GCSE · English Literature · AQA · Spec 8702

Romeo and Juliet: love

Romeo falls in love twice in Act 1 — and the way he talks tells you the two loves are nothing alike.

Romeo and Juliet · Act 1

Two loves, one shadow

Here are ten things Romeo says or does in Act 1. For each one, tick every circle it belongs in — some belong in more than one. Is it about Rosaline, about Juliet, and does it also hint at fate or the tragic end?

  • A Love for Rosaline (Act 1 Scene 1)
  • B Love for Juliet (Act 1 Scene 5)
  • C Hints at fate or the tragic end
  1. 'brawling love' and 'loving hate'
  2. 'cold fire', 'bright smoke', 'feather of lead'
  3. Calling Rosaline a treasure
  4. 'This is not Romeo'
  5. 'teach the torches to burn bright'
  6. 'hangs upon the cheek of night'
  7. 'So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows'
  8. 'Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear'
  9. Romeo calling himself a pilgrim
  10. Romeo's dream before the Capulet ball

Act 1 Scene 1 · Rosaline

Is Romeo really in love with Rosaline?

The play opens with a brawl between the Montagues and the Capulets — and Romeo isn't there. Benvolio saw him slipping quietly into a thick group of trees, as if hiding from the world. When Romeo does appear, his first lines are questions, and he is melancholic, avoiding everyone. He says he is in love with Rosaline, who doesn't love him back.

Which idea is closest to what you think right now?
How sure are you?

Same speaker, different shape

Romeo's love for Rosaline (Act 1 Scene 1)vsRomeo's love for Juliet (Act 1 Scene 5)

Listen to HOW Romeo speaks, not just what he says.

Focus

The key technique

Romeo's love for Rosaline (Act 1 Scene 1)

Oxymorons — two words or phrases with opposite meanings: 'brawling love', 'loving hate', 'heavy lightness', 'serious vanity', 'still-waking sleep'.

Romeo's love for Juliet (Act 1 Scene 5)

A shared sonnet — a 14-line poem in iambic pentameter, typically about love, with a regular rhyme and rhythm. Their first conversation forms one together.

The insight

One love is built from clashing opposites; the other from a regular, shared pattern.

Who is speaking

Romeo's love for Rosaline (Act 1 Scene 1)

Only Romeo, talking to Benvolio. The love is unrequited — not returned.

Romeo's love for Juliet (Act 1 Scene 5)

Both of them, taking turns inside the same sonnet.

What the shape suggests

Romeo's love for Rosaline (Act 1 Scene 1)

Opposite words don't line up, so the love seems conflicting — as if Romeo and Rosaline are not meant to be together. In 'brawling love' and 'loving hate', love is even trapped between violent words.

Romeo's love for Juliet (Act 1 Scene 5)

Making a regular pattern together suggests their thoughts are the same — their love is aligned.

Pulling apart or beating together

Romeo's love for Rosaline (Act 1 Scene 1)

Each pair, like 'feather of lead' or 'sick health', pulls in two directions at once — the words fight each other.

Romeo's love for Juliet (Act 1 Scene 5)

Iambic pentameter: five feet, each an unstressed then a stressed syllable — said aloud, it sounds like a heartbeat. Both speak in it.

Romeo and Juliet

Key Quotations

Tap an underlined word to zoom into the language, then reveal how each quotation works.

Light and hope1

teach the torches to burn bright

RomeoAct 1 Scene 5 — his first words on seeing Juliet at the Capulet ball

Light and fate1

hangs upon the cheek of night

RomeoAct 1 Scene 5 — comparing Juliet to a rich jewel

Preciousness1

Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear

RomeoAct 1 Scene 5 — still watching Juliet across the ball

Purity and freedom1

So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows

RomeoAct 1 Scene 5 — picking Juliet out from the other guests

Religious imagery

?

Reason it through

Why does Shakespeare fill Romeo and Juliet's first conversation with religious words like shrine, sin, saint, devotion, pilgrim and holy?

Link 1 of 4

First link · your turn

Romeo begins by comparing Juliet to a holy shrine — a place of worship. What does that make her?

2
Locked — reveal the link above first
3
Locked — reveal the link above first
4
Locked — reveal the link above first

Your turn

Write the comparison

Compare how Shakespeare presents Romeo's love for Rosaline in Act 1 Scene 1 with his love for Juliet in Act 1 Scene 5. Use at least one short quotation from each scene. [6 marks]

0 words · your answer stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED

A quick recap of today's lesson.

Two loves in one act — and how Romeo's language gives away the difference.

