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Romeo and Juliet: Infatuation and Immature Love

  • Categories: Romeo and Juliet Tragedy William Shakespeare

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Published: Aug 4, 2023

Words: 804 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

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Introduction, immature thinking of romeo and juliet, impact of desire on romeo's decision-making, tragic consequences of romeo and juliet, works cited.

  • Shakespeare, William, and Alan Durband. Romeo and Juliet. Hauppage, NY: Barron's, 1985.   

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romeo and juliet love or infatuation essay

Love in 'Romeo and Juliet'

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  • M.A., Theater Studies, Warwick University
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The play "Romeo and Juliet" has become forever associated with love. It's a truly iconic story of romance and passion—even the name “Romeo” is still used to describe enthusiastic young lovers.

But while the romantic love between the titular characters is often what we think of when we consider the love theme in "Romeo and Juliet," Shakespeare ’s treatment of the concept of love is complex and multifaceted. Through different characters and relationships, he portrays some of the various types of love and the different ways it can manifest.

These are some of the expressions of love Shakespeare threads together to create the play.

Shallow Love

Some characters fall in and out of love very quickly in "Romeo and Juliet." For example, Romeo is in "love" with Rosaline at the start of the play, but it is presented as an immature infatuation. Today, we might use the term “puppy love” to describe it. Romeo’s love for Rosaline is shallow, and nobody really believes that it will last, including Friar Laurence:

Romeo: Thou chid'st me oft for loving Rosaline. Friar Laurence: For doting, not for loving, pupil mine. (Act Two, Scene Three)

Similarly, Paris’ love for Juliet is borne out of tradition, not passion. He has identified her as a good candidate for a wife and approaches her father to arrange the marriage. Although this was the tradition at the time, it also says something about Paris’ staid, unpassionate attitude toward love. He even admits to Friar Laurence that in his haste to rush the wedding, he hasn’t discussed it with his bride-to-be:

Friar Laurence: On Thursday, sir? the time is very short. Paris: My father Capulet will have it so; And I am nothing slow to slack his haste. Friar Laurence: You say you do not know the lady's mind: Uneven is the course, I like it not. Paris: Immoderately she weeps for Tybalt's death, And therefore have I little talked of love. (Act Four, Scene One)

Friendly Love

Many of the friendships in the play are as sincere as Romeo and Juliet’s love for one another. The best example of this is in Act Three, Scene One, where Mercutio and Romeo fight Tybalt. When Romeo attempts to bring peace, Mercutio fights back at Tybalt's slander of Romeo. Then, it is out of rage over Mercutio's death that Romeo pursues—and kills—Tybalt:

Romeo: In triumph, and Mercutio slain! Away to heaven, respective lenity, And fire-eyed fury be my conduct now.— Now, Tybalt, take the “villain” back again That late thou gavest me, for Mercutio’s soul Is but a little way above our heads, Staying for thine to keep him company. Either thou or I, or both, must go with him. (Act Three, Scene One)

It is out of friendly love for his companion that Romeo acts out.

Romantic Love

Then, of course, is romantic love, the classic idea of which is embodied in "Romeo and Juliet." In fact, maybe it is "Romeo and Juliet" that has influenced our definition of the concept. The characters are deeply infatuated with one another, so committed to being together that they defy their respective families.

Romeo: By a name I know not how to tell thee who I am. My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself Because it is an enemy to thee. Had I it written, I would tear the word. (Act Two, Scene Two)

Perhaps Romeo and Juliet's love is fate ; their love is given a cosmic significance, which suggests that the universe plays a role in the creation of deep romantic love. Despite their love being disallowed by the Capulet and Montague households , they inevitably—and irresistibly—find themselves drawn together.

Juliet: Prodigious birth of love it is to me That I must love a loathèd enemy. Act One, Scene Five)

All in all, Shakespeare presents romantic love as a force of nature, so strong that it transcends expectations, tradition, and—through the combined suicides of lovers who cannot live without one another—life itself.

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COMMENTS

  1. Is Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet a tale of love or infatuation

    Romeo and Juliet's love for one another is more than infatuation; yet, although they do love one another, theirs is a love that is essentially erotic, rather than being a higher, more spiritual love.

  2. Romeo and Juliet: A+ Student Essay

    Read a sample prompt and A+ essay response on Romeo and Juliet. Search all of SparkNotes Search. ... Shakespeare makes a point to show that Romeo's love for Juliet merely displaced another, earlier infatuation. Through his hasty actions, Romeo arguably drives the play toward tragedy more aggressively than any other character. He climbs over ...

  3. William Shakespeare's Play "Romeo And Juliet": True Love Or Infatuation

    Romeo and Juliet never got to know each other, therefore, they are not in love. Rather deeply infatuated with each other. Another reason Romeo and Juliet's relationship is based on infatuation is Romeo is an overzealous lover and Juliet is young and inexperienced. Their short-lived spur of the moment love consisted of fleeting feelings.

  4. Love In Romeo And Juliet: [Essay Example], 618 words

    Love is a complex and powerful force that has been the subject of countless literary works throughout history. One of the most famous examples of this is William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, a timeless tale of young love that ends in tragedy. In this essay, we will explore the theme of love in Romeo and Juliet, examining its various forms ...

  5. Romeo and Juliet: Central Idea Essay

    Every time Romeo tries to demonstrate the seriousness of his love, Mercutio undermines him with sexual jokes. When Romeo risks returning to the Capulets' house to see Juliet again, Mercutio calls after him that he is just sexually frustrated: "O that she were / An open-arse, thou a poperin pear!" (2.1.). The Nurse points out the sexual ...

