Romeo and Juliet Essay
How does Shakespeare portray love in Romeo and Juliet?
Shakespeare begins the interchange between the lovers using a Shakespearean sonnet in
order to suggest that the couple is perfect for each other with their seemingly free -flowing
conversation, working together to create the 14-line structure. Juliet appears to copy
Romeo in her responses and take her lead from. Although this may show how in sync the
couple are right from the beginning, emphasising their destiny and fate to eb together, it
may also portray Juliet as childish as she is almost mimicking Romeo. The line “to smooth
that rough touch with a tender kiss” is mirrored by Juliet with “and palm to palm is holy
palmers kiss”. Both these lines not only rhyme with one another, but iambic pentameter is
also used, which is often associated with the rhythm of everyday speech. Shakespeare may
have wanted Romeo to initiate the talk with this form to appear relaxed, spontaneous and
directed by love and Juliet’s apparent of Romeo’s words could be due to her young age,
evident in “she has not yet seen the change of 14 years”. As a result of this, she is shown to
be inexperienced and easily manipulated. To an Elizabethan audience, her early age would
not have been surprising, instead, it was the norm. However, a modern audience would feel
concerned for Juliet’s well-being and recognise her fragility. Juliet, here, may have been
used as a construct by Shakespeare, to criticise this Elizabethan view, with Lord Capulet’s
initial caution around his daughter acting as a proxy for the Shakespeare’s ideals.
Additionally, Romeo personifies the moon, likening it to Diana (the Goddess of hunting and
chastity). He claims that the moon is “envious” of Juliet’s radiation, and we can see Romeo’s
petty and childish nature here as he is adamant on comparing Juliet to cliché images. The
audience sees Romeo’s quick dismissal of Rosaline and his instantaneous infatuation with
Juliet, as he appears so blindly passionate that the audience is easily able to recognise his
hubris is his inability to not fall in love. Some audience members may see Romeo’s
eagerness to fall in love as admirable and like a Petrarchan lover, but others may think
different like Shakespeare, who may have been criticising the men and the younger
generation for their fickle and overtly passionate (catholic) love. This may have been to
ingratiate himself with the monarchy and Church of England as Romeo and Juliet’s love did
not follow pragmatism.
Romeo’s fickle love is also depicted in the phrase “O brawling love! O loving hate” as it
exposes the audience to Romeo’s confusion over his unreciprocated feelings for Rosaline.
The oxymorons blend the joys of love with the emotional desolation of unrequited love,
creating an extreme emotion felt by Romeo. However, the fact that Romeo is able to
express such extreme emotions for a woman he barely met, elaborates how he is both
immature and how his love is unnatural, giving the audience anticipation for a deeper love
(with Juliet). The oxymorons also emphasise Romeo’s devastation and make Romeo sound
overdramatic and childish as the “O” sounds mimic the sounds of mourning and whining,
which are associated with children, reinforcing the idea that Romeo’s love for Rosaline was
fickle. The love imagery is embedded with the overt use of contrasting, negative words and
Shakespeare could’ve done this in order to elaborate the link between conflict and love. This
could foreshadow and hint to the audience how conflict will be a barricade in between
Romeo’s love, making them intrigued. The audience at the time, was not like the modern
audience today as they were easily distracted, therefore knowing that conflict will be
How does Shakespeare portray love in Romeo and Juliet?
Shakespeare begins the interchange between the lovers using a Shakespearean sonnet in
order to suggest that the couple is perfect for each other with their seemingly free -flowing
conversation, working together to create the 14-line structure. Juliet appears to copy
Romeo in her responses and take her lead from. Although this may show how in sync the
couple are right from the beginning, emphasising their destiny and fate to eb together, it
may also portray Juliet as childish as she is almost mimicking Romeo. The line “to smooth
that rough touch with a tender kiss” is mirrored by Juliet with “and palm to palm is holy
palmers kiss”. Both these lines not only rhyme with one another, but iambic pentameter is
also used, which is often associated with the rhythm of everyday speech. Shakespeare may
have wanted Romeo to initiate the talk with this form to appear relaxed, spontaneous and
directed by love and Juliet’s apparent of Romeo’s words could be due to her young age,
evident in “she has not yet seen the change of 14 years”. As a result of this, she is shown to
be inexperienced and easily manipulated. To an Elizabethan audience, her early age would
not have been surprising, instead, it was the norm. However, a modern audience would feel
concerned for Juliet’s well-being and recognise her fragility. Juliet, here, may have been
used as a construct by Shakespeare, to criticise this Elizabethan view, with Lord Capulet’s
initial caution around his daughter acting as a proxy for the Shakespeare’s ideals.
Additionally, Romeo personifies the moon, likening it to Diana (the Goddess of hunting and
chastity). He claims that the moon is “envious” of Juliet’s radiation, and we can see Romeo’s
petty and childish nature here as he is adamant on comparing Juliet to cliché images. The
audience sees Romeo’s quick dismissal of Rosaline and his instantaneous infatuation with
Juliet, as he appears so blindly passionate that the audience is easily able to recognise his
hubris is his inability to not fall in love. Some audience members may see Romeo’s
eagerness to fall in love as admirable and like a Petrarchan lover, but others may think
different like Shakespeare, who may have been criticising the men and the younger
generation for their fickle and overtly passionate (catholic) love. This may have been to
ingratiate himself with the monarchy and Church of England as Romeo and Juliet’s love did
not follow pragmatism.
Romeo’s fickle love is also depicted in the phrase “O brawling love! O loving hate” as it
exposes the audience to Romeo’s confusion over his unreciprocated feelings for Rosaline.
The oxymorons blend the joys of love with the emotional desolation of unrequited love,
creating an extreme emotion felt by Romeo. However, the fact that Romeo is able to
express such extreme emotions for a woman he barely met, elaborates how he is both
immature and how his love is unnatural, giving the audience anticipation for a deeper love
(with Juliet). The oxymorons also emphasise Romeo’s devastation and make Romeo sound
overdramatic and childish as the “O” sounds mimic the sounds of mourning and whining,
which are associated with children, reinforcing the idea that Romeo’s love for Rosaline was
fickle. The love imagery is embedded with the overt use of contrasting, negative words and
Shakespeare could’ve done this in order to elaborate the link between conflict and love. This
could foreshadow and hint to the audience how conflict will be a barricade in between
Romeo’s love, making them intrigued. The audience at the time, was not like the modern
audience today as they were easily distracted, therefore knowing that conflict will be
