Romeo and Juliet - Love in the Modern Era

Romeo and Juliet: Love in the Modern Era

Shane Warne, a world-famous cricket player, said that “[b]eing in love with somebody is a wonderful feeling.” The word love is associated with warm and fuzzy feelings mixed with butterflies in the stomach with a side of jealousy. However, that is being “in love” and is much different than actual love. The opinions of love’s actual meaning can be found when researching the original Greek definitions and reading scripture. It is obvious through the play Romeo and Juliet that Shakespeare’s idea of love is that it needs to be stronger than “love at first sight”, for it is more than just a feeling of strong attraction, and should openly practice patience.

Romeo and Juliet is a prime example of eros love. Eros is the feeling that one is in love, when in reality, it only appears that love is there. In his writing “A Short Handbook on Love”, Barry Newton says that eros love is “everything from queasy stomachs and warm fuzzy feelings to strong sensual passion” and is “dependent upon perception and circumstances”. Romeo may have never felt queasy, but his relationship with Juliet was very dependent on the circumstances before them. When Romeo sees Juliet across the room, he says “[d]id my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight, / For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night” (Shakespeare I, v, 59-60). He is proclaiming his love for Juliet before even meeting her, not practicing patience, which is what true love requires. Eros is thriving here because if Romeo had known who Juliet was at the time, he would not feel any attraction towards her whatsoever. More definitions of love can be found in writings from the Bible.

Based off of the Apostle Paul’s definition of love, the relationship of Romeo and Juliet definitely is not true love. The Bible has many different verses on love, one of the most famous being I Corinthians 13: 4-8a. It describes