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Ginny Barnes

Meyer

English I

12 March 2018

Unrequited Love

Romeo and Juliet exemplifies many types of love. Unrequited love is when the love is not

returned. Romantic love is love that is mutual between two people. Platonic which is the love

between friends. Familial love is just as it sounds, the love between a family. Romantic love is

often what is thought of in Romeo and Juliet, but in many instances unrequited love is present

and forms the base for many other relationships. In Romeo and Juliet, and in modern day for

that matter, unrequited love is the love that is most evident.

In modern day unrequited love is when someone falls in “love” with someone, but

mostly for their looks. People express this feeling of love by saying “I love you”, or “ILY”. They

get the feeling of love before they get to know the person, lust brings them this feeling. The

famous movie Forrest Gump is a perfect example of unrequited love. Forrest is in love with

Jenny but Jenny doesn’t have the same feelings for Forrest. Another example of unrequited love

in a tv show would be Glee, but this one is not based on lust and looks. At the beginning of the

tv series, before Kurt came out as gay, Mercedes was in love with him, but he didn’t love her

back. He knew he was gay but no one else did, including Mercedes, so this example of

unrequited love is based on social status. Kurt didn’t want to be judged for being gay so he used

Mercedes love to cover who he truly is. Unrequited love could be exemplified in many ways, but

no matter the way it is being shown at the end of it all, it is where the love is one sided and not

mutual.
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In Romeo and Juliet Unrequited love is being shown through the relationships between

romeo and rosaline and juliet and paris. In Romeo and Rosaline's case Rosaline did not love

romeo the way he loved her, but romeo didn't even know that rosaline stopped loving him. The

situation is similar in Juliet and Paris’ case. Paris was very fond of Juliet and was ready to marry

her and spend his life with her. Juliet had other plans in mind, she felt forced by her father to be

in the relationship. When you are forced into liking something or someone, it is like there is a

barrier put up, not allowing you to have the full feelings of love. This feeling of love is quickly

replaced by the feeling of heartbreak shortly after. Romeo jumped into his relationship too

quickly and Juliet knew little to nothing about true love, not to mention she was 13. These two

relationships were completely one sided and basically forgotten once romeo met juliet, “Romeo:

Well, in that hit you miss. She’ll not be hit with Cupid's arrow. She hath Dian's wit, and, in

strong proof of chastity well armed, from love’s weak childish bow she lives unharmed. She will

not stay the siege of loving terms.”. Romeo and Juliet and modern day have many ties between

them within the story and the plotline.

Mercedes and Kurt and Paris and Juliet have similar stories, they both felt forced to be in

the relationship. Kurt felt the need to stay in the relationship because he didn't want to be made

fun of, he was scared to dent his social status. In Paris and Juliet’s case, Juliet was being forced

to love Paris by her dad (Act 3, Scene 5, Page 7). Many may believe that the reason Juliet doesn't

love Paris is because of the pressure being put on the relationship. Both of these storylines show

you that forcing love in fact does more bad than good. Romeo and Rosaline's love story is

similar to Forrest and Jenny’s story. Forrest Gump and romeos stories are similar because both of

the guys still thought the women were in love with them (even though they weren’t). They were

oblivious and didn’t realize that these women weren’t in love with them. This proves to you that
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unrequited love can be shown in many different ways in many different contexts but in the end

they have many similarities and affiliations.

Unrequited love is shown the most during modern day and Romeo and Juliet. This love

means that you’re in love with someone that doesn’t love you back, it is most commonly based

on what you first see about the person, and not about the person’s personality and who they truly

are. You need to know this because if you fall in love with someone based on based on attraction

and social status you may get attached and get your heart broken in the end. As you can see

unrequited love can be shown and have links between many different stories, contexts and

plotlines.

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. "Romeo and Juliet." Elements of Literature, Holt, Rinehart and Winston,
2006, pp. 785-910.

Murphy, Ryan. “Glee.” FOX Broadcasting Company

Zemeckis, Robert, Steve Tisch, Wendy Finerman, Steve Starkey, Eric Roth, Don Burgess, Arthur
Schmidt, Alan Silvestri, Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson, Sally Field,
and Winston Groom. Forrest Gump. Hollywood, CA: Paramount Pictures, 2001.