Forbidden Love in Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare

In William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, love emerges as an amoral thing, leading to both destruction and happiness, overriding all other values and emotions. Shakespeare presents us with love as a central theme of the play which underpins much of the drama around the play's characters, It acts as a catalyst for the conflict between the Montagues and Capulets, creating Romeo and Juliet’s forbidden love, a love so profound and powerful it seems to be a force of fate.

Love changes your priorities as it also changes your perception of the world around you, love changes us as a person, it can lead us onto a better path but it can also lead us to some very dark places. In the balcony scene (Act 2, Scene 2), Juliet is aware that they shouldn’t be talking as she is aware that “they will murder” Romeo (Shakespeare 2.2, 75) if somebody finds out about them. Although I believe the verb “murder” is a hyperbole used to exaggerate how risky it is for them to be together, I believe that she gets her point across of there being consequences to their relationship. Furthermore “murder” usually implies killing somebody with malicious intention, whereas killing can be accidental or spontaneous, this further proves my point of love changing your priorities as they disregard the consequences that may come with their forbidden love, perhaps foreshadowing future events.

This sub-theme of “forbidden love” is perfect for Romeo and Juliet who could be seen as two teens who are desperate to love and to be loved, it could even be argued that they are not looking for love, instead they are looking for pleasure. They know the consequences and the lasting effect of their relationship but don’t seem to care as their perception of the world has already changed. They no longer believe that they can live without each other. When the friar informs Romeo about his banishment he believes that being banished is “torture and not mercy”(3.3, 31), A naive and illogical perception to his punishment as the friar states that it “is dear mercy”(3.3, 30). Romeo would rather die than to be apart from Juliet. Similarly Juliet is now at the point of desperation as she expresses how she has the “power to die.” (3.5, 255), both Romeo and Juliet are willing to do anything and everything for each other, because to each other, they are their everything.

Summarize  your analysis back to your original thesis and make personal connections to your everyday life/world. How can what you learned from Romeo and Juliet be applied to your life or the lives of others? What has changed in your understanding moving forward? 

Throughout my analysis, the impact of love on perception is clear. Love influences people to behave irrationally and to take chances that would otherwise seem irresponsible in the eyes of the more mature. Nonetheless love matters because it is what ties two people together through commitment.  Love can be hurtful, but it can also be beautiful, it is our job to figure out which is which. In my opinion, the moral of the story is about unhealthy obsessions like Romeo and Juliets love and the Montagues and Capulets rivalry. These unhealthy obsessions can drive you away from what is most important and make you lose sight of your goals similar to our own lives. Romeo and Juliet tells a story about the consequences of when you lose sight of what is important.