Love vs. Lust Practice Essay

The interesting love of Romeo and Juliet a play by William Shakespeare shows that most of its moments of love is actually lust. The couple see each other with true interest in one another for each other’s beauty and falls instantly in love after a small amount of talking. The method sound strange to us nowadays as we fall in love after a long period of time then marry later on if believed we have found the one.  Shakespeare’s play of a young love is sculpted around the time of the Elizabethan era and he has created the characters to feel a sensitive love around each other.

Romeo’s character talks of virginity and how he is thrilled to take Juliet’s,

“Her vestal livery is but sick and green,

And none but fools do wear it. Cast it off!

It is my lady. Oh, it is my love.

Oh, that she knew she were here!”
(Act 2, Scene 2, 8-11)

Romeo has referred to Juliet’s virginity quite a few times and within the quotation he believes that only fools hold onto their virginity and her virginity makes her looks sick and green. It shows the lust Romeo has for Juliet, he wants her to know how he truly loves her and he wants to cure her from her virginity. Shakespeare has crafted the play into a work that shows the Elizabethan rules of society such as the use of virginity and how it is to be held until marriage.

Romeo is considered to be both sensitive and immature as he falls for the beauty and talks of the women like they are an angel from the heavens. Juliet talks of Romeo romantically as well which is creating a belief that Juliet is falling in love with her own words. It is strange as to how they fall for each other so soon, many people believe it is sweet yet silly as the couple are only teenaged and have not yet lived to be worrying about love. It is also impractical how the couple believe that they cannot live without one another. This leads them to a terrible death hence the play’s ‘Tragedy’ genre.

 “A thousand times the worse to want thy light.

Love goes toward love as schoolboys from their books,

But love from love, toward school with heavy books.”
(Act 2, Scene 2, 159-161)

Romeo is explaining his joy in seeing his love and his anguish in losing her, he cannot live without her. Although the couple within the play talk of how they are serious about their love for one another,

“My loves true passion, therefore pardon me,

And not impute this yielding to light love,

Which the dark night hath so discovered.”
(Act 2, Scene 2, 113-115)

Juliet talks of how she is in love with Romeo already but just because she has been so fast – does not mean she is not serious about it. Shakespeare has given us every reason to believe that they are not serious and that they just have sensitive emotions but he is also telling us otherwise.

William Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet shows moments of love but is questioned as being lust instead. The character’s quick to fall for each other and rush to get married has got the audience to consider whether it is love or lust. The talk of virginity, taking into the fact of the Elizabethan society rules at the time and the sensitivity of the characters emotions has efficiently created the feel that Shakespeare wanted to portray within the romantic tragedy.

~By Gabrielle Burey 2012~