Shakespeare Not in Love

Jordan Althoff

ENGL 382

Professor Burton

11/22/15

Shakespeare not in Love

            Shakespeare had written great tragedies and romantic tales of trials and love. Many believe him to be the genius behind the many great love stories that we have today, for example Romeo and Juliet. The great romantic tragedy that has captured the hearts of millions throughout the centuries. The structure of the famous play has been used over and over for many romance book and movies alike. Westside Story, The Lion King Two, and Gnomeo and Juliet are just a few of the many adaptations. Two of them end with the couple happily together. But what people have forgotten is that Romeo and Juliet is not about the love between two people but the hate between two families and the destruction that hate causes. It is not a play about love but a play about hate. It is similar for other plays Shakespeare has written. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the character Helena is in love with Demetrius, a man who does not love her at all. The only reason Helena and Demetrius become a couple is because he was put under a spell that made him fall in love with the first person he saw when he woke up (he saw Helena) which he was never released from. Shakespeare is not the supporter of this idealistic love that many believe but instead is the type of person who is cynical and even goes as far as makes fun of it through the different relationships written in his plays.

            To understand how and why Shakespeare can be seen as skeptical to idealistic love, one must understand what people define love as. The concept of love, especially romantic love, has a broad, general meaning similar to courtly love. The general attributes are,

“an elevation of the status of the woman, a suffering caused by passionate attraction to and separate from the beloved, and a transformation of the lovers which elevates them onto a separate plane of existence, the world of lovers, in which life is experienced more intensely.” (Karandashev)

Romantic love is also considered closely related to sexual attraction. “Love is best viewed as a mixture of lust and friendship which includes tenderness and affection.” (Karandashev) These definitions of romantic or idealistic love are shown throughout romance novels and movies alike in today’s culture. This is where audiences hear phrases like “I can’t live without you,” or “You are my one true love.” This kind of love has become the ultimate bond between two people in fiction.

            Readers of Shakespeare believe that this idealistic love is portrayed in Shakespeare’s plays. The comedy play, As You Like It, has many instances where the cynicism concerning love can be seen. In the beginning of the play, Rosalind and Celia are talking when Rosalind asks the question, “what think you of falling in love?” (As You Like It, Shakespeare) Celia’s response is quite interesting for a young woman at the age where love is most likely to be idealized. She says, “Marry, I prithee, do, to make sport withal: but/ love no man in good earnest; nor no further in sport/ neither than with safety of a pure blush thou mayest/ in honour come off again.” (As You Like It, Shakespeare) Instead of a great monologue about the wonders of love, Celia tells Rosalind that getting married has its entertainment value but a woman should not fall in love. In addition to this, Rosalind’s question did not come from curiosity or concern, it came from the fact that she purely wanted something entertaining to talk about. Rosalind had stated right before her question, “From henceforth I will, coz, and devise sports.” (As You Like It, Shakespeare)

            Later on in the play, Rosalind is giving Orlando love lessons. When Orland says he would “kiss before [he] spoke,” Rosalind makes an interesting comparison concerning the act of kissing. She says, “Very good orators, when they are/ out, they will spit; and for lovers lacking – God/ warn us! – matter, the cleanliest shift is to kiss.” (As You Like It, Shakespeare) A Kiss has become an important symbol in literature as an act of true love and Rosalind had just compared that sacred act to an orator spitting when he or she has nothing else to say.   

            For the rest of my paper, I am going to point out and explain more examples of the cynicism within Shakespeare’s plays. I would like to talk about more of As You Like It as well as other comedies like A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, and Twelfth Night. I plan on also talking about some of Shakespeare’s plays from his other genres. The one that I would like to concentrate on most from his tragedies is Romeo and Juliet. This play is known for being the greatest love story. I would like to point out how it is not the grand love story that everyone believes it to be. I plan on cross referencing parts of the play with other plays that Shakespeare has written in order to prove my point.

            Right now I am currently going over the different plays to find concrete evidence of my thesis as well as look into more articles and references that might help my case. I have found some that have helped and will expound on them within the paper.

            I am wondering if working on so many plays within my paper is too much and if I should concentrate on maybe only a select few. Do you have any opinions concerning which plays would be the best options for the paper if I were to shorten the amount of plays I will be talking about?

Work Cited

Getlen, Larry. "The Art, History and Meaning of the Kiss." Nypost.com. New York Post, 30 Nov. 2013. Web.

Karandashev, Victor. "A Cultural Perspective on Romantic Love." Http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/. International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology, 6 Jan. 2015. Web.

Schalkwyk, David. "Is Love an Emotion?: Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and Antony and Cleopatra." Literature Criticism Online. N.p., 2010. Web.

The Complete Works of Shakespeare. N.p.: Latus EPublishing, 2011. Print.