have remember'd me, thou's hear our counsel. Thou know'st my daughter's of a pretty age."
The type of love illustrated by Paris, Juliet’s potential suitor and Romeo’s love rival, is contractual love. This has to do with the fact that marriages were arranged and Paris is the man that Juliet’s parents think is fit for her. In today’s society, Paris can be seen as the stereotypical person parents think are perfect for their child.
Paris does not really know Juliet as they have never even met, everything has been arranged through Juliet’s father. Paris does not actually love Juliet for who she is, but he loves her for what she is. In essence he is not actually in love with Juliet but her name and title. This kind of love is typical for arranged marriages, it is more about security rather than an emotional bond.
Juliet’s nurse is shown to have very motherly feelings towards her which is understandable as she is the one who has brought her up rather than Lady Capulet. An example of The Nurse showing her maternal feelings for Juliet is when she reminisces tenderly with her about when she was younger; “I remember it well. As she was wean’d (I never shall forget it)”. The Nurse is also Juliet’s closest friend and she plays a large part in the play as she acts as a bridge between Romeo and Juliet by delivering messages between them. This shows her love for Juliet as she is willing to risk her job to make Juliet happy.
The characters of Romeo’s parents and Benvolio show the love that comes from friendship and family. The Montagues are discussing Romeo’s isolation with Benvolio showing that they all care about him and are worried about the way he has been acting; “That westward rooteth from the city’s side so early walking did I see your son”, “Away from light steals home my heavy son.” Benvolio goes to talk with him to try to lighten his mood and find out what is wrong; “What sadness lengthens Romeo’s hours?.” “R: Dost thou not laugh? B: No, coz, I rather weep. R: Good heart at what? B: At thy good heart’s oppression.” Benvolio also encouraged Romeo to go to the Capulet's ball and accurately predicts that Romeo would find other girls more attractive than Rosaline. This was highlighted when Benvolio said "Compare her face with one that I show, and I will make thee think thy swan a crow." This reflects what Romeo’s says later when he meets Juliet; “So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows.”
The character of Juliet is a young girl from a noble family in Verona. She is only thirteen years of age and she is a very innocent and naive character. Juliet is known throughout Verona for her kindness, beauty, shyness, and obedience. She has had a sheltered life and is treasured by her father who, wanting what is best for her, is arranging her marriage to another young nobleman of Verona. Juliet loves her father and mother but is distant from them and when she addresses them, she does so very formerly and obediently;“ "Madam, I am here. What is your will?”. Juliet seems to not have ever thought much about getting married and describes it as; "an honour that I dream not of". However, when she meets Romeo at the ball her attitude to love and marriage changes completely and she instantly falls in love with him. Shakespeare uses Juliet’s love for Romeo to liberate her character as after their meeting she becomes more independent and defiant towards her parents. She also strives to get what she wants rather than remain confined to her parents wishes. It was usual in Elizabethan plays for the prospective husband character being forced upon the heroine, in this case Paris, to be a mean one. However, Shakespeare has made Paris a particularly nice character to complicate the story more as Paris then becomes a worthy love rival to Romeo.
The character of Romeo is portrayed to be in love throughout the play, but in the beginning Romeo is shown as a very miserable character. He believes he is in love with Rosaline, a woman he has most likely never even spoken to face to face and this love is unrequited. He is acting as a Petrachan lover as he idolises the object of his affections even though his affections are not returned. Romeo is shown to be a very miserable character as he wallows in his lonely love and lets it take over his life. Romeo places Rosaline up on a pedestal and presents her as being strong because “she will not be hit by Cupid's arrow”. He swears to Benvolio that he loves Rosaline and can love no other; "One fairer than my love? The all-seeing sun . Ne’er saw her match since first the world begun,". Romeo places all his thoughts of love for Rosaline on her good looks meaning his “love” is very superficial and not true.
By today’s standards, Romeo would be seen as a typical, dramatic teenager convinced they are madly in love with the first pretty girl they meet and thinking their whole life is ruined if their affections aren’t returned. The audience’s first impression of Romeo comes from the Monatgue’s and Benvolio’s description; “Many a morning hath he be seen with tears augmenting the fresh morning’s dew”, “adding clouds more clouds with deep sighs”. This gives the impression of Romeo being very anti-social and miserable and the audience feels sympathetic towards him. Because of his obsession, he hides away from everyone he knows; “Towards him I made; but he was ware of me and stole into the covert of the wood.“ Shakespeare uses the image of “Sycamore trees“ as a pun because “amore” is Italian for love and “sick” implies his love is unhealthy. This also suggests that Romeo may be more in love with the idea of being in love rather than loving the woman of his affections.
