Were Romeo and Juliet in Love?

For years Romeo and Juliet has been viewed as a role model love story. Growing up little girls fantasize about falling in love like Juliet did with Romeo, but little do they know that this supposed “love” ends in both of their deaths. As you get older and you examine the text you may start to wonder if Romeo and Juliet were ever truly in love. And it turns out that they really weren’t.

Romeo and Juliet thought they were in love due to their young souls and rashness. For example, even when Romeo says he has a feeling that going to the party will end in this death he goes anyway. This alone shows that Romeo makes decisions that are not wise. To make the situation worse he falls in love with Juliet and continues to chase after her even after he finds out that they come from rival families. This also shows how Romeo makes immature decisions and doesn’t think. Romeo didn’t put together the pieces that the thing that would cause his death is Juliet, which shows another level or immaturity. Additionally Romeo is just looking for a distraction from is heartbreak brought on by Rosaline, after he sees Juliet he says “With Rosaline? NO. I have forgot that name and that name’s woe.” This shows how immature he is because just an hour ago Romeo was saying that he would never get over Rosaline. This also shows that Romeo based his love for Juliet off of looks, because Romeo didn’t know Juliet and he kisses her after only a moment of knowing her.

Overall, I do think young love does exist, it just takes a while to form. Teenagers aren’t old enough to know all of the elements of a true good relationship. This does not mean that they can’t be in love, it’s just not the type of love that lasts forever. When adults find love they consider things besides their feelings because they have other things to worry about. But all in all, true love exists, it just might take a while to find it.