Analysis of the different types of love in Romeo and Juliet

Love in its many forms, is an important theme in the play. The Nurse and Mercutio speak in vulgar terms about love, referring to its physical side. Romeo’s love for Rosaline is simply superficial, childish infatuation. Paris represents a contractual love. He does not actually know Juliet, just her family and what she represents. He is marrying a name not a person. Juliet questions Romeo at first to his intentions, the type of love he has to offer. The love between Romeo and Juliet is spiritual, romantic love. They alone die for their love.

Different characters talk about love from very different points of view.

First there is Idealistic love, Romeo’s early sadness is a kind of intellectual love; he is in love with the idea of being in love. At the beginning of the play Romeo is an immature and impulsive boy who imagines that he is love with Rosaline. His talk is full of bookish and artificial expressions of emotion and he seems to be wallowing in self-pity (Act 1, Scene 1)

“Grief of mine own lie heavy in my breast,

Which thou wilt propagate to have it pressed

With more thine; this love that thou hast shown

Doth add more grief to too much of mine own.”

When he meets Juliet and falls in love with her, it has a dramatic effect on his character. He becomes more mature as his love and relationship with Juliet develops.

Real love is the feeling between Romeo and Juliet, this is the love that people “crave”; they share a bond, which makes their love even more special. When they first meet they share a common biblical language and they speak in the form of a sonnet.

Romeo (to Juliet)-“This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this,

My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand

To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.”

Juliet-“Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much

Which mannerly devotion shows this,

For saints have hands that pilgrims, ready stand

And palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss.”

Their true love allows them to grow and develop as individuals. Juliet becomes more mature and independent. She defies and deceives her father about Romeo and Juliet

“I pray you tell my lord and father, madam,

I will not marry yet, and when I do, I swear

It shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate,

Rather than Paris. These are news indeed!”

Romeo grows happier and more sociable; he risks his life to see Juliet.

Shakespeare’s presentation of love in this play varies greatly. Some characters think only of sex, others demonstrate a form of love with their children. This is however, only one true and pure love; that of Romeo and Juliet. Every other character in the play provides a framework to Romeo and Juliet’s love. These 2 main characters make the greatest sacrifice for each other; their own lives. This proves their true love.

Love and marriage of convenience; Juliet’s parents do not see love in the same way as their daughter. Lord and Lady Capulet see love merely as financial transaction to do with securing and retaining wealth. Paris a rich and powerful nobleman wants to marry Juliet, and then Capulet tries to wed them near to the end of the play. This was not an unusual thing to happen at this time, rich people like the Capulets also did not marry for love. His or her parents arranged a marriage with someone rich or powerful. It was a way of getting more money and power into the family.

Family love; Capulets do not seem to care so much for Juliet, making decisions for her, but Lord Capulet seems slightly more caring.

“She’s the hopeful lady of my earth.” They see love however as a financial transaction and business agreement and to do with securing and retaining wealth.

Paris is a suitable partner; he is a rich and powerful nobleman. Thankfully he actually does seem to love Juliet and at the end, when she dies, he wants to be placed in her tomb.

The Montague’s truly love their son and are more caring. Lord Montague shows concern for his son’s happiness to Benvolio in (Act 1 scene 1). In the end lady Montague dies of grief brought on by Romeo’s exile.

Another type of love, which frames Romeo and Juliet, is the Bawdy love that is expressed by Mercutio and the nurse. They both talk of love from a very physical view. Mercutio’s speech is often vulgar because he is a lively character with an amazing imagination.

The nurse is also vulgar and has a blunt attitude towards love and sex. She cares for Juliet but has no idea of the depth of her love for Romeo.

The play is a story of true love and it is surprising that is one of the first references is about sexual love. At the beginning the servants Sampson and Gregory see love as brutish, crude and bestial.

Love and honour of friends is a different form of love in the play. Mercutio is intensely loyal to Romeo and intervenes on his behalf against Tybalt with fatal results. Most of the fighting in the play is due to the sense of honour of characters to their friends and family.

“Draw, if you be men.” This implies that anyone who does not fight for their honour is a coward and not a real man.

The theme of love is entwined with the other themes in the play, images of light, whiteness or paleness in the play of ten appear in connection with the ideas of love, life and hope. Romeo describes Juliet as being like the Sun, brighter than the light of a torch or the stars. Juliet talks about Romeo’s love as pure and whiter than snow.

Love and passion are also connected with the theme of time. The whole play seems hurried, passionate and emotions runs high. Everywhere there is angry feuding, surging passion and sudden death.

The unnaturalness of infatuation or false love is linked to the theme of disorder.

Love and fate are also connected images. From the very start Romeo and Juliet are described, as “star-crossed” or fated to disaster and Romeo says he feels his future is “hanging in the stars and that he is ” fortunes fool.”