Laura Aiges 5/15/02

Freshman Studies 4 Ms. Gokturk

Certain elements of life enable people to forget about the struggles that are undergone everyday. It has been said, "One word frees us from all the weight and pain of life: That word is love". (Sophocles, Oedipus, 495-406 B.C.) This statement describes the idea that love is the kind of thing that frees people from the problems that people experience every day. In William Shakespeare�s Romeo and Juliet, Romeo and Juliet both face a passionate love that enables them to avoid and forget the problems in their life, outside of their love.

In William Shakespeare�s Romeo and Juliet, Romeo and Juliet both face a strong love, where they can avoid and forget the problems in their life. Romeo�s falling in love with Juliet allowed him to overcome the loss of love of he was feeling from his first love Rosaline. In some ways this appears contradictory but Romeo�s loss of love from Rosaline, allowed him to fall in love with Juliet.

Romeo�s love for Rosaline was not mutual and only based on appearance. Even though Romeo�s love for Juliet was appearance as well, their love was mutual therefore had a larger impact on Romeo. In the beginning Romeo was sad about Rosaline not loving him. He expresses this sorrow by telling his cousin Benvolio, "This love feel I, that feel no love in this. Dost thou not laugh?" (1:1:180-181) Romeo explains that his love for Rosaline is not returned from her. He also told Benvolio, "One fairer than my love? The all-seeing sun ne�er saw her match since the first world began." (1:2:92-93) Romeo expressed his strong feelings for Rosaline by saying that there is no one that can his replace her. Right before he meets Juliet at Capulet�s party he is still very melancholy about Rosaline. His friends are tried to help him forget her. Suddenly, when he met Juliet he falls into a deep love with her and forgets about Rosaline. He is no longer sad about Rosaline, but in love with Juliet, who is in love with Romeo. He goes to Friar Laurence and tells him his feelings for Juliet. Friar is confused because he knew Romeo loved Rosaline. Romeo responds, "With Rosaline, my ghostly father? No; I have forgot that name, and that name�s woe." (2:3:41-42) Romeo told Friar how his love for Juliet has completely taken his mind off of Rosaline, including the pain he felt from her not returning his love. Romeo and Juliet�s love freed them from their problems outside of their love.

Romeo and Juliet�s strong love enabled them to free themselves from the problems outside of their love. Juliet�s love for Romeo gave her the strength to appear dead to her family so that she could avoid marrying someone she had no love for. Love allowed her to feign her so that she could be with Romeo. Her love for Romeo, dominated her family�s feelings when she was dead. When she was told she had to marry Paris, she was very sad and told her nurse, "Go in; and tell my lady I am gone, having displeased my father, to Laurence� cell, to make confession and to be absolv�d." (3:5:230-232) Juliet is willing to rebel against her parent�s wishes in order to be with her love, Romeo. She also as well as displeasing her father, she planned to displease her fiancée, Paris. She told Friar Laurence, "O bid me leap, rather than marry Paris, from off the battlements of any tower, or walk in thievish ways, or bid me lurk." (4:1:77-79) Juliet told Friar how she would rather jump off any tower than marry Paris. She also told Friar, "And I will do it without fear or doubt, to live an unstain�d wife to my sweet love." (4:1:87-88) Juliet is referring to how she would say leave her family without any problem just to be with Romeo. This shows how Romeo and Juliet�s love enable them to avoid and forget the problems outside of their love.

Romeo and Juliet learn to avoid the problems of their everyday life because of their strong, passionate love. Due to the fact that Romeo and Juliet want to get married, Friar Laurence was at first hesitant to wed them. He finally realized that their passionate, however forbidden love, was extremely important to Romeo and Juliet. He felt he should marry them. He thought that the love between them had potential to unite the two adversarial families of Romeo and Juliet. Friar Laurence believed that their parents might possibly recognize the strong love between Romeo and Juliet. This could make them come together due to their love for their children. Friar explains his thought of this becoming possible to Romeo by saying, "Thy love did read by rote, that could not spell. But come, young waverer, come, go with me, in one respect I�ll thy assistant be. For this alliance may so happy prove, to turn your household�s rancour to pure love." (2:3:84-88) Friar expresses his feel that he respects their love and will stand by them and help them and their love can bring the families hate to love. Ultimately, when Romeo and Juliet are both dead the families finally unite. They also feel guilty that they did not recognize their love as something good, and went completely against it. They realized their love was important to Romeo and Juliet�s life. Prince Escalus recognizes the problem between the two families and tells them, "Their course of love, the tidings of her death. Where be these enemies?- Capulet! Montague! See what a scourge is laid upon your hate, that heaven finds means to kill your joys with love; And I, for winking at your discords too, have lost a brace of kinsmen. All are punished." (5:3:286, 290-294) Capulet replies, "O brother Montague, give me thy hand: This is my daughter�s jointure, for no more, can I demand." (5:3:295-297) While Romeo and Juliet�s love ultimately brought them to their death, to free them from the difficulties with their families, their death brought love between the families.

In conclusion, the expression, "One word frees us from all the weight and pain of life. That word is love", (Sophocles, Oedipus, 495-406 B.C.) relates to William Shakespeare�s Romeo and Juliet in many ways. Romeo and Juliet experience a passionate and strong love for each other that enables them to forget and avoid the problems in their life, outside of their love.