Romeo is talking in paradoxes; he does this to emphasize that love is confusing. He says that love is everything except for what it actually is. Since Romeo thinks that he is in love although no one loves him, love can be two things that are opposites at the same time. Although Romeo is happy to be in love, he does not like the thought of love itself because if no one loves him back, love will become more confusing. Romeo is hopelessly in love with Rosalind which he explains when he says, "I am too sore enpiercèd with his shaft To soar with his light feathers, and so bound, I cannot bound a pitch above dull woe.
Friar Lawrence makes fun of Romeo saying that young men only love what they see. They do not love with their hearts but with their eyes and thoughts. Their love is shallow and superficial. He questions whether Romeo shed a single tear for Rosaline before moving on. Friar Lawrence brings out Romeo’s fickle minded nature by showing how he falls in love with a new woman, Juliet, in a very short time frame.
“Enough! No more, Tis not so sweet now as it was before” (Shakespeare 513). Shakespeare uses Orsino’s indecisiveness when listening to music as a direct comparison to his restlessness with love. It’s apparent that he is absorbed in the drama that he has created for himself. He finds pleasure in hungering for love, but never being satiated.
Now think about Romeo’s “love at first sight” with Juliet, they cannot get enough of each other, weakened at each other’s disappearance. This is an example of an impulse relationship. They don’t care about their feuding families; they just want to be
William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” explores true love in amongst feuding families whilst exploiting the notion that deception leads to catastrophic misfortune. The young poetically portrayed Romeo’s inability to control unchecked emotions, directs him to being disloyal amongst family and his “star crossed [lover]” Juliet. Furthermore, Juliet’s love for “(her) Romeo” causes her to turn a blind eye to his disloyalty and hastily act on his “banished”, through these actions she uses trickery to deceive her family and because of her love affected decisions. Friar Lawrence along with the nurse, cause confusion for the hasty lovers which renders to heightening the family’s feud. Shakespeare presents the concept that deceptive decisions lead to tragic events.
If it be so (as so’tis put on me, / And that in way of caution), I must tell you/ You do not understand yourself so clearly/ As it behooves my daughter and your honor.”(I, iii, 99-106) Even Ophelia’s brother and father warn her about Hamlet, and how he may be using her but she does not listen because she is in love with Hamlet and does not believe he would use her. “Perhaps he loves you now, / And now no soil nor cautel doth besmirch/ The virtue of his will; but you must fear, / His greatness weighed, his will is not his own,” (I, iii, 17-20). After finding out that Hamlet murder her father and left for England, Ophelia is shock and goes mad because she thinks Hamlet
Rosaline is unobtainable, just like Juliet was at first. Romeo's words for his love for Rosaline are very insincere and he discusses his love for Rosaline using sad language "Aye me sad hours seem long", "In sadness, cousin, I love a woman." When Benvolio asks who he loves, Romeo does not give a straight answer but instead complains that she does not return his love "From Love's weak childish bow she lives uncharmed."
Although Romeo and Juliet is classified as a tragedy, it more closely resembles Shakespeare's comedies than his other tragedies. The lovers and their battle with authority is reminiscent of As You Like It and The Winter's Tale. "Characteristically, those comedies concern themselves with the inborn, unargued stupidity of older people and the life-affirming gaiety and resourcefulness of young ones. The lovers thread their way through obstacles set up by middle aged vanity and impercipience. Parents are stupid and do not know what it best for their children or themselves .
Beatrice expresses her acceptance of Benedick’s love but does not realize the love inside Beatrice exists artificially. Beatrice’s faith in her emotions leaves her vulnerable to any criticism of her love to Benedick. For instance, when Hero commands Margaret to fetch Beatrice, Hero and Ursula purposely allow Beatrice to listen to them to invoke a stronger attraction in Beatrice towards Benedick. Shakespeare allows the first sign of the theme deception to manifests itself within Hero and Ursula’s conversation. Shakespeare aims to project a very harsh form of deception here in order to emphasize the power of deception of love.
He even takes it a step further stating, “The very essence of romance is uncertainty. If I ever get married, I’ll certainly try to forget the fact.” (I), depicting marriage as completely unromantic. He uses euphonious words, like “romance” and “love”, to show that the character does have an appeal to it just as the common man does. But he, the common man, is too afraid of such a great