When Romeo describes his “love”, he uses many oxymorons such as “heavy lightness”, “cold fire” and “sick health”. All these phrases suggest that the “love” Romeo feels for Rosaline is painful and a burden; “Love is a madness most discreet, a choking gall, a preserving sweet.”. It seems he believes love is a cruel feeling and that he can’t love anyone else except Rosaline and this also shows he is very naive because he has never experienced love for anyone else until this point. The use of oxmorons such as these are used often and effectively in love poetry.
Shakespeare portrays the emotional, spiritual and true love Romeo and Juliet have for each other as the superior form of love in the play. When Romeo and Juliet meet, their love is mutual and instantaneous. Romeo expresses his new found feelings for Juliet even more poetically that he did for Rosaline and by his sudden change of heart, he proves that his “love” for Rosaline was just infatuation. Benvolio’s earlier prediction that Romeo would meet an even fairer girl at the ball also comes true. Romeo now uses much more pure and delicate expressions to describe his love for Juliet. He uses contrasting metaphors which give an image that Juliet is illuminated with beauty: “O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night, Like a rich jewel on an Ethiop’s ear; Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear! So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows, As yonder lady o’er her fellows shows.” Romeo idolizes Juliet and unlike his immature obsession with Rosaline, his new descriptions of his feelings show he seems to have genuine feelings for her because of his references to light and religious metaphors. Also, Juliet returns his love; “Or, if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self, Which is the god of my idolatry, And I’ll believe in thee.” This is something that Romeo had not experienced with his first infatuation. Romeo and Juliet’s love for each other is very much like a fairytale love and their relationship symbolizes everything that love should be; romantic, passionate, and unselfish. Their love is proven as true in the end of the play where they commit suicide to be together and Shakespeare shows that it is the ultimate form of love as the ends of their lives and love ends so much confrontation and hate.
Because Romeo describes his “love” for Rosaline in great detail like he does with Juliet’s, the audience may question the sincerity of his words as it seems he is able to switch from beauty to beauty instantly. However, during their meeting Shakespeare drops various hints that Romeo’s love for Juliet is genuine. For instance, he makes religious references in his descriptions; “this holy shrine” and “my lips, two blushing pilgrims”, implying the love is pure and as religion was such a strong power during the times the play was first performed, such references would not be made in vain.
After Romeo and Juliet’s meeting they find out that they are from opposing families. Earlier on at the beginning of the play Romeo says, “Here's much to do with hate, but more with love,” which hints to something like this occurring.
When Romeo and Juliet realise that they are enemies, their love is proven as true as they still express the same feelings as they did before they found out. Romeo says after learning of Juliet‘s lineage; “my life is my foes debt” meaning Juliet is his enemy yet she has his heart and therefore his life, but it also implies that he will become Juliet’s burden because their love will get them both into trouble. After finding out that Romeo is a Montague, Juliet says; “if he be married, my grave is like to be my wedding bed” meaning that she believes she cannot love anyone else and if Romeo is already married then she would rather die than marry another man. This gives more evidence that their love is true.
Act one of Romeo and Juliet presents many different aspects of love through it’s range of characters and language. It expresses such forms as paternal love, romantic love, sexual “love” and comradeship. Shakespeare tries to convey the message that some kinds of love can have a positive affect and some can have a negative one. The bawdy “love” that Sampson and Gregory pursued is not a fulfilling thing to chase as it can lead to aggression and violence and no emotional connections are established. The maternal love the Nurse had for Juliet was misjudged, as being blinded by her love and her want for Juliet to be happy, she did not direct her down the path that was best for her resulting in her death. Romeo’s original infatuation with Rosaline was a very unhealthy love that only caused him unhappiness and he gained nothing from it. Lord Capulet’s love for Juliet was in her best interest as he cared about her happiness and therefore allowed her choose whether or not she wanted to marry Paris. However he made the mistake of later trying to force her to marry the man he had chosen because it made her unhappy, even though he just wanted what was best for her. The petty love of the ancient feud that the two families had caused most of the problems in the play and Shakespeare is trying to convey the message that household rivalry and trivial squabbles should be buried as soon as possible as they will grow and then cause disaster. Finally, the love Romeo and Juliet had for each other, although it resulted in their deaths, was the bond that brought their families fighting to halt. Shakespeare tries to convey the message that there are many forms of love and that it can have the power to conquer great adversities but also that it is not something to be entered into lightly as naivety, foolishness and hastiness can only lead to a downfall.
Chelsea Cleveland-Hurley 11RA