In Romeo and Juliet, there are many different views of love shown. There is Sexual
Love, Romantic Love, True Love, Spiritual Love, Unrequited Love and Love at First Sight.
Sexual Love is when men think of women only for sex and vice-versa.
True Romantic Love is when a man loves a woman for what she is inside, but usually
Romantic Love is partially what the other person looks like; if the
person were really ugly then you wouldn't really want to be seen with
them.
True Love is when two people are totally in love and they don't mind
being seen with each other even if one them is ugly. Spiritual Love is
the same as True Love.
Unrequited Love is when one person loves another but she/he does not love them back.
Love at First Sight is when a person falls in love with another
person when they first see them before they even know them; this is
usually because of appearance.
Mercutio's view of love is very coarse. It is also very bawdy.
Mercutio thinks of women only in a sexual way "O Romeo, that she were, O
that she were/An open-arse, thou a pop'rin pear!" Mercutio's view of
love is not spiritual at all. Instead it is very bawdy "by her fine
foot, straight leg, and quivering thigh, / And the demesnes that there
adjacent lie." He speaks in a very coarse way about love. I think this
could be because he may have had a bad experience e.g. a he could have
had a bad marriage or he could have been `dumped' by his girlfriend; we
will never know if either of these was actually true. In fact, Mercutio
may never have known true love. Love to Mercutio is only a physical act
between men and women. Mercutio uses many sexual puns to tease Romeo
e.g. demesnes: parklands for pleasure (or sexual parts); spirit: ghost
(or semen); circle: magic circle (or vagina); stand: ghost rising (or
sexual erection); down: ghost disappearing (or end of sexual
intercourse); honest: proper (and virginal); mark: target (or sexual
intercourse); medlar: apple-like fruit (or female sexual organ);
open-arse: slang for medlar (or female sexual organ); pop'rin pear: pear
from Poperinghe in Flanders (shaped like a penis).
The nurse's view of love is like Mercutio's more often than not,
because she thinks of love in a very bawdy way "thou wilt fall backwards
when thou comest to age"- meaning in the act of sex. She has lots of
physical passion: she describes Paris's physical attributes to Juliet
with obvious relish "lady, such a man / As all the world - Why, he's a
man of wax." The nurse enjoys sexual innuendo in conversation - when
Mercutio sexually insults her in Act 2 scene 4 she does not seem
particularly offended even though she put up a bit of a front. The nurse
swears by her Maidenhead at "twelve year old", but not necessarily
thirteen. The Nurse loves Juliet as if she is her mother. She has loved
Juliet since she was a baby. The Nurse is intimately connected with
Juliet - more so than Juliet's own mother is with her daughter. The
Nurse is very affectionate towards Juliet - once again as if she was her
mother "Thou wast the prettiest babe e're I nursed. / And I might live
to see thee married once, / I have my wish." I feel this contrasts
strongly with her otherwise bawdy view of love.
Romeo's love for Rosaline is unrequited. He loves her but she cannot
love him because she is going to become a nun and nuns are not allowed
to have relationships. Rosaline is unobtainable like Juliet was at
first. He is a thwarted lover - this is what you are if you love someone
but they do not love you in return. Romeo loves her from a-far - he
does not tell her that he loves her. Romeo's words for his love for
Rosaline are very insincere and he discusses his love for Rosaline using
sad language "Aye me sad hours seem long", "In sadness, cousin, I love a
woman." Romeo describes his love for Rosaline in Act one Scene one in a
series of paradoxes: "O brawling love, O loving hate...O heavy
lightness...Feather of lead...bright smoke...cold fire...sick
health...still waking sleep." When Benvolio asks who he loves, Romeo
does not give a straight answer but instead complains that she does not
return his love "From Love's weak childish bow she lives uncharmed." I
think Romeo's love for her is only skin deep. He is lovesick -
"sycamore" (sick amour - sick in love). He seems to have lost all reason
and common sense - when Benvolio tells Romeo to look at others, he
replies that it would remind him of the great beauty of his love.
Paris's love for Juliet is true love on his side but it is unrequited
- he admires her from a distance and it seems to me that he is
insincere in his love in comparison to Romeo. He cares for her and he
says when she 'dies' they he will come to the tomb and cover her grave
with fresh flowers every day. Paris's love for Juliet is also shown by
the fact that he wants to marry her so badly. However, Juliet's Father
will not allow this, as she is too young. Juliet may have loved Paris if
she had not already been in love, and married to Romeo.
The servant's view of love is also very bawdy - "cut off their
heads... Ay, the heads of the maids, or their maidenheads... while I am
able to stand, and 'tis known that I am a pretty piece of flesh."
Romeo is seen as an ardent lover of Juliet; he takes risks to prove
his worth and becomes more sincere in his manner after meeting her. When
Romeo first sees Juliet he falls instantly in love; this is love at
first sight. This develops quickly into True Romantic Love. The fact
that this is true love it is shown by the fact that at their first
meeting they could make a perfect sonnet - during the party when they
first met, they each said certain lines for a perfect Shakespearean
sonnet (a sonnet was a popular form to show love) - Romeo said the first
four lines, Juliet the second four lines, then Romeo said one line,
Juliet said one line, Romeo said two lines and then they said one line
each. In this sonnet, where they are in perfect harmony, they make their
love for each other clear because they use many words that are
associated with the Church - "profane... holy shrine... pilgrim...
saints... holy palmers... prayer... faith... pray." The love between
Romeo and Juliet is love at first sight. Romeo's love for Juliet is
profound and real. The love for Juliet felt by Romeo is beautiful "But
soft! What light through yonder window breaks? / It is the east, and
Juliet is the sun!" Here Romeo describes his love in a soliloquy. This
shows the audience the depth of his love. He describes Juliet as the sun
and Rosaline as the envious moon "Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious
moon, / Who is always sick and pale with grief / That thou, her maid,
art more fair than she."
Juliet's love for Romeo also develops into true romantic love - she
loves him despite him being a Montague. It is shown when she says "O
Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? / Deny thy father and refuse thy
name; / Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, / And I'll no longer
be a Capulet." This means that she wonders why he has to be a Montague -
a member of the family that is feuding with the Capulets. She says that
she wants him to change his name. If he does not want to do this, marry
her, so she'll no longer be a Capulet but a Montague. Juliet's love for
Romeo is also shown well when Romeo is at the Capulet house and is
telling Juliet about his love for her and she is worrying about his
safety if the guards find him "I would not for the world they saw thee
here. I think Juliet is more practical in her love than Romeo; she can
see more clearly the problems with their love. She compares their love
to lightening "It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden / Too like
lightening, which doth cease to be." When Romeo swears he loves her by
the moon, she stops him and says the moon is inconsistent. Their true
love is shown in their last acts of suicide; neither can live without
the other. When Romeo thinks Juliet is dead, he kills himself; Juliet
then finding Romeo dead, commits suicide.
Romeo and Juliet is a very bawdy play. During the play they are quite
a few reference to sexual love, however this dirty talk has an
important part in the play - Gregory and Sampson can only see the sexual
relationship between men and women in the dirtiest ways. This contrasts
with the real and true love between Romeo and Juliet. This True
Romantic love is mocked by a society full of bawdy humour, many sexual
puns - often rude about, and discriminatory to, women and much hate -
the opposite to love. The selflessness of Romeo and Juliet's love -
their willingness to die for each other, is in deep contrast to the hate
between the Capulets and the Montagues.
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