What you need to know

  • At the start, Romeo's love for Rosaline is unrequited — it is not returned — and his words suggest he loves the feeling of being in love more than Rosaline herself.
  • Romeo describes his love for Rosaline with oxymorons such as 'brawling love', 'loving hate' and 'cold fire': opposites that don't line up, like a love that isn't shared.
  • On first seeing Juliet in Act 1 Scene 5, Romeo uses light imagery — she can 'teach the torches to burn bright' — suggesting she brings hope into his dark, heavy life.
  • Romeo and Juliet's first conversation forms a shared sonnet in iambic pentameter, full of religious words such as shrine, saint and pilgrim, suggesting a love that is aligned, sacred and spiritual.
  • Images of love in both scenes can also foreshadow the tragic end: violent words in the oxymorons, and abrupt plosive sounds and night imagery around Juliet.

The big picture

Romeo begins the play lovesick over Rosaline, who does not love him back — but the way he talks suggests he is in love with the feeling of being in love, not with her. When he meets Juliet at the Capulet ball, his language changes: clashing oxymorons give way to images of light, and the two of them share a sonnet with one heartbeat rhythm. Yet even the brightest images of Juliet carry hints of the tragic ending, so love and tragedy are tied together from the very first act.

Key points

1Unrequited love means love that is not returned — Romeo's love for Rosaline.
2Romeo is kept away from the opening brawl, alone and melancholic, which suggests nothing matters more to him than the feeling of being in love.
3Rosaline has no lines and never appears on stage; Romeo praises her looks and calls her a treasure — a prize to be won.
4Oxymorons for Rosaline suggest conflict; a shared sonnet and shared rhythm for Juliet suggest two people in step.
5Juliet is linked with light, jewels, richness and a snowy dove — positive images of hope, preciousness, purity and freedom.
6Religious imagery makes the love seem sacred, which builds the audience's sympathy for a tragedy they already know is coming.

Worked example

Problem

Model analysis: what do Romeo's words 'I have lost myself' and 'This is not Romeo' (Act 1 Scene 1) show about how he sees love?

⚠ Watch out

Treating Romeo's love for Rosaline as the same deep love he feels for Juliet. Look at the language: clashing oxymorons and one voice for Rosaline; a shared sonnet and shared rhythm for Juliet.

🧠

Memory hook

Rosaline = CLASH (opposites, one voice). Juliet = MATCH (one sonnet, one heartbeat). And in both, the shadow of the ending is already there.

✓

Check yourself

Without looking back: how does the SHAPE of Romeo's language change between Rosaline and Juliet — and which image of Juliet still hints at the tragic ending?

Flashcards

(13)
What does 'unrequited love' mean?
Love that is not returned — like Romeo's love for Rosaline at the start of the play.
What is an oxymoron?
Two words or phrases used together that have, or seem to have, opposite meanings — e.g. 'cold fire', 'heavy lightness', 'feather of lead'.
Why might oxymorons suit Romeo's love for Rosaline?
Opposite words don't line up, so they could suggest a conflicted love that isn't returned — Romeo and Rosaline are not meant to be together.
In 'brawling love' and 'loving hate', what could the position of the word 'love' suggest?
Love is placed between violent words, so perhaps it is trapped within violence and cannot escape.
What might it suggest that Romeo speaks for 50 lines before mentioning Rosaline?
He cares more about the feeling of being in love than about the person he is supposed to love.
Romeo calls Rosaline a treasure. What could this imply?
He sees her as a prize to be won — an object with no feelings of her own — and enjoys the pursuit more than Rosaline herself.
What is a sonnet?
A 14-line poem written in iambic pentameter, typically about love, with a regular rhyme and rhythm.
What is iambic pentameter, and what does it sound like?
A line with five metrical feet, each an unstressed then a stressed syllable. Said aloud, it resembles a heartbeat.
What are plosive sounds?
Sounds made with an abrupt release of air, like d, p, b and t.
Juliet can 'teach the torches to burn bright'. What does the verb 'teach' suggest?
Juliet has knowledge and wisdom — she is so bright she can make a light source brighter. She doesn't copy the light; she is the light.
What does a dove usually represent, and why might Romeo compare Juliet to one?
Innocence, purity, peace and love (and, because birds fly, freedom). Juliet seems perfect — and perhaps a way out of his melancholy.
What does the name 'Romeo' mean, and why does it matter?
Pilgrim to Rome. It links Romeo to fate and destiny, as if he is destined to travel towards Juliet, the shrine at the end of his journey.
What is a tragedy?
A play dealing with tragic events that often ends with a death.

Tap any card to flip it, or use Study as deck to go through them one at a time. In the full lesson these run as a spaced-repetition deck — you rate each card Hard, Good or Easy and the tricky ones keep coming back until they stick.

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