Unrequited Love In Romeo And Juliet

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The famous French poet and novelist, Victor Hugo, once stated, “Life is a flower of which love is the honey.” Ever since the beginning of time people have loved each other deeply, and as time has evolved so have the types of love. Love comes in many forms, appearing as unrequited, parental, friendship, and self. For years, poets and novelists have centered their works on the concept of love, and William Shakespeare was not exempt from this trend. Romeo and Juliet, one of Shakespeare’s most famous and remembered plays, is focused on love and its complex forms. Two of the most prominent forms of love in Romeo and Juliet are unrequited love and romantic love. While the differences between unrequited love and romantic love are quite evident (one …show more content…
It could be argued, in fact, that this similarity is what links all types of love together, but I think this connection is more aptly apparent in unrequited and romantic love. These two types of love, though seemingly completely different, have the common characteristic of a deep, romantic devotion towards another person. These two loves are similar in the way that they are unlike all other forms of love. No matter how deep your love is for your friend or family, unrequited and romantic love are the only loves that are profoundly ardent in a romantic …show more content…
The defining names of the two love types are in fact the differences. Unrequited love by definition is a love that is not returned, and while one person may feel romantic feelings towards another that feeling is not shared. Romeo’s love for Rosalind is a prime example of love and devotion that is not shared between another. On the other hand, romantic love, an exceptional example being Romeo and Juliet, is a love shared between two people, in such a way that both parties feel complete in and with that love, but unrequited love leaves one party feeling empty and lonely. So while unrequited and romantic love are similar in a way, the significant fact that one love is shared and one love is exclusively one-sided is the dividing factor that defines these loves as
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