What is love?

In the dictionary, love is defined as a feeling of strong affection and passion towards something or someone. But is it something more? Can it even be defined?

William Shakespeare portrays so many views of love through his characters in Romeo and Juliet, and they all in some aspects, are true. Some of the characters describe love as painful and gruesome, and others a light and airy feeling. The characters who's explanations stood out the most to me though, were Capulet's and Romeo's.

Capulet's point of view on love seems to alter throughout the story, but in the beginning he seems sincere. In act 1 scene 2, he and Paris discuss the marriage of Juliet. "My child is yet a stranger in the world. /She hath not seen the change of fourteen years. /Let two more summers wither in their pride /Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride." Although Capulet is still agreeing to the marriage proposal for Juliet, he seems to be considerate of the time she needs to grow and learn. When he says that his daughter is a stranger to the world and asks for two more years, he knows that Juliet will not enjoy marriage at this age. He seems to understand that her love for him will not come so soon. Because marrying in your teenage years was common during the time period this takes place in, I think that it is fair and even quite generous of the father. If Juliet has not discovered herself and the world around her, how is she to love and marry a man her parents found suiting for her?

Romeo seems quite desperate for love during his recovery of heartbreak. He describes it as a: "Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health, / Still-waking sleep that is not what it is! /This love feel I, that feel no love in this." Obviously in stress, Romeo experiences the pains and aches of love. He feels so much emotions towards Rosaline that it weighs him down. It gives him even more heaviness facing the fact that she can never return the same passion. Romeo's description, in my opinion, is relevant in every relationship. I don't think that a perfect way to love exists. There will always be difficulties. Times of doubt, confusion, or just longing. Love is not an ideal feeling but an overpowering emotion that can change who you are if you cannot understand it.

These are two very different views on love, yet I can understand them both very easily. Capulet's view suggests that time is needed for love, whereas we come to learn with Romeo that love makes an entrance in the most unexpected places and times. I guess that my view is that love can take years, or it can take minutes. Love is a matter of seeing the good in a person, not how good the person looks. Love is hard to be defined, especially because there are so many meanings. But what is love to you?