Explain the importance of Love as a theme in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

Love is an important theme to Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet. It is a central theme of the play, and underpins much of the drama around the play's characters. Love is so powerful in Romeo and Juliet because it seems to be a force of fate, leading its protagonists apparently unswervably towards inevitable death. Nevertheless, Shakespeare shows it can be an even more powerful force; with the death of their children, brought about by love, the warring Montague and Capulet families resolve their long-running feud. The multifaceted idea of love apparent in Romeo and Juliet will be explored in this essay by looking firstly at Romeo and Juliet, and their love which leads to destruction; secondly, it will look at love and family, and how commitment to family leads to much of the violence (and indeed, much of the peace in the play); thirdly, it will compare the genuine love of the protagonists with Romeo's earlier infatuation with Rosaline; and finally, it will explore how love allows the warring families to resolve their decades-long conflict. Ultimately, Shakespeare's play makes evident that love can have unceasing control of events, whether or not the protagonists are aware of it.

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