Explore the different attitudes to love are presented by the characters in Romeo and Juliet and the speakers in the sonnets you have studied.
Love is presented through the use of characters, themes, linguistic, structural and contextual references. That pieces are ‘Romeo and Juliet’ written by William Shakespeare, ‘Sonnet 116’ by William Shakespeare again, ‘Sonnet 43’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, ‘Sonnet 130’ by Shakespeare and also ‘Sonnet 18’ again by Shakespeare. They were all written in the time that was considered the Elizabethan Era.
A religious theme is set in both Romeo and Juliet and sonnet 43 to convey the attitudes to love. In Romeo and Juliet the theme of religion is used to express their love between each other and suggesting it is similar to religion can impose that it is a life-long commitment and will always be there even if they lose faith. At that time their attitude towards religion was very strong and it was their integral, which links to the love between Romeo and Juliet that now they have found it fully they will be part of each other’s’ lives for eternity. In Act 2, scene 2 Romeo states that Juliet’s eyes were “Two of the fairest stars in all of heaven” this is conveying that Juliet is angelic. Angels are referred to as innocent, Godly, pure and a good person; so although Romeo does not know a lot about her or even spoken to Juliet he is still portraying her as someone who is greatly looked up to and has, in the eyes of a religious person, the huge authority as they are seated with God. Romeo describes Juliet as a “messenger of heaven” and in religious terms suggests that she is angelic, sacred and a saviour for Romeo. It is also symbolising that they are on a quest, and this relationship has not be chosen by them but by God. This links very closely to Sonnet 43, where the speaker of the sonnet describes her love was “God choose” meaning