Aristotle is known to have said that a good tragedy needs to have one basic theme or plot. In the play Romeo and Juliet', this theme is love. Love of different kinds provides the base of all the excitement, anticipation and ultimately the tragedy of the play. There are many other themes that Shakespeare could have used and so we have to ask several questions to identify his reason for using love, and how his presentation of this love makes this the world famous play that it is. What is he trying to say about love? How does using it make the audience feel? In what way does his presentation of love increase the tragedy and depth of the play?.
When considering how Shakespeare presents the love between Romeo and Juliet, it is important to consider whether it was true love he was presenting, or not. Is their love real? The only people that could really know are the characters themselves. In this play Shakespeare could be showing love to be a weakness, that in this case the love was not real and yet they died for it. Some indications of this are that Juliet is very young, only 14 and had not been previously exposed to love in any passionate way. Romeo takes his emotions very seriously and is inclined to be swept away by them. Early on in the play, when infatuated with Rosaline, he gives the impression that he is merely playing the role of the miserable lover and therefore as his feelings are not real, the audience thinks him pathetic rather than sympathising with him. He is also is shown to be shallow and impetuous, as he exclaims his love for Juliet before even speaking with her and kills Tybalt in a fit of rage. The lovers also spend very little time together and most of their feelings are built up whilst apart, they could merely want to be in love, creating it for themselves. All these factors show their love to be hasty, impatient and superficial. A creation by two impulsive, spoilt teenagers who recklessly crave attention and do not consider the consequences of their actions.
