Romeo and Juliet: A Lust Story
One of the most well-known love stories has been mislabeled for centuries. Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare is a story of lust and sexual desire, instead of one based on love and care. Examples of their lust can be seen in Romeo and Juliet’s relationship being based more on physical attraction than personal feelings for each other. Moreover, Romeo recently got out of a one-sided relationship, leaving him heartbroken and in need of a distraction from his previous “love”, and Juliet is being suited against her will. The relationship is also moving at a speed at which no loving relationship could move at, using physical pleasure to carry on instead of love. Although the sacrifice Romeo and Juliet make for each other is large, the attraction between the couple is more lustful than loving, being one of reckless teenagers, moving quickly, and used as a rebound from their previous relationships.
Since Romeo and Juliet are teenagers, they are not experienced with the world, making them mistake having a loving relationship for one built on lust and physical passion. The evidence of their lust can be seen in their choice of language, “Give me my Romeo… He will make the face of heaven so fine.” (Shakespeare 3.2 21-22). Juliet is insinuating she does not desire Romeo for his personality, but instead for his beautiful face and body. Loving couples do not only care about physical features, but also their character. Furthermore, the couple is not young enough to know much, if anything, about love: “Considering Juliet’s young age in the play… The symbolic references to the numbers thirteen and fourteen, arguing that Shakespeare employed these allusions to draw attention to the premature nature of Juliet’s marriage.” (“Shakespearean Criticism” 2). Shakespeare is subtly hinting Juliet is too young to marry and she does not know marriage is more than loving someone for their body. The choice to marry by the couple is a rash and impulsive decision, based more on a desire for sexual pleasure than the desire to spend their lives together. The age and inexperience of Romeo and Juliet leads to their unwise decisions and mistaking lust for love.
After being in a one-sided relationship, Romeo is longing to forget his past “love” and move on quickly, while Juliet wants to get her suitors off her mind, leading them to distract themselves from their troubles with lust and physical passion. In the beginning of the play, Romeo was longing for Rosaline’s love, but could never receive her love because of her vow of chastity: “Out of favor where I am with love.” (1.1 167). Before having a lust for Juliet, Romeo had a lust for Rosaline, however, she did not feel the same way Romeo felt. Devastated, Romeo needed something to get his mind off Rosaline, which was Juliet’s beauty. Additionally, Juliet was having marriage thrust upon her by her parents, which she did not want to partake in: “It is an honor I do not dream of.” (1.3 66). Instead of complying to her parent’s wishes, Juliet distracted herself by lusting after Romeo. Her relationship with Romeo gave her an escape from the pressures of her arranged marriage. Romeo and Juliet’s past relationship problems led them to want to distract themselves, allowing them to lust after each other.
The speed at which the relationship moves at is too quick to be one of love, and is instead the speed of a lustful attraction. After meeting, Romeo and Juliet kiss and long for each other almost immediately, even though they only spoke few words to each other: “O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?” (2.2 33). Juliet longs to see Romeo immediately after they leave each other at the Capulet’s party, even though they have only spoken few words to each other. The only true showing of passion the couple showed was a few words and a kiss, not enough to begin to love someone. Also, the young couple got married a few days after they met, not thinking about the future or what is ahead of them, but instead thinking of lust and physical pleasure; “You work at your relationship, your marriage… You work at growing, at sharing, at supporting one another…” (Lemay, 1). Romeo and Juliet did not work at their love, but instead indulged in lust almost immediately after meeting. Marriage after only a few days is an unwise decision and is not usually based on love, as Friar Lawrence says, “Young men’s love then lies not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes.” (2.3 68-69). The reason for getting married was made so Romeo and Juliet could sleep together, unlike loving marriages made so the couple could be together for the rest of their lives. If the couple wanted more than physical passion, they could’ve waited a longer period of time for marriage. The choice to get married by Romeo and Juliet was made for the reason of sleeping together, not so they could be together.
Even though the relationship had many signs of lust, the sacrifice the partners made for each other was immense, ultimately leading to their death. The sacrifices, although large, were made with little to no thought and in the heat of the moment, like when Romeo drank poison instead of waiting to hear what Friar Lawrence had to say: “Here’s to my love… Thus with a kiss I die.” (5.3 119-120). This rash behavior Romeo partakes in causes him his life. If he wasn’t lusting over Juliet, he may have been more rational and waited for word from Friar Lawrence, leading him to continue his life with Juliet. Many argue the first meeting between Romeo and Juliet was not one of physical desire, but instead an example of love at first sight. However, if the passion between Romeo and Juliet was at a deeper level than physical, the couple would have talked more about their personalities than physical features. Furthermore, their marriage would not have been based on the intent of sleeping together on their wedding night, especially at the risk of Romeo’s death.
The relationship between Romeo and Juliet is not in fact love, but instead a mix of teenage hormones and lust. They are young and unwise, mistaking lust and physical passion for love. In addition, they are trying to forget the past relationships they were involved in. Finally, the couple was moving faster than any real love would. If the relationship between the two teenagers is not relabeled, people around the world will mistake lust and physical desire for love. The story of Romeo and Juliet is not a love story, but instead a lust story.
Works Cited
Brooke, Stopford A. Romeo and Juliet. 1905.
Lemay, Eric. "Star-Cross Something-or-Others." Harvard Review December 2007: 17. Editorial.
Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet. New York City: Penguin Random House LLC, 2016.
"Shakespearean Criticism." Ed. Michelle Lee. Vol 97. Detroit: Gale, 2006.