Superficial Love: A Triumph of Fire and Powder

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to “take...some new infection of thy eye/ And the rank poison of the old will die” (1.2.51-52). The metaphor comparing love to an “infection” of the eye reveals that not only is love based on what one can see, it is also harmful. Like love, infections are painful and sometimes, deadly. Love happens suddenly and unexpectedly as a new infection quickly replaces an old one. Benvolio’s advice to Romeo about comparing different women’s physical appearance to judge who is most worthy of his love reveals how love is based on looks and the harmful effects of it.

Finally, Friar Lawrence is Romeo’s wise mentor and close friend who has many proverbial sayings that he attempts to pass on to Romeo. Through his sayings, the insightful friar reveals the destructive nature of love based on appearance. After Romeo announces his newfound love for Juliet, Friar Lawrence marvels at how “young men’s love...lies/Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes” (2.3.71-72). The friar explains the shallow and appearance-based view young men like Romeo have on love. Love is fickle and “lies not...in their hearts” or emotions, but in the beauty of a love interest. Romeo, like many others his age do not have a deep understanding of love. “These violent delights have violent ends/And in their triumph die, like fire and powder” (2.6.9-10). Such is the foreboding warning Friar Lawrence gives at the secret nuptial ceremony of Romeo and Juliet. “Violent delights” are a metaphor for sudden lustful love because it happens suddenly and makes the persons involved joyful and delighted. “Violent ends” represent the destructive and equally sudden ending to love rooted in physical appearance. It also foreshadows the suicides of the star-crossed pair. Love based on appearance has its moments of “triumph”. However, once the initial physical attraction dies down, the “triumph [dies], like fire and powder”. Fire and gunpowder are both symbols of explosive, quick destruction. When mixed, they are an unpredictable force that is likely to come to a halting end, causing harm to everyone around. This is an exact metaphor for Romeo and Juliet’s doomed relationship. The knowledgeable and perceptive Friar Lawrence reveals many truths about sudden love created by physical appearance leading to destruction.

Based on the words and actions of Romeo, Benvolio, and Friar Lawrence, Shakespeare reveals the true nature of love. Romeo, a lovesick young man, decides his love interests based on physical appearance. Ultimately, his actions cause the downfall and destruction of himself, Juliet, and many other friends and family members involved. Benvolio is a kind friend to Romeo, always willing to give advice. He urges Romeo to seek out new women to please his eye, but he also holds the belief that love is infectious and destructive. Finally, Friar Lawrence’s wise words reveal the transient nature of love based on physical attraction and the destruction that it entails. Love based on physical appearance is often rushed, and the sudden, erratic nature of it leads to destruction. In the modern age, physical appearance is more prevalent in romantic relationships than ever. It is easy to let oneself fall into a pattern of sudden love rooted in looks, and it can lead to harmful consequences.