Shakespeare - Role of Women

Love to Shakespeare in my opinion was confusion for young souls. The fact that younger people may confuse love with lust. Two words yet opposites, However one thing these two four letter words have in common is that they both can get a person to do crazy things. Midsummer Night's Dream proves this point being made. Four young adults go through a crazy adventure all do to "love" or "lust". "What say you, Hermia? Be advised fair maid: To you your father should be as a god...I would my father look'd but with my eyes." This quote represents a young adult, Hermia, so involved in lust/love that she is willing to go against her father's rules. Which is considered to be a big deal in this time period, for she shall see her father as a god, as said in the quote. The common situation in Romeo and Juliet, Which shall it be, love or lust.

Shakespeare almost had a way of connecting his stories. In the story Romeo and Juliet it seems as Shakespeare is trying to portray the meaning and examples of lust. "Did my heart love till now? forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night." This quote shows the thought process of Romeo the night he sees Juliet. He just meets this young girl and based off her beauty he believes he is in love. Shakespeare is a strong writer containing love. This particular story reveals how love can be extremely complicated. To think deeper into the story it gets a person to wonder are these two young characters more willing to be with each other just because of the fact that their families won't allow it. This would be a sign of rebellion and not love. "Love is heavy and light, bright and dark, hot and cold, sick and healthy, asleep and awake- it's everything except what it is! (Act 1, scene 1)." This quote seems to say that Shakespeare believed love was way too complicated for these young adults. And with love this complicated could the two really share it. This goes back to lust, which is a strong emotion towards someone but may just be in the moment, whereas love is everlasting. Yet it all goes back to the one common that love and lust share, the power over the mind to get a person to do crazy things. Anywhere from obsession to rebellion. This gets me to think that lust is the illusion of love. One is fatal, however the other is forever. "Don't waste your love on somebody, who doesn't value it." Love is something you will be giving to the rest of both people involved lives. The fact that Romeo and Juliet have this crazy plan that goes against both their families orders yet they agree to go through with it anyways, is it rebellion or lust? Who is to tell besides Shakespeare considering he is the one who wrote the play. Again this is where the common comes in, just like in the story Midsummer Night's Dream, a young couple goes against direct orders given, is it crazy, rebellion or love? Once said again who is