The lasting fame of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet stems, at least in part, from its ending: the suicides of the titular lovers. That Romeo and Juliet’s love ends in death might lead some to question whether flaws in their love doom Romeo and Juliet from the start. Romeo and Juliet’s love “fails” to conquer all, however, due to factors outside of their control. Despite their engaging in a powerful and genuine love, the enmity between their families, a lack of societal understanding and accommodation for romantic love, and accidents of fate lead to their death.
Romeo and Juliet feel a deep and authentic love for each other in the play. From the first moment Romeo sees Juliet, he feels a love entirely different than the “love” he felt for Rosaline. Romeo describes his wooing of Rosaline using words, such as “siege” (1.2 211) and “assailing” (1.2 212), that connote a rather narcissistic desire to conquer and possess; he almost has an expectation that Rosaline should give into him. In contrast, when Romeo first sees Juliet, he sees her “Beauty” as “too rich for use” (1.5 48) and describes his hand as “unworthiest” (1.5 93) …show more content…
If flaws in Romeo and Juliet’s love do not lead to their deaths, their love’s effects are almost overwhelmingly positive: both Romeo and Juliet suggest at various times that they are happier than they have ever been when they are together. Is such a love not something to strive for? The two lovers may at times be ridiculous and excessive in their passion, yet what true lover is not comically ridiculous at some point? American society today largely scoffs at “love at first sight” as a concept; the idea of seeing someone for the first time and experiencing a violent passion is laughable to many. Shakespeare, however, might
Romeo and Juliet feel a deep and authentic love for each other in the play. From the first moment Romeo sees Juliet, he feels a love entirely different than the “love” he felt for Rosaline. Romeo describes his wooing of Rosaline using words, such as “siege” (1.2 211) and “assailing” (1.2 212), that connote a rather narcissistic desire to conquer and possess; he almost has an expectation that Rosaline should give into him. In contrast, when Romeo first sees Juliet, he sees her “Beauty” as “too rich for use” (1.5 48) and describes his hand as “unworthiest” (1.5 93) …show more content…
If flaws in Romeo and Juliet’s love do not lead to their deaths, their love’s effects are almost overwhelmingly positive: both Romeo and Juliet suggest at various times that they are happier than they have ever been when they are together. Is such a love not something to strive for? The two lovers may at times be ridiculous and excessive in their passion, yet what true lover is not comically ridiculous at some point? American society today largely scoffs at “love at first sight” as a concept; the idea of seeing someone for the first time and experiencing a violent passion is laughable to many. Shakespeare, however, might