Essay - Describe how the various relationships in the play reveal Shakespeare's depiction of love in Romeo and Juliet.
Lemony Snicket once said love can change a person as a parent can change a baby, awkwardly and with a great mess. This statement implies that love is the reason why one while having positive intentions can cause a very negative impact and can change a person immensely. Such examples of good intentions gone awry can be found throughout William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet". Shakespeare develops relationships connected with Juliet to be especially apt at this. Her relations with her father, nurse and Romeo, depict love to be an entity that compels one to be quite unusual and fluctuant in their decisions and to their character.
Juliet and Lord Capulet’s relationship is that of father and daughter, and it is quite complex. In this relation, Lord Capulet’s viewpoints differ drastically. For say in Act One Scene Two he states "My will to her consent is but a part". (Shakespeare, 1.2, Ln 17). Such a statement implies that Lord Capulet is a considerate father who loves his daughter. However, in Act Three, Scene Five Juliet’s statement in response to Lord Capulet’s insistence of marriage to Paris alters this thought. Her response is "But thankful even for hate that is/ meant love" (Shakespeare, 3.5, Ln 150-151). This implies that Juliet understands that while her father still loves her, he is no longer considerate to her wishes.
Juliet’s bond with Nurse is also a model of good intentions gone wrong nurse is initially supportive of Juliet's relationship with Romeo. She states to Juliet in Act Two, Scene Five "To fetch a ladder by which your love/ must climb a bird’s nest when it’s dark." (Shakespeare 2.5, Ln 67-70). This displays Nurse’s aid to Juliet and approval of her relationship with Romeo. But in st...
