Different Love in Romeo And Juliet Essay

Gigi Leung 10C

How does Shakespeare show that the love Romeo has for Juliet is different to what he felt for Rosaline?

In William Shakespeares play Romeo and Juliet, protagonist Romeo Montague falls in love two with characters, Rosaline and Juliet Capulet, one after another. Shakespeare shows that the love Romeo has for Juliet is different to what he felt for Rosaline in several ways, such as showing a change in the perspective Romeo sees love, by varying Romeos language to depict the two, and his attitude towards dealing with both of them.

Firstly, Shakespeare demonstrates the differences between Romeos love for Rosaline and for Juliet by showing a change in the perspective he sees love. Love was Romeos source of depression. When Romeo finds out that Rosaline will never return the love he has for her, he does not grieve about Rosaline, but instead grieves about how Why, such [sadness] is loves transgression. When he mourns to Benvolio about love, it gives the reader an impression that Romeo is not in love with Rosaline, but rather favouring the idea of love. On the contrary, when Romeo falls in love with Juliet, love becomes his source of hope. When Romeo sees Juliet at the Capulet feast, Romeo admits that he neer saw true beauty till this night. Rosaline immediately becomes a long-lost memory. This moment lets readers realise that Romeo sees the difference in the love he thought he felt for Rosaline and the love he now feels for Juliet. Romeos perspective on love has changed from being pessimistic to true and optimistic.

Shakespeare also shows the dissimilarities between the love Romeo feels for Rosaline and for Juliette by varying the language Romeo uses to depict the two. Romeo never compared Rosaline to any objects. He had only emphasized her beauty: the sun itself has never seen anyone as beautiful since the world began. In addition, he never tied his feelings along with his portrayal of Rosaline, hinting that he loved by the book. However, he compared Juliet to a variety of beautiful objects mostly relating to light. It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. He compares her to the sun because she has become such a big part of him that the earth revolves around her. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon. She is also the light that brightens his dark world. The moon can be a symbol for Rosaline. His love for Juliet, the sun, has risen and killed the feelings he had for Rosaline He also uses religious imagery to portray her, including as is a winged messenger of heaven implies that only divinity beyond the ordinary world can be used to measure up to Juliet. One can tell that Romeos love for Juliet was much stronger because he could paint a picture of her with words, while only beautiful was used to describe Rosaline.

Lastly, Shakespeare illustrates the differences between the love Romeo feels for Rosaline and for Juliet by showing Romeos attitude towards dealing with both of them. Rosaline is a niece of Capulet. However, Shakespeare shows very little sign of Romeo being keen to approach Rosaline. In contrast, when he finds out that Juliet is a Capulet, he says my life is my foes debt. He knew it would be difficult to marry Juliet, but it did not stop him from approaching Juliet to prove the seriousness of his feelings. On the other hand, Romeo is much more serious about Juliet. When Romeo misunderstood the Nurse for Juliet thinking of him as a murder, he attempts suicide. This explains how much Juliet means to him. Killing himself because he thought he had lost of Juliet shows that he already sees her as his life. A major difference can be seen in Romeos attitude, that he is more deeply passionate towards Juliet in comparison to his shallow longing for Rosaline.

Showing that the love Romeo has for Juliet is different to what he felt for Rosaline is very important as love is a main theme in the play. Shakespeare has successfully illustrated these differences through different aspects of the play.