Annie
O’Donnell
English
Period 3
January
2004
“With
love’s light wings did I o’erperch these walls; for stony limits cannot hold
love can do, that dares love attempt, therefore thy kinsmen are not stop me.” (page
796, lines 66-69) When people hear the title Romeo and Juliet they often
think of a famous couple who are the centerpiece of a tragic love story. But
was the relationship between these two “star crossed lovers” true love or just
infatuation? What is the real meaning of love? Webster’s Dictionary defines the
word love as a strong passionate feeling one person has for another, but can
the dictionary always be such a reliable source? Afterall the
dictionary has
never felt or experienced love before. To me love is so much more than just a
simple four letter word. Most people would say everyone has their own unique
definition of love. My definition of love encompasses many things. I believe
that love can be whatever you want it to be. Love can be an expression, a
feeling, or an attachment towards something or someone. I think love is
loyalty, and honesty. It can be forgiveness. I believe love is sincere and it
can open up your heart in a different way. I think love is fondness and care. It
can be a way of life, something to live for. I think it is joyful, it pulls you
up when you are down, puts a smile to your face when you are sad. I believe
love is personal and individual, a hobby or an interest. I think love is life.
Not
only are there several meanings of love, but also many different types. Not all
love pertains to the typical boyfriend, girlfriend, and marriage love. I know
at age 14, that I have love in my life, but not love as if I am ready to get
married tomorrow. There are so many different types of love, like love from a
child to their parent, love towards a sibling. There is love to cousins, aunts,
uncles, and love to friends. I think love for your family is based upon
continuous love you have for them. Even though you may not always get along
with each family member, you will always love them no matter what. I believe
that love towards friends is when you enjoy being around them and that there is
some characteristic of theirs that is appealing to you. The nurse and Juliet
had a very strong loving relationship throughout the play, one that is said to
be stronger than Juliet had with her own parents. Since the nurse had been
raising Juliet from the time when she was very little, she knew Juliet inside
and out. “’Tis since the earthquake now eleven years; and she saws weaned (I
shall never forget it) of all the days of the year, upon that day, For I had
laid wormwood to my dug” (pg 748, lines 23-26). It seemed that Juliet and
the Nurse were more than just friends; instead it seemed that they were like
family. Maybe Juliet had a stronger relationship with the Nurse than she did
with Romeo because the love shared between Juliet and Romeo was much different.
Is infatuation and love the same thing? In my opinion, I feel that these two
words are very different. I believe that love is much more serious and deep,
while infatuation is merely a crush or an obsession for someone. Sadly these
two feelings can be easily misunderstood and mistaken for one another because
both are so intense. In the society it seems that some people may think that
they are in love when, but in reality they are just in a first time crush.
Although, sometimes infatuation can develop into love, on the other hand, it
can sometimes do the complete opposite, where it can make you realize that the
relationship is not based upon love at all. Sometimes in seems that two people
aren’t even in a relationship for love or infatuation; instead the relationship
is based upon looks and a physical attraction.
Love
at first sight is also a different type of love. Many people think love at
first sight is very rare, something that usually only happens in the movies,
books or on television, but not in real life. Based on your opinion and
experience about love, you can argue whether or not the relationship shared between
Romeo and Juliet was just infatuation, genuine love, or maybe love at first
sight. Because love at first sight is so rare and only happens at unusual
times, I feel that Romeo and Juliet’s relationship was only infatuation. I
think that they rushed into their relationship too fast and that it was just an
intense form of infatuation. I believe that true love often takes time to grow
and develop into deep love. Because the story ends at Romeo and Juliet’s
deaths, we will never really distinguish whether their relationship and love
would have grown or not.
“Marry
my child, early next Thursday morn, the fallant, young, and noble, gentleman,
the county Paris at Saint Peter’s Church, shall happily make thee there a
joyful bride.” (page 812, lines 113-116). In The Tragedy
of Romeo and Juliet, it was very clear that the Capulets decision for
Juliet’s marriage to Prince Paris may have been one of the reasons of why Romeo
and Juliet rushed into their marriage, but this same problem can often happen
in real life as well. In life, it appears that sometimes there are certain
insecurities that a people have, that drive them to get married even if the
love connection isn’t there yet. In some cases young women who have hopes to
someday have and raise a family as a result will rush into a marriage, simply
because they want to settle down and raise kids earlier in life. Also seeing as
our society is dominated by mainly couples, many people might feel pressured
that they need to be with someone just to be like everyone else.
Despite
what I have written on my opinion towards love, the true understanding of love
is between two people and cannot really be judged by others. Looking from the
outside in, it can be easy to pass judgments and opinions about love, but in
reality it is hard for any person to judge the level of love between two
others. Love is a very personal and subjective feeling. I believe that no two
people can define love the same way. Romeo and Juliet are just characters in a
play whose lives and love can reflect real life tragedies. We may never know
for sure whether their love was genuine or merely an intense infatuation, but
it is interesting to speculate on them as if they were real.
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