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does shakespeare believe that "love at first sight" is a valid concept in romeo and juliet? does shakespeare believe that "love at first sight" is a valid concept in romeo and juliet?
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booboosmoosh enotes educator| certified educator
the young lovers in shakespeare's romeo and juliet would seem to indicate shakespeare's belief in love at first sight. they do, in fact, meet one time before the romance blossoms.
in fact, the entire play takes only five entire days for romeo and juliet to meet, fall in love, marry, consummate the marriage, and die tragically. while they are up against the family feud that rages between their two families, remember also that they never stood a chance of surviving their deep and instant love: they are star-crossed lovers, and so the "gods," have ordained their fates before they were born.
from forth the fatal loins of these two foes,
a pair of star-crossed lovers take their (prologue, 5-6)
this give rise to a great discussion regarding whether one believes in predestination: that their lives were mapped out before they were born, or whether man may choose his own fate. if you have read a midsummer night's dream, also by the bard, you will recall that the love between demetrius and helena is created and fulfilled by the wishes of the fairy kingdom, specifically oberon—for at the beginning, demetrius spurns helena's adoration of him.
whether shakespeare believed it, or provided it to appeal to his audiences or both, is not clear, but he presents it unarguably between the young lovers of romeo and juliet, a love that has become iconic as one devout and true.
