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Gracie Booth

Ms.Price

English 1 Honors

March 18th

The Love That is Unreturned

Typically people in society associate love to always be romantic, but in truth there are all

kinds of different types of love. Such as one of them being unrequited love. This love is seen

everywhere you go, whether you are at school, work, or in everyday life. Each and every person

at one point in their lives have felt unrequited love. Unrequited love is the opposite of romantic

love, while romantice love is returned with the same affection unrequited is not returned at all.

This love is seen throughout modern day and in the 16th century in ‘Romeo and Juliet’.

Unrequited love is seen throughout ‘Romeo and Juliet’ as well as the well known modern day

book and movies such as ‘Harry Potter’, with the similarities of that love was never returned

between the two couples and that it has a huge impact in society today as well as the society

then.

Unrequited love is seen in movies, books, even everyday life. Unrequited love is often

seen as a romantic love that is not returned like a high school crush. Unrequited Love is a big

part of modern day. This type of love can go from a school crush to an over obsessed stalker.

People feel unrequited love for one reason only for the wish that they could be with someone

that they find themselves falling for, but in the end it is as is always was, a wish. This specific

show of affection is shown in the best selling book series ‘Harry Potter’ by J.K. Rowling. In

‘Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows’ there is a huge example of unrequited love between the
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snarky potions master and Harry Potter’s murdered mother. This unrequited love was revealed

when Severus Snape was at his death bed and had given his memories to Harry through his tears.

In the memories it was revealed by Severus that he truly did love Lily Evans. Dumbledore

exemplified this with the question,”After all this time?” and Professor Snape answered

with,”Always.”(Rowling 687). This evidence from the text proves that Professor Snape did

indeed love Lily Evans even after all this time. In this quote Severus is claiming even though she

is dead and had a son with his nemesis he still loves her. This shows throughout the whole series

of books Severus stayed loyal to her, protecting the one sheer reminder of affection he could not

have, her son. It is also stated in the ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ showing unrequited

love is when Harry confronts Voldemort and admits that Severus was loyal only to the light by

saying,”Snape’s Patronus was a doe, the same as my mother’s, because he loved her for nearly

all of his life, from the time when they were children. You should have realized,”(Rowling 740-

741). This is a true and spot on example of unrequited love. This proves by the fact that Harry

even states that he loved her from when they were kids, and it is not exactly stated but can be

assumed by the fact that Severus Snape is indeed not Harry’s father that this love that Severus

harbored affections for Lily Evans was not returned. Snape and Lily were only mere friends and

that was the only affection that Snape would get in return for the love he felt towards her.

Severus and Lily is a clear as day example of unreturned love. It seems unrequited love

relationships always end with death, either it be the death of the love they had held for an other,

or the actual death of one of the occupants in the relationship. It all ends in loss.

Unrequited love was not only found in modern day society in ‘Harry Potter’, but also in

the 16th century revolving around Shakespeare’s’ Romeo and Juliet’. In this tragedy it is seen

that unrequited love is also revealed in it. When thinking of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ many come to
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the conclusion that the only love in it is obviously Romantic, but in the script it is read that there

is unreturned love between the famous Romeo Montague and Rosaline. Most when thinking of

‘Romeo and Juliet’ do not really think that there was other love interest for Romeo other than

Juliet Capulet, but seen in the play that is false. It is revealed in a conversation between Romeo’s

best friend or cousin Benvolio, when Benvolio asks why he is so depressed and Romeo

responds,”Out of her favor, where I am in love.” (Shakespeare 1.1.160). This proves how

unrequited love is shown in Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ with Romeo bluntly stating that

he is in love with a woman and this love he is found for this other does not return his feelings

with kind. Romeo even goes on to say: “ 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 uncharmed. She will not stay the siege of loving terms, Nor bide th’

encounter of assailing eyes, Nor ope her lap to saint-seducing gold. Oh, she is rich in beauty,

only poor that when she dies, with beauty dies her store. “ (Shakespeare 1.1.203). This quote

goes right along with the first making it very clear that the love he feels for Rosaline is indeed

unrequited. He even goes as far as to say the Latin god of desire, Cupid can not even touch her

with his magic love compelling arrows to steer her in his direction. The whole quote goes against

Rosaline ever to fall in love with him. It even compares her to the Roman goddess Diana, who is

known for having no association with men. Even though Romeo is in love with her Rosaline will

not share the same feelings as he.

It has been seen that unrequited love has been shown in not only the 16th century, but

also modern day. ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and modern day have many similarities. Modern day and

‘Romeo and Juliet’ really focus on the fact that in the end the character don’t end up together.

There will always be in love with another. In ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ along with
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‘Romeo and Juliet’ neither couple ends up with each other. In ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly

Hallows’ both Lily and Severus die with Snape’s last words being to Harry,

“Look...At...Me.”(Rowling 658). This relates to ‘Romeo and Juliet’ because this show Severus

never did get to be with the one he loved, but he did die looking into the same green eyes as Lily

Potter’s. In ‘Romeo and Juliet’ Rosaline and Romeo really do not have a confrontation. As soon

as Romeo lays his eyes on the beauty of Juliet all of the feelings for this Rosaline vanish. This

shows that both of the couples did not end up with the ones that they had wanted in the end.

Another similarity between modern day and ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is all of it is romantic love. The

love shared between the couples are not platonic, being love of friends, or familiar, which is love

between family. All of these examples are between one loving another with romantic affection

and fondness. This affection is clearly stated in the evidence that has already been used. Severus

Snape was willing to turn to the light and look after the son of the one that is his dead love.

Romeo was depressed for awhile, running off and crying in the woods. All of these actions were

for the love that was not returned but for the love they gave to the affection that did not match

their own. These are two similarities between unrequited love in modern day as well as ‘Romeo

and Juliet’.

Unrequited love was seen in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ because of the huge impact that

unrequited love has on society, which transferred into modern day. Unrequited love is the most

depressing love of all the different types of loves. This type of love has been around since

romantic love was developed. Unrequited love is the most hurtful and can leave a negative

impact on a person compared to all the other different love’s. Unrequited love is not always

romantic it could be between a family member with another member. It could be the love

between friends. Unrequited love can leave a lasting impact on a person’s heart. Unrequited love
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is one of the most seen types of love in this society. Some people never find love, but that does

not mean that that person did not have love towards another person that was not returned to drive

them to never love again. Unrequited was shown in some of the best selling books alongside

movies. With unrequited love being seen in two huge classics like ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly

Hallows’ and ‘Romeo and Juliet’ it has to have an impact on the generation before this one, the

generation that is now, and the generations to come.

Works Cited

Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Arthur A. Levine Books, 2014.
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Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Elements of Literature, Houghton Mufflin

Harcourt, 2005, 788-910.