1

Summative Assessment Collection 4: Analytical Essay

Britton

Mr.Girba

English 1H Period 5

9 April 2017

Love Leads to Irrationality

People look for an element in their life that gives them happiness. Love, is the element

that everyone searches for. Everyone knows what love is no matter who they are, what language

they speak, or where they are from. There are many facets of love. People experience different

facets of love in their life. Many texts throughout history explore the many facets of love. The

texts Romeo and Juliet, Pyramus and Thisbe, and Loves Vocabulary all use elements of the

facets of love, Eros, Philia, and Violence that lead to irrationality.

Eros is a romantic love, as demonstrated in the texts, Romeo and Juliet, Pyramus and

Thisbe, and Loves Vocabulary. In the play, Romeo and Juliet, written by William

Shakespeare, Romeo states, Th exchange of thy loves faithful vow for mine (2.2. 127).

Romeo and Juliet decide to marry each other the night they meet. Eros is conveyed when Romeo

tells Juliet that he wants to marry her, because they are in the romantic stage of their relationship.

If Romeo and Juliet did not get married after knowing each other for only one day, Romeo

would not have gotten in the way of Tybalt and Mercutio when they were fighting. Mercutio

would not have been stabbed and killed. In the poem, Pyramus and Thisbe, written by Ovid,

Pyramus and Thisbe state, Oh wouldnt it be better if you let our bodies join each other fully

or, if that is asking for too much, just stretched your fissure wide enough to let us kiss! (Ovid

29-32). Pyramus and Thisbe want to be able to reach each other. Eros appears when Pyramus and
 2

Thisbe physically want to be with each other in a romantic way. Since they can not reach each

other they decide to sneak out to meet each other, which eventually leads to irrational choices. In

the article, Loves Vocabulary, written by Diane Ackerman, Ackerman states, Years ago, I fell

in love with someone who was both a sport and a pastime. At the end, he made fade-away jump

shots in my life (Ackerman 164). Ackerman says she fell in love head over heals for someone

once. Eros is presented when Ackerman states that she fell in a passionate love with someone.

They rushed their relationship and in the end they realized that they were not who they thought

they were. Eros, a romantic love, that leads to rushed or harmful choices.

Philia is a love shared by two people, it grows stronger through time, and often the

partners share the same goals, as shown in the texts, Romeo and Juliet, Pyramus and Thisbe,

and Loves Vocabulary. In the play, Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, Romeo

states, As mine on hers, so hers is set on mine (2.3. 59). Romeo explains to Friar Lawrence

that him and Juliet want to be married. Philia is exhibited because Romeo and Juliet share the

desire to marry each other. Since Juliet marries Romeo, Friar Lawrence ends up helping Juliet

get out of marrying Paris by faking her death which causes Juliet and Romeo to make reckless

decisions. In the poem, Pyramus and Thisbe, written by Ovid, it states, Just so, one night, they

wished each other well, and each delivered kisses to the wallalthough those kisses could not

reach their goal (Ovid 36-38). Pyramus and Thisbe say their goodbyes through the wall that

separates them. Philia is conveyed when Pyramus and Thisbe wish the best for each other and

both share the same eagerness to be with each other. Eventually they got tired of waiting to be

with each other so they devised a plan to meet that was not thought out thoroughly. In the article,

Loves Vocabulary, written by Diane Ackerman, Ackerman states, In folk stories,

unsuspecting lads and lasses ingest a love potion and quickly lose their hearts (Ackerman 164).
 3

In legends men and women fall in love with each other and quickly lose control of their thoughts

and feelings. Philia is demonstrated because both people in the relationship fall hopelessly in

love with each other. Since they lose control they are quick to jump to rash decisions. Philia is a

love between two people, that becomes strong through time, and the same goals are shared that

lead to reckless and rash decisions.

Violence is a feature of love that causes harm, as displayed in the texts, Romeo and Juliet,

Pyramus and Thisbe, and Loves Vocabulary. In the play, Romeo and Juliet, written by

William Shakespeare, Juliet states, Yea, noise? Then Ill be brief. O happy dagger, This is thy

sheath. There rust and let me die (5.3. 169-170). After seeing that Romeo poisoned himself

because he thought Juliet was dead, Juliet stabs herself to be with her Romeo. Violence is shown

in this scene because Romeo and Juliet kill themselves because Romeo thought Juliet was dead

and Juliet sees Romeo dead. If Romeo would have not poisoned himself as soon as he saw Juliet

than Juliet would not have woken up and killed herself. In the poem, Pyramus and Thisbe,

written by Ovid, the text states:

He wept and cried out as he held that dear shawl fast: Now drink from my blood, too!

And then he drew his dagger from his belt and thrust it hard into his guts. And as he died,

he wrenched the dagger from his gushing wound (Ovid 92-97).

Pyramus stabs himself when he thinks that Thisbe is dead because he sees a bloody shall near

wild animal tracks. When Thisbe sees her love is dying she stabs herself. Violence occurs when

Pyramus and Thisbe believe they cant be with each other, so they decide to kill themselves. If

Pyramus did not jump to the conclusion that Thisbe was dead than they would not have killed

themselves. In the article, Loves Vocabulary, written by Diane Ackerman, Ackerman states,

In fact, in some European and South American countries, even murder is forgivable if it was a
 4

crime of passion. (Ackerman 164). Even crimes in certain places around the world are excused

if it was an act out of love.Violence appears when people commit crimes to gain or avenge their

love. Once they start to commit a crime, love causes them to forget about being rational.

Violence is pain that leads to horrific decisions.

Many facets of love exist. One facet of love is Eros. Eros is a romantic love that can often

be shared by two people where the partners ignore each other's weaknesses. Another facet of love

is Philia. Philia is a love that grows over time between two people that share common goals.

Lastly, another facet of love is Violence. Violence is the act of pain and harm inflicted on

someone or something.The facets of love, Eros, Philia, and Violence lead to irrationality as

shown in the texts, Romeo and Juliet, Pyramus and Thisbe, and Loves Vocabulary.

Work Cited
 5

Ackerman, Diane. Loves Vocabulary California Collections. Ed. Kylene Beers, Martha

Hougen, Carol Jago, William McBride, Erik Palmer, and Lydia Stack. Orlando: Houghton

Mifflin Harcourt, 2017. 163-168. Web.

Ovid. Pyramus and Thisbe. 2017. pdf.

Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. Translated by SparkNotes, Spark Publishing, 2017.

Print.

Key

1st Highlight: In this essay, I learned how to write a great introduction paragraph by starting
broad then going into more detail about what I would cover.

2nd Highlight: In this essay, I improved on writing a more effective thesis than my last essay.

3rd Highlight: Another thing from this essay that I learned, is how to do parenthetical citations
for a play properly.

4th Highlight: I also improved on writing a conclusion paragraph for an essay that had more
detail and less repetition.