Romeo and Juliet: Love’s Fools

“Love is not blind, but it leads to blindness” a quote by Auliq Ice, whose meaning comes to make sense in William Shakespeare’s famous play Romeo and Juliet where two star-crossed lovers take their lives away when their hearts only desire is rebuffed by fate. Young and foolish, these lovers often find themselves making reckless decisions triggered by their emotions- particularly by their passionate and senseless love. The aim of this essay is to prove how young love affects both Romeo and Juliet’s actions and how because of these actions altogether, their lives come to an end.

In Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, Love seems to reign over the actions of those who are under her spell. The young Romeo Montague is no exception. In the short period of time where Romeo and Juliet’s paths cross, he repeatedly lets his emotions cloud his better judgement and as a result, he often finds himself contemplating the idea of death until eventually, he lets love be his downfall.

For instance, upon first meeting Juliet at the Capulet’s masquerade, he falls madly in love with her. Blinded by his newly found love, he impulsively decides to climb the “high and hard” (2.2.67) walls of Capulet’s orchard, desperate to see her once again. When Juliet sees Romeo from her balcony, she warns him that the orchard is a place of “death” (2.2. 69) if any of her kinsmen find him there. Unworried by the idea of death, and moved by the idea of love instead, Romeo sees “more peril [in Juliet’s eyes] than twenty of [Juliet’s kinsmen’s] swords!” (2.

2. 75-76). Later that day, after having married Juliet, Romeo witnesses Mercutio being killed by Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin. Acting upon anger and sorrow, Romeo kills him in revenge and then flees. When informed of his sentence-banishment- by Friar Lawrence, Romeo is heartbroken, he claims “there’s no world without Verona walls, but purgatory, torture, hell itself.” (3.3.19-20) According to Romeo “heaven is [in Verona] where Juliet lives.” (3.3.30-31) Burdened by the idea of having to part with Juliet, Romeo asks Friar Laurence if he has any “poison mix’d”,” sharp-ground knife” (3.3.45) or other “sudden mean of death”, (3.3.46) but the word “banished” to kill him. Once again, Romeo’s young, passionate and foolish love for Juliet proves to be the catalyst of Romeo’s thoughtless actions and suicidal impulses.

Nevertheless, the young, though slightly less self-destructive Juliet, is another one of Love’s victims. Much like Romeo, Juliet tends to act impulsively out of love… Namely after her first romantic encounter with Romeo at the masquerade. Later, after the encounter, Juliet goes out to her balcony where she expresses her feelings towards Romeo in a heartfelt soliloquy. In this soliloquy, Juliet is troubled by Romeo’s name and with the family to which he belongs, the Montagues. However, Juliet has fallen so madly in love with him that she only asks that he swears to be her love and she will “no longer be a Capulet.” (2.2.38) By denying her family name to be with Romeo, Juliet knows her family will disapprove and that they could potentially disown her. Regardless, she does not seem to be concerned, as long as she has Romeo’s love. Further on, early Tuesday morning, after Romeo has left for Mantua, Juliet is informed that in the attempts of making her less miserable, Capulet, her father, has arranged for her to marry the young count Paris. Gravely appalled by this, Juliet immediately goes to see Friar Laurence, where she urges him to give her advice before she kills herself. Before Friar Laurence can give her any solution, Juliet claims she’d rather “lurk where serpents are”, be chained with “roaring bears” (4.1.81) or be hid in a “charnel-house” (4.1.82) covered with “dead men’s rattling bones” (4.1.83) than to marry Paris and be an unfaithful wife to Romeo. Seeing how desperate Juliet is, he offers to give her a potion which will make her appear dead thus delaying the wedding. Without any hesitation, Juliet accepts. By doing so, Juliet exhibits that self-destructive behaviour that Shakespeare seems to inextricably associate with the theme of young love throughout this play.

The passionate love that both Romeo and Juliet feel for each other eventually leads them to their death. Oblivious to the consequences of their actions, they let themselves be fooled by Love. Thereafter, on Wednesday morning, Balthasar, Romeo’s servant, comes bearing sad news to his master informing him that “[Juliet’s] body sleeps in Capel’s monument.” (5.1.18) Devastated by this new, Romeo is quick to act out of love, or rather, upon the death of his love. He sets out to buy a deadly poison that will bring him the painful joy of reuniting with Juliet. When Romeo finally arrives to where the beautiful Juliet lies dead, he declares that there “[he will] set up [his] everlasting rest / And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars / From [his] world-wearied flesh.” (5.3.110-112) Unable to think straight, Romeo takes one last look at Juliet and kisses her one last time before drinking the deadly poison. Moments after, the fair Juliet wakes up from her sleep only to find her dear lover dead. Drowned by her agony and pushed by her passionate love, Juliet kisses Romeo one last time before grabbing his dagger and stabbing herself. Finally reunited, the two lovers lay dead together. Unable to imagine a life apart from each other and without love, they choose to die together for the sake of love.

In conclusion, it is ultimately actions based upon young and foolish love that lead Romeo and Juliet to committing suicide. Because of Romeo and Juliet’s selfish and reckless actions altogether the outcome comes out to be their death. Blinded by Love, they fail to see things on a larger scale. Overall, Shakespeare ensures that the reader understands the connection between young love and the suicidal impulse that it seems to spark. Although love is important and essential to all human beings, it should not lead people into making decisions that could potentially cost them their lives.