Examine how Shakespeare presents the many form of love through different characters in "Romeo and Juliet"?
From the very beginning of the play the theme of love is introduced in the prologue. Most of its references to love, however, are described in terms of death. In the chorus we learnt that,
"A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life"
Act1 scene 1 and again we hear,
"The fearful passage of death -marked love" Act1 scene 1
[The play Romeo and Juliet is written by William Shakespeare in Elizabethan times. Many things have changed since then- however the importance of love is just as important today as it ever was].
The play opens with a prologue this is delivered by chorus.
The drama is set in Verona. Two families "Capulets" and "Montagues" hate each other because of an "ancient grudge" that has lasted for a long time. Both families have blood on their hands.
Mass-produced colour photolithography on paper for...
Romeo and Juliet with Friar Laurence
English: Title page of the second quarto edition (...Each family, "Caplulets" and the "Montagues" give birth to children who two fall in love with each other. Before the play even starts we learn that they die a tragic death.
One of the views of love which Shakespeare explores is the understanding of love that Romeo, one of the main play's protagonists, has. Romeo is a genuine romantic. He believes that love is all about emotions and using fine poetic images and flowery language. It is about grand gestures and broken hearts.
[The ways Shakespeare deals with the theme of love is by presenting the audience with the many different kinds of love human's experiences.] Before Romeo enters the scene Benvolio and old Montague discuss Romeo's strange behaviour. In the early part of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo is presented by Shakespeare as an immature, and over dramatic and has a very misguided understanding of love.