Polly Warriner

Ms. Price

English I Honors

March 28, 2018

Romeo and Juliet: Forms of Love

Throughout the course of history, there have been many forms of love observed. These

may include, romantic, love between two people in which intimate feelings are shared, platonic,

non romantic love between two people, unrequited, love in which one individual loves another,

but that love is not returned, and familial, love shared by members of a family. All of these types

are found in modern day and in the Shakespearean tragedy Romeo and Juliet, along with another

form of love: self-love. However, in this work, self-love takes the extreme form of narcissism.

Narcissism is the excessive love for one’s self, especially in the way that others perceive them.

The most evident form of love found in both Romeo and Juliet and in modern society is

narcissism, and there are clear continuities between the two.

Narcissism is, without a doubt, the most evident form of love among the modern

population. This can be observed in the Showtime drama, The Tudors. In the show, King Henry

VIII ignores the needs of his country when deciding on his wife. Four out of his six wives were

chosen because they were beautiful, young women, capable of bringing England heirs.

Specifically, when Germany gave Henry the hand of the Lady Anne of Cleves, everyone was

overjoyed, except Henry. He would scream to his council, “I like her not… She looks like a

horse!”. Even before the wedding, he was already planning to have the marriage annulled.

Eventually, he would meet Catherine Howard and marry her, thus, further isolating England

from its enemies and former allies. This shows that King Henry was willing to put his country at
risk to have a prettier wife. Marrying the Lutheran Anne of Cleves would have given England

and Germany each a strong Protestant ally, but instead of ensuring domestic stability by keeping

the marriage, he declared it to be void. Then, his majesty would marry a seventeen year old

commoner, therefore, putting the kingdom at risk of war with Catholic, Southern Europe. In

summary, narcissism can be observed in modern television through the actions and words of

characters, and it is the most prominent form of love today, as it had been for years.

In Romeo and Juliet, the most evident form of love is narcissism because of the

selfishness of the Capulets and the Montagues. In Romeo and Juliet, it states, “And here he

writes that he did buy a poison of a poor 'pothecary, and therewithal came to this vault to die and

lie with Juliet. 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” (Shakespeare V.III.305-312). In this excerpt, Prince

explains the course of Romeo and Juliet’s death. He also notes that the reason the events played

out as they did is because of Capulet and Montague’s loathing for each other and excessive pride

in themselves. In fact, Tybalt and Mercutio die in a street fight in an attempt to prove their

houses’ superiority. Their hate, stemmed from narcissism, caused each family to view the other

as inferior, so naturally, they never would have allowed for a union between Romeo and Juliet,

so the pair had to conduct their business in secret which would lead to their inevitable deaths, yet

neither houses saw the need to make a change until the final scene of the final act. In conclusion,

the arrogance of Capulet and Montague led to the deaths of those they care about.

Pursuing this further, there are distinct similarities between Shakespearean and modern

narcissism. In both instances, each party feels the constant need to prove themselves to others by

showing off. In Romeo and Juliet this takes the form of constant street brawls between the
teenage boys in each family. In act one, scene one of Romeo and Juliet, Prince explains how the

constant fighting has grown to be much more than just a simple nuisance. He says, “Three civil

brawls, bred of an airy word, by thee, old Capulet, and Montague” (Shakespeare I.I.85-86). He

states that three different times, fighting has broken out on the streets of Verona because

someone took another’s words too seriously and violence broke out. When these teenage boys

fight, their goal is to make themselves seem dominant and superior and the other side inferior,

basically, the definition of narcissism. This can also be seen in modern day through the use of

media to display one’s superiority, usually by showing off their personal assets. Beauty

influencer, Jeffree Star, is notorious for showing off his extravagant lifestyle. On his Instagram

page, one can find pictures of him showing off his high-end cars, designer fashion items, and

travels to expensive destinations. This shows the difference in how narcissism is displayed in the

late English Renaissance era and in modern day life. In both modern society and in Romeo and

Juliet, individuals constantly feel as if they need to prove themselves to one another. Even

though two different scenarios are being analyzed, there still proves to be clear similarities found

in the forms in which narcissism takes.

In summary, the most evident form of love found in both Romeo and Juliet and in

modern society is narcissism. It can be observed through television and social media, or one may

see it through the actions of Lord Capulet and Montague or in hateful threats expressed by a

character such as Tybalt leading to a brawl. Narcissism can be defined as an obsession with

one’s self, assets, and experiences. It is very important to recognize narcissism, as it is an

epidemic flooding society, yet it is clear that this form of self-love has thrived in popular culture

and in real life for centuries. Therefore, in both modern day and Romeo and Juliet, the
overarching theme of narcissism has remained the most significant form of love in society, past

and present.