Romeo And Juliet Essay
“Virtue is its own reward, and brings with it the truest and highest pleasure; but if we cultivate it only for pleasure 's sake, we are selfish, not religious, and will never gain the pleasure, because we can never have the virtue” (John Henry Newman)
The theme of love as being blind is repeatedly discussed in Romeo and Juliet. It is shown through religious uses of imagery and their betrayal of their faith. Romeo compares Juliet to a saint as he kisses her hand, saying that he is unworthy to do so, and at several moments the duo declare their love as divined by God who he in return betrays by committing sin. These narrative choices leave behind many questions such as, what are the connection between their affair and the …show more content…
Upon meeting Juliet at the Capulet party Romeo expresses his feelings "If I profane with my unworthiest hand This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss"(Shakespeare 1.5.92-95). While Romeo shares a dance with Juliet he suggests that he is unworthy to do so, then to make up for his mistake he requests a kiss. Romeo states this immediately after encountering her and is already worshiping her referring to her as a “holy shrine”, only because she is beautiful. This is a sign of immaturity indicating that Romeo is unaware of true love and that his relationship with Juliet is childish. As time goes by their ignorance to love does not disappear this can be seen when Romeo says "Call be but love and I 'll be new baptized"(Shakespeare 2.2.50). While Juliet is expressing her deepest thoughts to Romeo during her soliloquy, he asks Juliet to call him "love" instead of Romeo. He is referring to being baptized in a church as the baptism symbolizes his purified rebirth in order to remain with Juliet as her lover and not Romeo. Romeo would give up his entire identity for a chance at love with a women he himself does not know nearly enough about. He would do absolutely anything to be with her, this is the true curse of premature love. However, the words of Romeo and Juliet are not spoken blindly as there is no human more determined than a person in
“Virtue is its own reward, and brings with it the truest and highest pleasure; but if we cultivate it only for pleasure 's sake, we are selfish, not religious, and will never gain the pleasure, because we can never have the virtue” (John Henry Newman)
The theme of love as being blind is repeatedly discussed in Romeo and Juliet. It is shown through religious uses of imagery and their betrayal of their faith. Romeo compares Juliet to a saint as he kisses her hand, saying that he is unworthy to do so, and at several moments the duo declare their love as divined by God who he in return betrays by committing sin. These narrative choices leave behind many questions such as, what are the connection between their affair and the …show more content…
Upon meeting Juliet at the Capulet party Romeo expresses his feelings "If I profane with my unworthiest hand This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss"(Shakespeare 1.5.92-95). While Romeo shares a dance with Juliet he suggests that he is unworthy to do so, then to make up for his mistake he requests a kiss. Romeo states this immediately after encountering her and is already worshiping her referring to her as a “holy shrine”, only because she is beautiful. This is a sign of immaturity indicating that Romeo is unaware of true love and that his relationship with Juliet is childish. As time goes by their ignorance to love does not disappear this can be seen when Romeo says "Call be but love and I 'll be new baptized"(Shakespeare 2.2.50). While Juliet is expressing her deepest thoughts to Romeo during her soliloquy, he asks Juliet to call him "love" instead of Romeo. He is referring to being baptized in a church as the baptism symbolizes his purified rebirth in order to remain with Juliet as her lover and not Romeo. Romeo would give up his entire identity for a chance at love with a women he himself does not know nearly enough about. He would do absolutely anything to be with her, this is the true curse of premature love. However, the words of Romeo and Juliet are not spoken blindly as there is no human more determined than a person in