True Love And Infatuation In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

Shakespeare showed that teenagers are too young to distinguish physical attraction from ‘true love’ through Romeo, from his incredibly sudden change in attraction to his way with words and compliments for Juliet. Romeo proved he was incapable of differentiating ‘true love’ from physical attraction through his abrupt shift of interest from Rosaline to Juliet. Romeo proved that he is unable to distinguish between these when he was at the Capulet party and he fell for Juliet the moment he saw her. Romeo wondered, “Did my heart love till now? Foreswear it, sight, / For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night(1.5.59-60)”. Romeo’s words clearly show how he cannot tell the difference between love and physical attraction. He starts off by saying “Did my heart love till now” which indicates that he is second-guessing if he ever had true feelings for Rosaline(who he declared to be deeply in love with). Earlier, he claimed that Rosaline was beautiful and he wouldn’t be able to get over her, however, the moment he saw Juliet he was convinced that was the first time he felt true love. By saying “For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night” and connecting it back to the line about him questioning his former feelings of ‘love’, it is clear that he is only interested in Juliet because of her looks. He hadn’t even had one conversation with her and he was sure he was in love from the minute he saw her. Keyword: saw. He knew nothing about her personality, but he told himself that he was in love with her, so it is clear that Romeo cannot tell the difference between ‘true love’ and physical attraction. There were many additional instances after this one that demonstrated Romeo’s failure to tell ‘true love’ apart from attraction to one’s physical appearance. This time, the Friar put Romeo’s quick change into perspective when he confronted Romeo about his so-called ‘love’ for Rosaline at the church. The Friar scolded, “Holy Saint Francis, what a change is here! / Is Rosaline, whom thou didst love so dear, / So soon forsaken? Young men’s love then lies / Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes / [...] Thy old groans ring yet in my ancient ears / Thou and these woes were all for Rosaline. / [...] And art thou changed? (2.3. 69-72, 78, 82-83)”. The Friar pointed out multiple times during this scene that Romeo (and young men in general) think about love the wrong way. Statements like “what a change is here! / Is Rosaline, whom thou didst love so dear” and “Young men’s love then lies / Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes” show how Romeo’s sudden love for Juliet is solely due to her looks. The sentence about young men is saying that they don’t love with their hearts, but with their eyes, which means that they love what they see, not what they feel. When Friar said,  “Thy old groans ring yet in my ancient ears” it showed how Romeo was so upset over the rejection of Rosaline and that he would complain frequently about it. To feel that way for someone and then fall head over heels for someone else so shortly afterward is the point that the Friar is trying to get across in these lines, especially in the parts that read, “Thou and these woes were all for Rosaline. / [...] And art thou changed?”. Romeo had himself and everyone else convinced that he would never be able to get over Rosaline, but he moved on in the blink of an eye. He was sulking about Rosaline and truly believed that he was in love with her, but he suddenly changed his mind when he noticed Juliet. Through the Friar’s words about Romeo’s feelings for Rosaline and Juliet, it is obvious that Romeo is too young and immature to tell ‘true love’ and physical attraction apart. Romeo’s quick and sudden interest and love for Juliet after pining for Rosaline explicitly shows how he, and adolescents in general, are too young to distinguish physical attraction from ‘true love’.