conclusion of romeo and juliet love

The Conclusion Of Romeo And Juliet's Tragic Story

Show More The conclusion of Romeo and Juliet Tragic story Is due to human flaws. Both romeo and Juliet gave each other illusions that they knew couldn’t happen. Their love could not happen because their families were enemies. By loving each other they would be betraying their families and dishonoring them. All showed many flaws such as Romeo, his biggest flaw was falling in love easily. If he had never fallen in love, they would’ve never died. Juliet played a part in this too, she was gullible. She thought that when Romeo acted like he loved her , that it was because oh who she was. She loved him so much that in act 1 scene 5 juliet says, ,” Go ask his name- If he be married my grave is like to be my wedding bed.” But Juliet was a very suicidal person

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The Persistence of Love in Romeo and Juliet

Test the love between juliet and romeo.

Throughout Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, outside forces, particularly those resulting from the ongoing feud between the Montague and Capulet families, constantly test the title characters’ passionate love for each other. However, these conflicts unexpectedly fail to destroy the relationship between Romeo and Juliet and in fact, render it stronger. The scenes depicting the tension between Mercutio and Tybalt, Juliet and her parents, and the Montagues and Capulets illustrate that these outside forces serve to embolden and amplify Romeo and Juliet's love. Through the persistence of Romeo and Juliet’s love despite the obstacles they face, Shakespeare conveys to the reader that love is more powerful than hate.

The fight between Mercutio and Tybalt reveals the effect on Romeo of his relationship with Juliet and the endurance of his love for her despite the hatred between their families. As Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin approaches Mercutio, Romeo’s servant, a fight begins to brew. When Romeo enters, he interjects and urges them to stop fighting. Tybalt taunts Romeo, telling him, “No better term than this, thou art a villain!” (3.1.57). Tybalt’s attack and his threats to both him and Mercutio force Romeo to choose his loyalties. As a Montague, his duty is to defend his family name and fight Tybalt. But the confrontation instead forces Romeo to side with his new bride, whom he has recently married in secret.

Rather than attacking Tybalt, Romeo seeks to include him in the love Romeo feels for Juliet: “Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee / Doth many excuses the appertaining rage / To such a greeting” (3.1.58-61). Romeo’s love for and marriage to Juliet has thus transformed him, blurring the lines between the Montagues and the Capulets: “And so, good Capulet--which name I tender / As dearly as my own--be satisfied” (3.1.67-68). By his own estimation, Romeo has become “effeminate” and his valor “softened” because of his love for Juliet (3.1.110-111). Through Romeo’s transformation, Shakespeare shows the audience that love is stronger than hate. Although Romeo eventually kills Tybalt to avenge Mercutio’s death, his love for Juliet perseveres despite the rivalry between the two families.

Similarly, Juliet’s parents test the love between her and Romeo, which unexpectedly strengthens their relationship. When Juliet objects to her father’s plans for her to marry Paris, Sir Capulet becomes enraged and threatens to disown Juliet: “An you be mine, I’ll give you to my friend. / An you be not, hang, beg, starve, die in the streets, / For, by my soul, I’ll ne'er acknowledge thee” (3.5.192-194). While the audience would expect Juliet to obey her father and marry Paris, Juliet unexpectedly does the opposite and runs to Friar Lawrence for help. Sir Capulet’s ultimatum, coupled with Lady Capulet’s concurrence and the nurse’s praise of Paris, drive Juliet to abandon her life as a Capulet and to seek out Romeo, who has already been cast out.

Juliet tells Friar Lawrence she would rather die than live without Romeo: “O, bid me leap, rather than marry Paris, / From off the battlements of yonder tower; / … And I will do it without fear or doubt, / To live an unstained wife to my sweet love” (4.1.78-79, 88-90). Sir Capulet’s threats, therefore, serve to solidify Juliet’s resolve to be a wife to Romeo and give her the strength to carry out the plan that Friar Lawrence concocts: “Love give me strength, and strength shall help afford” (4.1.126). By showing the audience that Juliet would rather die than be forced to marry someone other than Romeo, Shakespeare shows the audience that love can overcome any obstacles.

In addition to the obstacles that Romeo and Juliet face individually, perhaps the most significant obstacle to their relationship is the hatred between their two families, which prevents them from the meeting. Because they are not able to visit each other publicly, Romeo and Juliet are forced to arrange secret meetings. The lack of communication seemingly emboldens Romeo and Juliet, whose love for each other appears stronger each time they meet. Shakespeare uses Romeo’s language to reflect the deepening of his love for Juliet. When he first sees Juliet, Romeo describes mostly her beauty, saying Juliet “teach[es] the torches to burn bright” (1.5.42) and “hangs upon the cheek of night / Like a rich jewel” (1.5.43-44).

