Discuss Love And Marriage In Romeo And

Juliet Essay, Research Paper

Discuss the presentation of the

themes of love and marriage in .Romeo and Juliet. ........... Love and

marriage are key themes that run throughout .Romeo and Juliet.. The opinions of

these two topics differ from each character. Shakespeare based .Romeo and

Juliet. on an earlier poem by Arthur Brooke, .Romeus and Juliet.. The opinions

of the authors about the subjects of love and marriage differ and it is shown

in their writing. Brooke condemned the conduct of Romeo and Juliet in a prose

address at the beginning of his book, describing them as: .A couple of unfortunate lovers, thralling themselves to unhonest

desire, neglecting the authority and advise of parents.attempting all

adventures of peril for the attaining of their wished lust (and) abusing the

honourable name of marriage.. On the other hand Shakespeare took a more gentle approach

and was sympathetic to the lover.s plight as by the end of the play we only

feel sorry for the lovers whom had to battle against their obstructive

families.In this play it seems as if

love is doomed from the start by the society full of hate in Verona. The whole

play could have been based on the oxymoron .loving

hate., as love will always win over hate. From the very beginning of the

play love is condemned and in the prologue all references to love are described

with death: .A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life. Act1 sc1 8 .The

fearful passage of death-marked love. Act1 sc1 9.There

are always interruptions in the love scenes because hate is the backdrop. The

lovers. whole situation is fraught with danger. This is illustrated both in the

Balcony scene (Act2 sc2) and after the lovers have consummated the marriage

(Act3 sc5). During the balcony scene there is always the fear that Romeo may be

caught by one of Capulet.s guards and could be killed: .The orchard walls are high and hard to climb, And the place death, considering who thou art, If

any kinsmen find thee here.. Act2 sc2 63-65The

feud in the play has corrupted many people especially Sampson, as his idea of

lovemaking is purely aggressive. His hate for the house of Montague is so

intense that he even wants to rape their women. . Tis true, and therefore women being the weaker

vessels are ever thrust to the wall: therefore I will push Montague.s men from

the wall, and thrust his maids to the wall.. Act1 sc1 14-16 There

we also have a sexist remark from Sampson saying that women are inferior to

men. In my opinion love is equal so here we see Sampson talking of sex in a

crude way and women as being subordinate. The effect of these words shows us

that the feud has taken over the hearts of these men so that they no longer

know what love truly is. Courtly

love is a literary convention and Romeo is the stereotypical Petrarchan lover

who pines for the love of a woman who is unobtainable, although Romeo goes too

far in his vocation as a courtly lover thus making his love seem pretence.

Romeo illustrates what was expected of a courtly lover: He

stays in sycamore groves, .Where underneath

the grove of sycamore. Act1 sc1 12 He shuts himself away banished from society, preferring

night to day, .Shuts up windows, locks fair daylight out, and makes himself an artificial night. Act1 sc1 130-131. Romeo is very melodramatic and

one of his lines can sum up the whole play: .Here.s much to do

with hate, but more with love. Act1 sc1 166 .We seem to get the impression that Romeo is

in love with the idea of being in love. The overuse of these oxymorons in his

speech makes the effect become artificial. .Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health, still-waking sleep, that is not what it is!. Act1 sc1 171-172Romeo wants to be a courtly lover so he uses the language he expects

lovers to use. But he uses too much so that it begins to seem forced. It is a

clever use of language but too extreme. Romeo.s second speech is a very

intellectual use of wording: .Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers. eyes, Being vexed, a sea nourished with loving tears. Act1 sc1 182-183. This

speech shows us the two sides of love . happiness and rejection. A courtly

lover like Romeo sees both these sides of love although Romeo rarely sees the

happy side. Rosaline does not want anything to do with him but

Romeo still thinks that he is so in love that he has lost his identity. .Tut, I have lost myself; I am not here; This is not Romeo, he.s some other where.. Act1 sc1 195-196 .This is

Romeo again being over dramatic and I think it sounds a little pathetic and his

constant wooing of Rosaline will not change her mind. He complains that she

refuses to marry so her beauty will die with her. He has no consideration for

her feelings so maybe Romeo.s view of courtly love is a little self centred. It

shows that he may be again in love with the idea of being in love. Romeo

continues to protest that his love for Rosaline would neve

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