The Tragedy of Lust
By. Zemarr Brandao
Romeo and Juliet is a highly acclaimed Shakespearean tragedy of two teenage lovers who fall in love at first sight and die for one another in the end. Gag me, please. I never really liked Romeo and Juliet as I firmly believe there is no such thing as love at first sight. At first sight there is Attraction, attraction to a person produces lust and desire. Lust and desire can fuel passion in the same sense that love can facilitate passion; therefore, love and lust are often confused and used interchangeably.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LOVE AND LUST IS A CONCEPT IN OTHER BRITISH LITERATURE. ALFRED TENNYSON, AN ENGLISH POET IN THE LONG 19TH CENTURY, EXAMINES THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LOVE AND LUST IN THE “LAST TOURNAMENT” OF IDYLLS OF THE KING. IDYLLS OF THE KING DEPICTS THE RISE AND FALL OF KING ARTHUR AND THE ROUNDTABLE. TO TACKLE THE CONCEPTS OF LUST AND LOVE, TENNYSON EXPLORES TRUE LOVE AND FIDELITY OF ONE’S VOWS BY EXAMINING THE ADULTEROUS RELATIONSHIP OF LANCELOT AND QUEEN GUINEVERE AND TRISTRAM AND ISOLT. IN THE TOURNAMENT, TRISTRAM IS THE BLOODY VICTOR AND RECEIVES THE JEWELS OF NESTLING, THE DEAD INNOCENT CHILD. THE COLOR RED IS USED TO ILLUSTRATE PASSION. INSTEAD OF GIFTING THE JEWELS TO THE LADY, HIS WIFE, OR EVEN QUEEN GUINEVERE, WHO HAD JUST LOST HER ADOPTED CHILD, IN A SENSE, HE KEEPS THEM. HE TELLS LANCELOT THAT HE CAN HAVE HIS “QUEEN OF BEAUTY AND OF LOVE, / [BUT] BEHOLD THIS DAY MY QUEEN OF BEAUTY IS NOT HERE,” AND HENCE HE WILL TAKE A TRIP TO GIFT HER THE JEWELS (253). TRISTRAM ALLUDES TO THE LOVE QUEEN GUINEVERE SHARES FOR LANCELOT IN THIS LINE. IN THIS LINE, HE REFERS TO ISOLT AS HIS QUEEN OF BEAUTY, INDICATING THE VANITY IN THEIR ADULTEROUS RELATIONSHIP. IF IT IS INDEED LOVE THAT THE TWO SHARE, WHY WOULD TRISTRAM NOT REFER TO ISOLT AS THE QUEEN OF LOVE AND BEAUTY? WHEN HE FINALLY SEES HIS QUEEN OF BEAUTY, HE REFERS TO HER AS HIS PARAMOUNT OF LOVE, AWARE OF INSINCERITY MENTIONS HER BEAUTY, “HER BEAUTY IS HER BEAUTY, AND THINE THINE, / AND THINE IS MORE TO ME” (263). SHE COMPARES HER BEAUTY TO QUEEN GUINEVERE AND KNOWS THAT SHE VALUES HER BEAUTY MORE THAN QUEEN, AS THE QUEEN VALUES LANCELOT ABOVE HERSELF. ISOLT ILLUSTRATES HER VANITY AND TRISTRAM WHEN HE TELLS ISOLT, “ MAY GOD BE WITH THEE, SWEET, WHEN OLD AND GRAY, AND PAST DESIRE”(265). WHEN ONE AGES, THEIR APPEARANCE GROWS OLD. REGARDLESS OF THE SWEET WORDS BOTH ISOLT AND TRISTRAM MAY USE WITH EACH OTHER, THEIR RELATIONSHIP IS FUELED BY LUST, AND THEY MISTAKE THIS PASSION FOR LOVE. TRISTRAM SERVES ISOLT AS A LOVELY DISTRACTION FROM HER HUSBAND, MARK, AND IS A PREOCULAR MAN. QUEEN GUINEVERE AND LANCELOT RUN AWAY FROM CAMELOT; MEANWHILE, MARK KILLS TRISTRAM. QUEEN GUINEVERE AND LANCELOT LIVE AS A SIGN OF LOVE WHILE THE LUSTFUL COUPLE DIES. THE LUSTFUL COUPLE DIES AT THE END, SIMILAR TO ROMEO AND JULIET.
Society, however, has subtlety recognized our culture of lust and appearance. Tinder, Hinge, Grinder, etc., these dating apps were created to feed into this culture of vanity. We swipe left and leave those we find unattractive behind, and we swipe right to explore their features more. Netflix created Love is Blind in opposition to this culture. The fantasy of love at first sight is why Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy because they confuse love and lust. Tristram has the best of both worlds, love for Isolt of Brittany and lust for Isolt–that's not confusing.