The chorus explains that because of the families’ feud, Romeo does not have as much opportunity to woo Juliet as others would: “Being held a foe, he may not have the access / To breathe such vows as lovers use to swear” (2.prologue.9-10). Despite their inability to meet freely, Romeo and Juliet’s relationship progresses, as reflected by the language they use to describe their love. When they meet at the quarters of Friar Lawrence, Romeo says, “Ah, Juliet, if the measure of thy joy / Be heaped like mine … / then sweeten with thy breath / This neighbor air, and let rich music’s tongue / Unfold the imagined happiness that both / Receive in either by this dear encounter”(2.6.24-29). Shakespeare’s comparison of love to the sound of “rich music” reflects how ardent Romeo’s love is for Juliet. Similarly, Juliet explains to Romeo that her “true love is grown to such excess / I cannot sum up sum of half my wealth” (2.6.34). Whereas at their first meeting Romeo compares Juliet to a jewel, as the play progresses, Romeo and Juliet refer to a love that cannot be quantified and that is richer than any ornament.

By showing the progression of Romeo and Juliet’s love despite their lack of time together, Shakespeare demonstrates that “passion lends them power” (2.prologue.13) and love overpower hatred.

Romeo and Juliet’s love is tested time and again throughout the play, especially by outside forces. Rather than crumbling, their love perseveres until they end their lives rather than allowing their families to keep them apart. Their ability to overcome obstacles convinces the reader that love is more powerful than hatred. Ironically, although Romeo and Juliet’s love for each other is not enough to unite their families during their lives, it is in their death that the Capulets and the Montagues are able to reconcile. The families’ vows to raise statues of Romeo and Juliet in Verona so that their love can be remembered gives the reader hope that at last love has prevailed.

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Love in Print in the Sixteenth Century pp 183–186 Cite as

Conclusion: Romeo + Juliet

• Ian Frederick Moulton  

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T he four books that form the focus of this study all demonstrate the extent to which culturally elite ideas about romantic love were spreading to a broader reading public throughout the sixteenth century. Conduct books, philosophical treatises, letter-writing manuals, and medical texts were all appearing in the vernacular, and their specialized knowledge was being made even more accessible through editorial apparatus such as indices, detailed tables of contents, and printed marginal annotations.

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On the play’s popularity on stage see William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet , The Oxford Shakespeare, ed. Jill. L. Levenson (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 69–70.

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The Capulets are one of the only households Shakespeare stages in which a child has both parents living. And Juliet’s mother and father are not necessarily a model of wedded bliss. See Sasha Roberts, William Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet (Plymouth, UK: Northcote House, 1998), 28–31.

Matteo Bandello, Novelle , ed. Luigi Russo and Ettore Mazzali (Milan: Rizzoli, 1990), 315: “… con particolar dolore dei Montecchi e Capelletti e general di tutta la città, furono fatte l’essequie con pompa gradissima; e volle il signore che in quello stesso avello gli amanti restarono sepolti. Il che fu cagione che tra i Montecchi e I Capelletti si fece la pace, ben che non molto dopo durassi.”

Plato, Symposium , ed. Kenneth Dover, Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1980), 204c.

Unless otherwise indicated, all references to the works of Plato are to The Collected Dialogues of Plato , ed. Edith Hamilton and Huntington Cairns (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1961).

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Moulton, I.F. (2014). Conclusion: Romeo + Juliet. In: Love in Print in the Sixteenth Century. Early Modern Cultural Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137405050_6

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Love concepts in Romeo and Juliet

Essay, 2000, eva wegrzyn (author).

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Table of contents

1. Introduction

2. Love concepts presented in the play 2.1 A try of a definition 2.2 The concept of love of the main character Romeo 2.3.The concept of love of the main character Juliet 2.4.Love as a matter of arrangement

3. The theme of destiny

4. Characterization of Romeo and Juliet 4.1. Personal conditions for the personality of a loving individual 4.2 Juliet 4.3 Romeo

5. Conclusion

6. Bibliography 6.1 Primary Literature 6.2 Secondary Literature

1. INTRODUCTION

Some contemporary sociologists postpone that our modern society is the inventor of the “real” love in the relationship between woman and man. Until the 18th century the family had the function of an economical community they say: the safety of existence had to be provided.

