Romeo and Juliet: Love vs. Lust
True Love Mistaken for True Lust
“An intense feeling of deep attraction.” That is the definition of love. Love between a man and a dog, a kid and ice-cream, a mother and her family, and love between two selfless people. This is true love. In the play, Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, the feeling of attraction between the two main characters is not true love. The setting of this play is the streets of Verona, Italy, during a time when arranged marriages at the age of 14 were socially acceptable. Two young teens, Romeo and Juliet, were convinced that they had feelings for each other, but acted more out of lust than anything else. Lust is defined as “a very strong sexual desire”, and it becomes more apparent as the play progresses that these two young teens act on lustful desires. Love is more potent than lust, but it is clear that Romeo and Juliet act out of sheer lust, not love. In Act I of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo claims to have a deep and meaningful love for Rosaline. A couple of days later, Romeo claimed to be deeply in love with Juliet. This is first sign that this “love” may not be so real after all. Juliet is the rebound, or plan-B for Romeo. The only difference between Romeo’s previous situation with Rosaline and the situation with Juliet is that Juliet “loves” Romeo back. Romeo and Juliet begin to talk about getting married the very first time they meet. When two young teenagers are desperate for love, all realization and reason is lost because they are overcome by emotion. Friar Lawrence, a man of integrity and wisdom, summarizes the relationship between Romeo and Juliet as nothing more than immature lusting for one another. This immature lusting may be out of protest of the idea of an “arranged marriage”, or simply being a young teens attempting to be rebel without a cause. Even the language Romeo and Juliet use when they speak is focused solely on appearance and looks. For example, Romeo is quoted with the
“An intense feeling of deep attraction.” That is the definition of love. Love between a man and a dog, a kid and ice-cream, a mother and her family, and love between two selfless people. This is true love. In the play, Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, the feeling of attraction between the two main characters is not true love. The setting of this play is the streets of Verona, Italy, during a time when arranged marriages at the age of 14 were socially acceptable. Two young teens, Romeo and Juliet, were convinced that they had feelings for each other, but acted more out of lust than anything else. Lust is defined as “a very strong sexual desire”, and it becomes more apparent as the play progresses that these two young teens act on lustful desires. Love is more potent than lust, but it is clear that Romeo and Juliet act out of sheer lust, not love. In Act I of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo claims to have a deep and meaningful love for Rosaline. A couple of days later, Romeo claimed to be deeply in love with Juliet. This is first sign that this “love” may not be so real after all. Juliet is the rebound, or plan-B for Romeo. The only difference between Romeo’s previous situation with Rosaline and the situation with Juliet is that Juliet “loves” Romeo back. Romeo and Juliet begin to talk about getting married the very first time they meet. When two young teenagers are desperate for love, all realization and reason is lost because they are overcome by emotion. Friar Lawrence, a man of integrity and wisdom, summarizes the relationship between Romeo and Juliet as nothing more than immature lusting for one another. This immature lusting may be out of protest of the idea of an “arranged marriage”, or simply being a young teens attempting to be rebel without a cause. Even the language Romeo and Juliet use when they speak is focused solely on appearance and looks. For example, Romeo is quoted with the