Love Kills in Romeo and Juliet Essay Example

Romeo and Juliet, the famous play written by William Shakespeare, has many elements that portray the idea of love. This play, set in Verona entails two young, star-crossed lovers. Romeo and Juliet fight through obstacles just so that they can live together. Along their journey of love, many things go wrong for them, causing serious consequences. Throughout the five acts of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare develops the message that the intimacy of young romance can be greatly overpowered by immaturity and naivety.

Though Romeo and Juliet fall in “love” at first sight, they make naive decisions without thinking of the consequences. When Romeo sees Juliet for the first time at the celebration held at the Capulet household, he carelessly asks her for a kiss without thinking of where he is and the possible repercussions: “If I profane with my unworthiest hand, This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand, To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss” (Shakespeare 1.5.93-96). Romeo personifies Juliet’s hand as a holy place that his hand is unworthy of visiting. Furthermore, Romeo says that if she feels the touch of his hand to be sinful, his lips are there to repent his mistakes with a kiss. In this context, Romeo is present at the Capulet’s house for a celebration. He is a part of the Montague family, and they are rivals with the Capulet family. Granted, Romeo is wearing a mask at this party like all the other men, but if he were to be caught approaching the Capulet’s daughter, his life would potentially be on the line. Romeo gets away with his carelessness in this circumstance, but he doesn’t realize that luck won’t always be on his side. This quality of naivety is demonstrated later in the play, this time by Juliet, after she and Romeo have expressed their love for one another. Juliet, despite knowing of the enmity between her family and Romeo’s family, artlessly believes that they can proceed with their wedding without any complications, and says: “If that thy bent of love be honourable, Thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow, By one that I'll procure to come to thee” (2.2.143-145). In this situation, Juliet is telling Romeo that if his intentions as a lover are truly honorable and he wants to marry her, then he should tell her by the next day. Juliet’s innocence can be seen here, as she brings up the idea of immediate marriage without a second thought. According to an article by Emily Underwood, she claims that “teenagers have a reputation for courting danger that is often attributed to immaturity or poor decision-making.” (Underwood). Juliet thinks that instant marriage is a good idea, yet there are many potential consequences, including the danger of being banished from Verona by the Capulet family. Her impatience to get married and Romeo’s unawareness of his surroundings are two key examples that go to show that throughout the play, the two characters made decisions and interacted with each other without thinking of the possible outcomes.

Shakespeare illustrates Romeo and Juliet’s immaturity with their lack of sense, as they impulsively fall in love with each other. Romeo’s immaturity is indicated when he claims to fall in love with Juliet upon seeing her, forgetting about his previous longing for Rosaline: “Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night” (Shakespeare 1.5.50-51). In this scene, Romeo asks himself if his heart had ever loved anyone before that moment. He says that he had never seen true beauty until that night. Here, it seems as if he has completely forgotten his love for Rosaline. He was head over heels for her, and he could not seem to talk about anything but her before he saw Juliet. This shows his immaturity in two ways. First off, he forgets everything about his previous love and instantly sets his eyes upon a new woman. This suggests that he is unaware of what love really means and that he takes a small crush to be true love. Apart from this, he is basing his desire for Juliet solely on her appearance. He knows nothing about her personality, and he is essentially judging a book by its cover. Later on in the play, there are also moments when Juliet shows her immaturity while trying to deal with difficult situations. Juliet’s childishness can be seen when she contemplates committing suicide unless Friar Lawrence has a plan to help her and Romeo: “Tell me not, Friar, that thou hear’st of this, Unless thou tell me how I may prevent it. If in thy wisdom thou canst give no help, Do thou but call my resolution wise, And with this knife I’ll help it presently” (4.1.51-55). Juliet hopes that Friar Lawrence has heard about her marriage with Romeo. If he doesn’t have a plan to help her, she believes that killing herself with her knife would be an appropriate solution to the problem at hand. If she was truly mature, she would have tried to think of a constructive solution, instead of resorting to the extreme and unnecessary choice. She does not have much experience with dealing with major problems either, which does not help her to think of a real fix. Romeo and Juliet both exhibit their immaturity as they fall in love while barely knowing each other and making decisions without giving a second thought.

In Romeo and Juliet, the lovers’ inability to be mature and intelligent was profound. Their lack of these two qualities had many negative effects on their lives, and the same would follow if this situation were to occur in the present time. Shakespeare accurately portrays love to be dangerous if the right decisions are not made.