“Partnerwahl und Ehe waren ein vorwiegend ökonomisches Arrangement. Nach dem individuellen Zusammenpassen der künftigen Eheleute wurde wenig gefragt. [...] Wie die sozialhistorische Forschung zeigt, hat im Übergang zur modernen Gesellschaft auch ein tiefgehender Wandel von Familie und Ehe eingesetzt: Die Arbeitsgemeinschaft von einst nimmt immer mehr den Charakter einer Gefühlsgemeinschaft an. [...] Hier entsteht eine neue Form von Identität, die man am zutreffendsten vielleicht mit personenbezogener Stabilität bezeichnen kann.“ 1

In William Shakespeare’s tragic play “Romeo and Juliet”, written in 1592, sociological “concepts of community”, the economical one and the “community of feelings” are presented. This term paper will try to analyse these concepts and the (main) characters of the play behind a socio-historical and philosophical background. So it furthermore attempts to prove the existence of relationships in those days based on emotions like deep love.

2. LOVE CONCEPTS PRESENTED IN THE PLAY

2.1 a try of a definition.

First of all it is necessary to lay down what this abstract expression “love” means. Is it possible to formulate a true, general definition of love or could there be general instructions how to lead a satisfying relationship?

„Das Problem ist [...], dass heute die meisten Menschen [...] eine praktische Anleitung in der Kunst des Liebens erwarten. [Aber] Lieben ist eine persönliche Erfahrung die jeder nur für sich allein haben kann [...]“. 2

Therefore it is difficult to find a unique definition of love. One solution for this problematic topic could be to point out the basic characteristic features of love. It happens at least between two individuals, what means there is always an interaction. Therefore interaction means a kind of „activity“. Erich Fromm postulates exactly this:

„Liebe ist eine Aktivität und kein passiver Affekt. Sie ist etwas das man in sich selbst entwickelt[...] Ganz allgemein kann man den aktiven Charakter der Liebe so beschreiben, dass man sagt, sie ist in erster Linie ein Geben [...] Indem [ein Mensch] gibt, kann er nicht umhin, im anderen etwas zum Leben zu erwecken, und dieses Erweckte strahlt auf ihn zurück [...]“ 3

Despite this simplicity Erich Fromm’s definition of „real“ (and) mature love as an interaction or activity convinces. Chapter I of this paper claims that this concept which provides an „interpersonal stability“ is not an invention of the modern age. The following chapter tries to prove that this concept of love has already existed even more than 400 years ago.

2.2 The concept of love of the main character Romeo

The second act of the play is introduced by sonnet which points out the interaction of the young couple’s love: „Now Romeo is belov’d and loves again, Alike bewitched by the charm of looks [...]“ (Act II, Scene I) 4 . The phrase „bewitched“ may evoke the impression of superficiality in the young relationship. In the course of the following act the impression of a simple crush can be disproved.

First of all there is an accumulation of the phrase love. Romeo hides in the garden of the Capulets. In his monologue he underlines his deep feelings towards Juliet while he is watching her standing on the balcony. He compares her to the „fair sun“ (Act II, Scene II, l. 4) 5 what is a contrast to the „envious moon who is already sick and pale with grief“ (Act II, Scene II, l. 5). This could be an allusion to his former unfilled love to Rosalind. Juliet’s beauty let Rosalind appear pale and uninteresting. With the words „It is my lady, o it is my love!“ the young man underlines his feelings towards Juliet. In addition to that he describes her how he was able to climb over the high walls into Capulet’s garden: “With love’s light wings […]” (Act II, Scene II, line 66) he stepped into. The image of the “wings” emphasizes the easiness and the vividness love evoke in him. Referred to the second quotation from Erich Fromm an evidence for mature love based on interaction can be given. Especially when Romeo confirms his love to Juliet towards Friar Laurence in the third scene of act II: “I pray thee chide me not, her I love now- Doth grace for grace and love for love allow. The other one [Rosalind] did not so.” (Ll. 80-83).

2.3.The concept of love of the main character Juliet

The way Juliet presents her love towards Romeo generates merely a concept of mature love as described in chapter II of this paper. With her words “My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep: the more I give thee The more I have, for both are infinite […]” Erich Fromm’s concept of real and fulfilling love, which is based on interaction, furthermore on “giving and taking” is reflected perfectly.

