Depiction of The Rush of First Love in Romeo and Juliet

 Love is a universal emotion that remains intact regardless of time and age. Whether it’s seen from a scientific perspective or through the eyes of a reckless, young romantic, the rush of first love is recognizable for its ability to cloud one’s judgment and envelope them into a delusional state of mind. Social worker Robert Weiss uses modern technology to analyze the effects of love in his 2015 article “This Is Your Brain on Love”, while renowned playwright William Shakespeare expresses his insights through beautiful language in his 1597 play Romeo and Juliet, yet they still share striking similarities despite the era differences. Although the two authors’ mutual understandings of love arise from contrasting interpretations, Shakespeare and William both identify the effects of love on both the heart and the mind being impossible to control, because love is a phenomenon that can be destructive if not moderated.

Shakespeare distinguishes the foolishness and heightened ineptness of first love by using distinctly young characters as the main focus. Romeo, the leading male character, sulks about his previous love interest, but the sight of Juliet immediately removes every trace of sorrow in his mind, “Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! / For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night” (1.5.50-51). The rush of infatuation blinds Romeo’s grief and encourages him to fall back in love without any regard to his past mistakes with Rosaline. Weiss associates the lunacy in love with limerence in his article “This Is Your Brain on Love”, a stage of love described as the “obsessive stage of romance—the timeframe in which people are most likely to behave irrationally” (Weiss 2). Romeo was unquestionably devastated by his experiences with Rosaline, and it would be utterly unreasonable for him to fall back in love without any boundaries. However, the obsessive stage of limerence clouded his weak judgment, since Weiss also connects the effects of limerence to cocaine and heroin. Love can be an addictive state of mind, and Romeo was mentally

 Love is a universal emotion that remains intact regardless of time and age. Whether it’s seen from a scientific perspective or through the eyes of a reckless, young romantic, the rush of first love is recognizable for its ability to cloud one’s judgment and envelope them into a delusional state of mind. Social worker Robert Weiss uses modern technology to analyze the effects of love in his 2015 article “This Is Your Brain on Love”, while renowned playwright William Shakespeare expresses his insights through beautiful language in his 1597 play Romeo and Juliet, yet they still share striking similarities despite the era differences. Although the two authors’ mutual understandings of love arise from contrasting interpretations, Shakespeare and William both identify the effects of love on both the heart and the mind being impossible to control, because love is a phenomenon that can be destructive if not moderated.

Shakespeare distinguishes the foolishness and heightened ineptness of first love by using distinctly young characters as the main focus. Romeo, the leading male character, sulks about his previous love interest, but the sight of Juliet immediately removes every trace of sorrow in his mind, “Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! / For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night” (1.5.50-51). The rush of infatuation blinds Romeo’s grief and encourages him to fall back in love without any regard to his past mistakes with Rosaline. Weiss associates the lunacy in love with limerence in his article “This Is Your Brain on Love”, a stage of love described as the “obsessive stage of romance—the timeframe in which people are most likely to behave irrationally” (Weiss 2). Romeo was unquestionably devastated by his experiences with Rosaline, and it would be utterly unreasonable for him to fall back in love without any boundaries. However, the obsessive stage of limerence clouded his weak judgment, since Weiss also connects the effects of limerence to cocaine and heroin. Love can be an addictive state of mind, and Romeo was mentally unable to detox himself from the exciting rush he got from the limerence of seeing a beautiful girl. Weiss’ scientific studies provide reasoning and evidence to Shakespeare’s observations of romance, justifying their absurd behaviors directed by love throughout the play.