Love In Romeo And Juliet

In Act One of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, the theme of love is constantly suggested and implied. Shakespeare includes love to emphasize many different possible opinions one could have towards it. Characters in Act One such as Romeo, Capulet, Benvolio and Juliet all mention love but they each refer to it in a unique manner. Romeo and Capulet are two unique people who treat love quite differently: Romeo treats love as a fickle emotion that can happen instantly and at any time, while Capulet thinks of love as a more complex gesture and process, that cannot be so easily obtained through one interaction. Shakespeare begets Romeo as a typical teenage boy who simply does not know any better and thus sets Romeo as someone who does believe …show more content…
When Paris asks Capulet for Juliet’s hand in marriage, Capulet responds, “My child is yet a stranger in the world./ She hath not seen the change of fourteen years./ Let two more summers wither in their pride/ Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride”(1.2.8-11). This shows that Capulet understands that in order for love to occur, one cannot be so young and naive. Capulet also understands the responsibilities and side effects of love, and so going against the classic tradition of arranged marriage as soon as possible, Capulet does not want to marry Juliet if she is not ready. This restrained but responsible view would protect whoever it is applied to and therefore would save the aforementioned individual from possible pain and needless suffering. But while this is one of the positives to this doctrine of love, the negative would be that because the basic principle is that one should not try to experience love if they are not mature enough, then one would never be able to try in the first place due to the unquantifiable aspect of maturity. The person would never be considered “ready” because one could always mature further. Capulet, however, also acknowledges that if Juliet were to fall in love with Paris and would want to marry him then therefore it would be her right to do so.

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