Romeo & Juliet
The play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ presents true love in the form of ‘star-crossed lovers’ and just as their love is shown as eternal, the play itself has endured for years. There have been many adaptations of the play in the forms of books, films, ballets and plays.
The words ‘Romeo and Juliet’ create images associated with true love but the play explores many views of ‘love’. Each character in the play has a different personality and view on life, so they see ‘love’ in their own clear way, adding a clear contrast to Romeo and Juliet’s first love, which is true and pure.
The play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is the story of true love and dedication and it is unexpected that the first reference to relationships in the play is all about sex.
Sampson and Gregory are the first two characters that the audience are introduced to. They are offensive and common, making many sexual references and suggestions. They do not see love as involving emotions or desires, but as a purely physical thing, sexual not emotional. Sampson refers to women as “weaker vessels” and tells of how he will rape the maids of the Montague household. Neither Sampson or Gregory seems to have ever experienced true love. They talk in a rude manner, show off about their own ‘attributes’ and see women, as objects not people.
Other contrasts to Romeo and Juliet in the play are the nurse and Mercutio. Mercutio is lively with a wonderful imagination. He loves life and makes the most of each day. Mercutio is the kind of person who gets restless very easily. He thinks that Romeo is wasting his time with Rosaline. Mercutio has a cloudy view of ‘love’. Like Sampson and Gregory, he thinks ‘love’ only in a sexual way before emotions. The nurse is similar to Mercutio in her use of impolite language. The nurse is the equivalent of Juliet’s mother, she raised and looked after her and is very close to Juliet. Juliet is a lot closer to the nurse than to her own mother. The one person that Juliet has always loved is the nurse. The nurse is the only character in the play that she tells about her love for Romeo. Juliet confides in the nurse, because she is like her mother. The nurse is an affectionate and loving woman who wants Juliet to be happy. She has a tendency to talk a lot and often strays from her subject. The nurse is often offensive, but she really cares for Juliet. The nurse supports Juliet’s love for Romeo but in the end she tries to persuade Juliet to marry Paris.