  6. Romeo and Juliet: Infatuation and Immature Love

    William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is a timeless love tragedy. They are from the city of Verona and belong to two feuding families, the Montague's and the Capulet's. They are both very young with Romeo being 18 years of age and Juliet being the tender age of 14. The actions of these young lovers, both as individuals and as a couple ...

  7. Romeo and Juliet: Infatuation or Love Free Essay Example

    In the opening scenes of "Romeo and Juliet," both Romeo and Juliet exhibit signs of infatuation. Romeo is initially lovesick over Rosaline, a woman he has only seen and idealized from afar. His obsession with Rosaline is superficial and fleeting, based solely on her physical beauty. Juliet, too, experiences infatuation early in the play.

  8. Romeo And Juliet Love Vs Infatuation Essay

    The story of the two star-crossed lovers is a story that has been told for centuries. Their love was against all odds. "Love vs Infatuation" gives good insight into both sides. But a question commonly asked related to the play is; are Romeo and Juliet in love or infatuated with another?

  9. Love Themes in 'Romeo and Juliet'

    Shallow Love. Some characters fall in and out of love very quickly in "Romeo and Juliet." For example, Romeo is in "love" with Rosaline at the start of the play, but it is presented as an immature infatuation. Today, we might use the term "puppy love" to describe it. Romeo's love for Rosaline is shallow, and nobody really believes that it ...

  10. William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet: Infatuation or Love?

    Romeo and Juliet believed that they were in love because of the mere idea of it, however based on their actions and the short amount of time that the stages of their " love " progressed in, it soon became clear that what they were actually feeling was infatuation. Romeo, you see, may have possibly convinced himself that he loved Juliet.

  11. Romeo And Juliet Infatuation Essay

    In the play Romeo and Juliet are two star-crossed lovers caught in the midst of long standing feuds between their families that don't allow them to love each other freely. But their love was based purely on infatuation, impulsiveness and the inability to handle reality from the very beginning. Romeo and Juliet's love was based on ...

  12. Essay On Romeo And Juliet Infatuation

    Ultimately, because Romeo and Juliet and willing to make sacrifices for one another, their love does qualify as true love. In Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet are always there for eachother, and sacrificing things. In this essay, you will learn about now Romeo and Juliet love is real, and not just lust.

  13. Romeo and Juliet Essay About Love

    They may think they feel love, strong and binding, but in the end it is only an infatuation, one that could make them reckless. Such is the case of Romeo and Juliet. Within days of their meeting, they decided they fell in love, and wanted to get married. They went to great lengths to stay together after Romeo's banishment with an ill-thought ...

  14. Essay On Infatuation In Romeo And Juliet

    Love can begin with puppy-love, and puppy-love is synonymous with infatuation. While they are very different things, the play does not make a distinction between the two. People ache for both experiences, and as we can tell from the outcome of Romeo and Juliet, can make people do extreme things. Eternal true love is idolized, and infatuation is ...

  15. Were Romeo and Juliet Really in Love?

    In the play, Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare conveys the idea that the love between Romeo and Juliet was not true love, but an infatuation. To begin with, the love connection between Romeo and Juliet was only based on the physical appearance of one another. True love can be defined as a strong and romantic connection between people that ...

  16. Infatuation In Romeo And Juliet

    361 Words2 Pages. "Young men's love then lies not truly in their hearts,but in their eyes." (A1, S3, L73) Friar Lawrence lectured Romeo in the world renown play The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare . Many people thought Romeo and Juliet were the extreme example of true love, but these teenagers were just infatuated.

  17. The Infatuation Of Love In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

    Unrequited Love In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet. Romeo's heart was torn into pieces by Rosaline as she didn't feel the love he felt for her, "she'll not be hit with cupids arrow". By Romeo using such depressing language to portray how upset and down he is shows the passion he had for Rosaline, " sad hours seem long".

  18. Relationship Between Romeo And Juliet Infatuation

    Romeo and Juliet: The Story of Young Infatuation "Love is not affectionate feeling but a steady wish for the loved person's ultimate good as far as it can be obtained" ~ C. S. Lewis Lay theologian and literary critic C. S. Lewis has a very clear view on love. Romeo and Juliet have an infatuation with each other that is often confused with ...

  19. Romeo And Juliet Infatuation Essay

    The lack of authenticity between Romeo and Juliet's love illustrates how teenage love is not true love. Shakespeare enforces this idea by fully describing this type of mutual attraction with Romeo's relations to love with physical appearances, Juliet's naivety due to her inexperience with romance, and how the two does not have the breadth ...

  20. Romeo and Juliet: in Love or Hit with Infatuation

    Romeo and Juliet rushed into a marriage without knowing much about each other. Their quick marriage was an event that might have had a lot to do with their death. This rush into actions without thinking is a result of the effects of infatuation. Some might say that their marriage occurred because they "loved" each other, but research has ...

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  22. Romeo And Juliet Infatuation Essay

    Romeo And Juliet Infatuation Essay. 1481 Words3 Pages. Recommended: essay about romeo's infatuation for juliet. A Study of Teenage Infatuation in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Love and infatuation are both strong emotions that most will encounter within their lifetime. The two feelings are often misunderstood, but are differentiated ...

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    Romeo And Juliet Infatuation Essay. Decent Essays. 1168 Words; 5 Pages; Open Document. Scientifically, a crush only lasts for a maximum of four months. If the feelings exceed that time then you are considered in love. ... The college professor thinks that Romeo and Juliet's love was true even though there was "more play than work involved ...

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