Throughout the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet various types of "love" are
displayed . Benvolio believes women are interchangeable, while, at the
beginning Romeo bel ieves love is pain. At the beginning Juliet does not
even have a definition of love. Paris's and Lady Capulet's definition of
love is in appearance. It is obvio us that Shakespeare wants the audience
to believe that the only "true" or "real" love is the love that exists
between Romeo and Juliet. The first type of love the audience is introduced
to is the "interchangeable" lo ve of Benvolio. According to Benvolio, a man
should "love" a woman for only the duration of their relationship. If their
relationship should end, the man should feel no grief. If the woman rejects
the man initially, he should still feel no grief. In either situation, the
man should simply start a relationship with anot her woman. Benvolio's
definition of love shows the audience two things about Ben volio: he is a
womanizer and he has never before experienced "true love." The next
definition of love comes from Romeo, but before the time he met Juliet.
According to his definition, love (or, rather, not returned love) is pain.
He h ides from the sun due to the "love" he feels, and does not act like
"himself." I believe Romeo is both right and wrong: not returned love is
pain, but Romeo doe s not truly love, as he is merely infatuated by a
woman. The next definition of love comes from Juliet, who, before meeting
Romeo, did no t even have a definition of love. She appears not to know
what love is, and, for that matter, does not seem to care. She remains
Another type of "love" we are exposed to during the same scene is the love of Lady
Capulet. Lady Capulet believes love comes from appearance, both physical and
political, and has nothing to do with emotion. She shows this when she speaks
favorably of Paris's looks and his nobility. She also shows that
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