2.4.Love as a matter of arrangement

In contrary to the presented concept of love, we also can find the traditiona l one in the play. It is based on an arrangement to gain social or/and economical advantages.

Paris, a noble man of Verona wishes to marry Juliet despite her young age. Capulet, her father appreciates this because he expects the advantages mentioned above. He seems to be very desperate: “Earth has swallow’s all my hopes” (Act I, SceneII, lines 14 and 15) His daughter is the only hope he has in his life, which indicates his whish of taking advantages through this marriage

Paris obviously does not know the girl well he intends to marry. At least they seem to be at the most just acquaintances. Capulet invites him to his “accustom’d feast” (Act I, Scene II, line 20) to give Paris the chance to get to know his daughter (better).

3. THE THEME OF DESTINY

Despite all true feelings and maturity, the relationship has no chance to develop into a long-term relationship. Their love is “star cross’d” (Act I, Prologue, p. 81), determined by a tragic destiny.

“[…] Less than Shakespeare’s other heroines and heroes the lovers are less the authors of their own fortune or misfortune. […] The obstacles to their happiness are not internal, but are villains or enemies, relatives or rivals; they suffer from no inner maladjustments or misunderstandings […] [Romeo and Juliet] are in the external action more deeply involved. Their struggle is not with each other, nor within themselves, but only with their quarrelling families, against the stars.” 6

The phrase “star cross’d” does not obviously intend to postulate a supernatural meaning like in Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth” where the witches create a supernatural atmosphere. The reason for the fatale ending of the love in this play results from “forth the fatal loins of these two foes” (p. 81, l 6). The social context, the two quarrelling families, gives “destiny” the basis.

4. CHARACTERIZATION OF ROMEO AND JULIET

4.1. personal conditions for the personality of a loving individual.

First of all, does love need certain conditions in the personality? Does a mature love also result from mature characters?

“ Wir brauchen wohl nicht besonders darauf hinzuweisen, dass die Fähigkeit zur Liebe- wird Liebe als ein Akt des Gebens verstanden- von der Charakterentwicklung des Betreffenden abhängt[...] Die Liebe ist aber nicht nur ein Geben, ihr „aktiver“ Charakter zeigt sich aber auch darin, dass sie in allen ihren Formen stets folgende Grundelemente enthält: Fürsorge, Verantwortungsgefühl, Achtung vor dem anderen und Erkenntnis. “

The following chapter attempts to analyse the characters of Ro meo and Juliet concerning their maturity for love.

The balcony-scene in the second scene of act II reveals Juliet’s characteristic features to make a true love, based on the first concept of love presented in this paper, possible. Juliet’s “realization” ( Erkenntnis , see quotation above) of Romeos frame of mind (he intends to have sex with her) is emphasized in lines 95 and following: “If thou think’st I am too quickly won, I’ll frown and be perverse and say thee nay.” This shows that Juliet has reached a certain state of personality and individuality. She is able to say “no” and to get her will through- despite her young age. Furthermore this is a hint for “sense of responsibility” ( Verantwortungsgefühl). Although she enjoys his presence, she has “no joy of this contract tonight: It is too rash, too unadvis’d, too sudden […]” (ll. 118 ff). Juliet intends to protect him from death and herself from trouble.

In chapter 2.2 I revealed the young man’s feelings as true and mature, but the state of development of his personality lies beyond the one of Juliet (see chapter 4.2). His intentions under her balcony are “too rash, too unadvis’d”. In the further course of the play Romeo keeps his “rash” behaviour and temper. The quarrel between Mercutio, Benvolio, Tybalt and Romeo reveals the fact. He regrets that he has not fight Tybalt before he killed Mercutio: “O sweet Juliet, thy beauty hath made me effeminate- and my temper soften’d valour’s steel. […] Away to heaven respective lenity, and fire-eye’d fury be my conduct now!” (P. 165, ll.125 ff).

5. CONCLUSION

In the paper at hand I firstly postponed, contrary to the opinion of the contemporary sociologist Ulrich Beck, that romantic love has already existed before the modern age. In my eyes William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” is prove for this existence. Their tragic relationship can also reflect our reality. We live in a multi- cultured society; people from all beliefs live close together. Often a relationship between for example a Christian boy and a Muslim girl cause trouble within and between their families. This can end in the separation of the couple or a brake of the relationship to the family or maybe also to suicide. The possible consequences of such a quarrel are endless. The intolerance between religious groups is just one reason for a socially difficult relationship.

