Are Romeo and Juliet Really in Love?
There are a lot of techniques in Romeo and Juliet like iambic pentameter and sonnets were written as well to demonstrate that a strong love can exist between 2 people. They were stuck in their own family’s conflicts that prevented them from freely loving who they want. Even if the play is about Romeo and Juliet’s affair, there are a number of parts that say they both got involved with other people. For instance, Juliet and Paris; they were arranged to be married to gain power and support. On the other hand, Romeo was attracted to Roseline which is leaning more towards physical attraction rather than love. Although, these situations both contributed to how Romeo and Juliet met.
The very first thing they noticed about each other are their looks like the way their hands look and the lips. When a person is prominently focused on someone’s body, this is a sure sign of lust and the primary things they mention to each other when they meet are about their looks. However, this is the same as any start of a relationship, but it only proves that their relationship was rushed based on their desires and neglected to see each other as a person.
Actually, throughout the play there are a lot of unrequited love, true love, courtly love, and love at first sight which a lot of people are looking for. Romeo and Juliet did not really talk for long in most parts of the play. Not to mention that they sometimes had to cut the discussion and no quality time was spent. Even if this happened, they both claim that they are in love with each other despite not really knowing each other well.
In the latter part of the play, there is a twist and their love starts to progress and becomes more romantic. This is clearly seen because Shakespeare is now using a better form of language and there is more fluency in the iambic pentameter. In this part of the play, Romeo calls Juliet his ‘home’ which is a symbol of his real feelings for her. A home is a safe and comforting haven where a person is not pressured to be act different from who they truly are. This means that Romeo is very at ease with Juliet even if they have not known each other for a long time. In this era, marriages where most of the time were only for money and power; the couple did not really love each other, but their case was different.
The sincerity of Romeo towards Juliet is seen in the play and how true their love is. By using the iambic pentameter, Shakespeare was able to show the contrasting feelings they had from how other people viewed love. The love Rosaline and Paris spoke of was in free verse and mostly talked about love’s physical side. Unlike the sincerity Romeo and Juliet with each other. The beginning of the play tells the audience that love existed between them even before they really got to know each other. Based on this, it can be said that the play’s message is about true love and its authentic state can exist between 2 people even if they have not known each other for a long time.
