Psychological Perspectives in "Romeo and Juliet"

Paper Summary:

This paper considers the characters of "Romeo and Juliet" on a psychological level, with the analysis looking deeper at the real reasons for their decisions and their behavior. The paper presents "Romeo and Juliet" not as a story of star-crossed lovers, but as one of two teenagers trying to deal with the anxiety in their lives. The paper examines "Romeo and Juliet" from this psychological perspective, illustrating that their story is one that deals with love and anxiety.

From the Paper:

"One of the first critical points in understanding Romeo is that Juliet is not the first woman he has been in love with. In the first scene he describes his love for Rosaline. Most importantly, like Juliet, Rosaline is also a Capulet. In the first scene, Romeo describes how Rosaline is sworn to chastity saying, "Well, in that hit you miss: she'll not be hit / With Cupid's arrow; she hath Dian's wit; / And, in strong proof of chastity well arm'd, / From love's weak childish bow she lives unharm'd" (I,i 206-209). This shows that Romeo has selected a person to love that is a completely unsuitable match for him. It is also important that Romeo speaks as if his love is pure and will never die. When Benvolio urges Romeo to forget about her, Romeo replies that he could not possibly forget her because he loves her too much. Considering that Rosaline has shown no interest in Romeo and that they do not have a real relationship, it is suggested that Romeo is inventing his sense of deep love. This is further suggested when Romeo meets Juliet and instantly forgets about Rosaline and transfers all his feelings of love to Juliet. Reading Romeo and Juliet as a love story, it could be argued that Romeo forgets about Rosaline because he experiences real love when he sees Juliet. However, on seeing Juliet, he decided that he loves her intensely without even knowing her. In fact, the only thing he does know about Juliet is that she is a Capulet. This suggests that Romeo desperately wants to love a Capulet."

More papers on Psychological Perspectives in "Romeo and Juliet":

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• Essay # 72370 : "Guilt, Blame and Death in 'Romeo and Juliet'"
• Essay # 85107 : "Fidelity in "Romeo and Juliet"

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