That is why “the most excellent and lamentable tragedy of Romeo and Juliet” is a favoured play of dramatists and moviemakers. Many authors, songwriters etc. felt inspired by this story. The musical “The West-Side Story” is a good example for the inspiration “Romeo and Juliet” are. Finally I can say the story is timeless- this kind of love has always existed and will always exist.

6. BIBLIOGRAPHY

6.1 primary literature.

- William Shakespeare, „Romeo and Juliet“, ed. by Bryan Gibbons (London, 1980), The Arden Shakespeare.

6.2 Secondary Literature

- Erich Fromm, „Die Kunst des Liebens“, (Frankfurt am Main 1995). - Elmer Edgar Stoll: “Shakespeare’s young lovers”, (New York, 1966). - Ulrich Beck, Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim “Das ganz normale Chaos der Liebe”, (Frankfurt am Main 1990).

1 ..Ulrich Beck, Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim “Das ganz normale Chaos der Liebe”, (Frankfurt am Main 1990). Page 69ff.

2 Erich Fromm, „Die Kunst des Liebens“, (Frankfurt am Main 1995). Page 42ff.

3 Vgl. Erich Fromm.

4 William Shakespeare, „Romeo and Juliet“, ed. by Bryan Gibbons (London, 1980), The Arden Shakespeare.

5 Subsequently, all quotations from „Romeo and Juliet“ refer to this edition.

6 Elmer Edgar Stoll: “Shakespeare’s young lovers”, (New York, 1966).

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Romeo and Juliet

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Central Idea Essay

Are romeo and juliet really in love.

Today, we say something is like Romeo and Juliet to describe a love that surpasses all boundaries, but a close reading of the play suggests the lovers’ feelings are more complicated than pure love. If we look, we can find plenty of evidence that Romeo and Juliet’s love for one another is, at least initially, immature. Romeo begins the play claiming to be passionately in love with another woman, Rosaline. When he sees Juliet, he abandons Rosaline before he has even spoken to his new love, which suggests that his feelings for both women are superficial. Juliet, meanwhile, seems to be motivated by defying her parents. She is unenthusiastic about her parents’ choice of husband for her, and at the party where she is supposed to meet Paris, she instead kisses Romeo after exchanging just fourteen lines of dialogue with him. When Romeo returns to see Juliet, she is focused on marriage. For Juliet, part of the appeal of marriage is that it will free her from her parents: “I’ll no longer be a Capulet” (2.2.). She compares Romeo to a tame falcon—a “tassel-gentle” (2.2.)—which suggests that she believes she can control him. Juliet’s love for Romeo seems at least in part to be a desire to be freed from her parents’ control by a husband who can’t control her either.

More experienced characters argue that sexual frustration, not enduring love, is the root cause of Romeo and Juliet’s passion for one another. Mercutio tells Romeo “this drivelling love is like a great natural that runs lolling up and down to hide his bauble in a hole” (2.4.). 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 element of Juliet’s love. When she returns from meeting Romeo for the first time, the Nurse describes him in physical terms: “for a hand and a foot and body, though they be not to be talked on, yet they are past compare” (2.5.). Later, when Romeo is banished, the Nurse suggests that Juliet will be happier with Paris, because he is better looking: “An eagle, madam / Hath not so green, so quick, so fair an eye / As Paris hath” (3.5.).

Yet, while the two characters may have initially fallen for each other due to a mixture of convenience and lust, Romeo and Juliet’s language shows their passion maturing into real love. In the opening scenes, Romeo makes Benvolio and Mercutio laugh with his clichés about love. When he sees Juliet, the clichés drop away, and he begins to describe his feelings in original terms. When they are together, Romeo and Juliet create a shared vocabulary. In their first meeting, they compose a sonnet together using the religious language of pilgrimage. They both start using astrological language to describe their love. As their relationship develops, they use less rhyme, which has the effect of making their language feel less artificial. These changes in the lovers’ language show that they are growing together. In their final scene before they part for good, Romeo and Juliet are on the brink of talking about something other than their thwarted love (“Let’s talk” (3.5.)) before being prevented from having their first real conversation by Romeo’s banishment. The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is that the lovers never get the chance to see if their love will grow into a mature, enduring relationship.

Read about another pair of lovers in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice .

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Home / Essay Samples / Literature / Plays / Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet: Infatuation Or Love

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Plays , Writers

Romeo and Juliet , William Shakespeare

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Introduction, infatuation in romeo and juliet, the evolution of feelings, shared values and emotional intimacy, the tragic end.

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