William Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet - 2432 Words

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet emphasizes the fact that there is a fine line between infatuation and love. Both young lovers assumed they had fallen in love when they first met each other, but this proved to be wrong throughout the play as they kept relying on violence and self-harm when their passionate affair hit some bumps in the road. They cared more about satisfying their own wants and needs instead of each others. As a result, many critics argue that the two star-crossed lovers were much too immature and impulsive to experience genuine love. Subsequently, the inferences made from the foreshadowing and dramatic irony in the prologue and throughout the play, reveal that the relationship between Romeo and Juliet was merely based on lust†¦show more content†¦However, one cannot love someone else without actually knowing that person, this is considered infatuation because there is absolutely no intimacy or commitment. Of course, passion is vital in a relationship but it is simply not enough to keep the relationship longstanding, commitment and intimacy are the cement that holds it together. In this case, since Romeo and Juliet are acting on their feelings out of haste, this means there can be no commitment or reliance when they have only known each other for a matter of hours and do not know much about one another except for the fact they both come from feuding families, there is no trust or foundation (Sternberg 120-123). As stated by Elaine Hatfield Ph.D., â€Å"Passionate love provides a high, like drugs, and you can’t stay high forever† (Meyers). Passion soon declines as time goes by, especially when intimacy escalates (Eastwick and Finkel). Everything begins to transform when a person finally breaks out of their passion filled trance and sees their partner for who they really are. A relationship cannot be based solely on passion, there is no way it will last, there is no understanding or loyalty. This leads many to think that perhaps the two teenagers may be experiencing lust rather than love. Another type of love depicted in the play is Romeo’s unrequited love between him and Rosaline which identified him as a Petrarchan lover. Romeo was in love with the idea of being in love, he was â€Å"in