“The sweetest honey/ Is loathsome in his own deliciousness/ and in the taste confounds the appetite:/ Therefore love moderately” (II vi 11-14). This warning given by Friar Laurence in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet was so painfully ignored that it illustrates the suggestion that this play is not a love story but rather a play of obsession and desperation. Throughout the entire play of Romeo and Juliet, multiple characters are motivated by obsession and desperation disguised as true love. The most notable of these characters are Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, but this same theme can be seen through the roles of many characters. Lord Capulet demonstrated an obsession with the passing on of his “legacy” to the point of desperation when he arranged a marriage between Juliet and Paris. He intended to pass his legacy on to Paris. However, when his own daughter is presumed to be dead, he is more concerned by the fact that there will be no one to inherit his name and wealth rather than grieve over
…show more content…
Romeo begins the play desperately in love with Rosaline even though she does not return the same devotion. He is obsessed with changing her perspective, so he sneaks to a party to see her. At the party he quickly forgets about Rosaline when he sees Juliet and says, “Did my heart love till now? Foreswear it, sight/ for I ne’er saw true beauty ‘till this night” (I v 54-55). This line shows that he is so desperate for love that he transfers his “affection” from Rosaline to Juliet. It also shows that he is obsessed with women, beauty, and the idea of love itself. He seems to equate beauty with love. As fate would have it, Juliet is also obsessed with trying to avoid marrying Paris and in desperation asks to marry Romeo the same day she meets him. “Thy purpose marriage, send me word to-morrow” (II ii
Romeo begins the play desperately in love with Rosaline even though she does not return the same devotion. He is obsessed with changing her perspective, so he sneaks to a party to see her. At the party he quickly forgets about Rosaline when he sees Juliet and says, “Did my heart love till now? Foreswear it, sight/ for I ne’er saw true beauty ‘till this night” (I v 54-55). This line shows that he is so desperate for love that he transfers his “affection” from Rosaline to Juliet. It also shows that he is obsessed with women, beauty, and the idea of love itself. He seems to equate beauty with love. As fate would have it, Juliet is also obsessed with trying to avoid marrying Paris and in desperation asks to marry Romeo the same day she meets him. “Thy purpose marriage, send me word to-morrow” (II ii