Develops from fatal and destined to
forlorn to perfunctory to pure permeates text from prologue to end
Prologue – “star-crossed lovers” “death-marked love”
LOVE IS FIRST PRESENTED AS PREDETERMINED
- thwarted by malign stars - external forces – separated by cruel circumstance
- death-marked - doomed to fail - set in stone
Introduction of Romeo - “O brawling love, o loving hate”
“Feather of lead, bright smoke”
LOVE IS THEN PRESENTED AS melancholy, forlorn,
one-sided, unrequited, miserable – in a stereotypical and clichéd light - pining for Rosaline moody – infatuation –
lust not love (“Chaste”, “waste”) thus objectifying Rosaline, erroneously
mistaking it for love - locked in an artificial night due to the lack of
reciprocation – lengthy ramble containing antithesis and juxtaposition show his
internal turmoil and the deep conflict he has within – love is portrayed to be
one-sided, a form of torment causing intense internal conflict, and as
insincere and easily confused with lust
Introduction of Juliet - “I’ll look to like if looking liking
move. But no more deep will I endart mine eye, than your consent gives strength
to make it fly.”
Juliet’s response to her mother’s veiled
order of question – wordplay in first line – non-committal – love is presented
as a duty, a chore, a responsibility, an expectation – to consummate a marriage
is to simply fulfill a job and uphold a tradition – logical, cold,
methodological, forced, false, logical, mechanical - not so much a feeling - Juliet
is placid and apathetic to the notion of love - not interested in any such
discussion – Paris’ method of proposal only accentuates the intrinsically
flawed system of marriage – preserve his status, name and social standing
Meeting – “If I profane with my unworthiest hand, this holy
shrine, the gentle sin is this”
Romeo uses a metaphor to describe Juliet
as a holy shrine – he is not worthy – Juliet is sacred, pious, holy - religious
semantic field with connotations of faith, religious imagery running through their
exchange – passionate love – absolute devotion – fervent, zealous, ardent –
connotations of purity – magical, perfect, pure – spiritual, a necessity,
goodness of God - Perfect sonnet form – 14 lines – iambic pentameter, heartbeat
rhythm – love is perfect – harmonious relationship – “kisses by the book”
however audience acknowledges he’s already shed most of his pretenses
“she doth teach the torches to burn
bright” – Romeo sought sanctuary in
the dark but the artificial night he fabricated for himself offered him no
solace, it is only through Juliet’s love that he finds satisfaction
“That which we call a rose by any other
word would smell as sweet”
Love overpowers
family names – strength of their love triumphs over whatever rifts exist
between their households – rhetorical interrogative demands the authority of
the regimental division of their families –mocking imperial importance of
family status and history
"But passion lends them power, time
means, to meet, temp'ring extremities with extreme sweet."
Romeo and Juliet forge onward in pursuit
of their love — empowered to dare cross thresholds that have before been
barriers – tempering steel – connotations of their love being strengthened by
the obstacles they face
Balcony scene – “Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,” “winged
messenger of heaven”
Juliet is his sun – elevating Juliet,
his love, to a heavenly status – aligns her with the sun and the stars –
celestial metaphors - suggests that love is heavenly and otherworldly and its
beauty is angelic like Juliet’s beauty – extended metaphor - sincere and deeply
religious imagery, a more spiritual consideration – ethereal - contrast this to
the artificiality of Romeo’s feelings for Rosaline and his over-inflated,
melodramatic descriptions
Exploration of other forms of love:
“And
you be mine, I’ll give you to my friend, and you be not, hang, beg, starve, die
in the streets”
Possessive article – downward divergence
- absolute possession of Juliet – threatening and intimidating – tyrannical – good
intent with her best interests at heart however misguided and insensitive –
paternal caring relationship albeit overly possessive between father and
daughter
