Love Concepts in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

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1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. The question of love in Romeo and Juliet At first sight Romeo and Juliet may seem to be a simple, domestic romance. It has been moving the audiences of more than three centuries and has been the source for many adaptations like Gottfried Keller's Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe or Bernstein's musical The West Side Story. It is one of the most widely known works of Shakespeare and shares a large popularity up to today. But beyond this tragic and romantic love-story, which uncountable people have simply enjoyed on stage or screen, there could be more: a didactic message, a hidden social criticism or some elaborated concepts. Obviously, one of the central subjects dealt with in Romeo and Juliet is the subject of love. This interpretation attempts to find out whether there are distinct ideas of love beyond the level of simple sentiment. This question is not only an important aspect to be regarded in an interpretation of the play as a whole, but it will also influence the production of a theatrical performance of the play. 1.2. Preliminary remarks on the method of investigation 1.2.1. Love "concept"? - A qualification But this question may immediately lead to inconsistencies, as we don't know if there is a clear and constant idea of a complex issue like love. The play provides a cohesive but nevertheless complex plot. So we can't expect to obtain a unified concept of love like a philosopher would give, for instance. Yet we can look into the play carefully and we may try to find out to what its elements help to elucidate the question of love. The evaluation to which one will be led after interpreting the treatment of love in Romeo and Juliet depends on the aspect on which the investigation focuses: if, for example, the deeds of Romeo and Juliet, their errors and responsibility are regarded as the crucial point of the
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