“Whoever loved that loved not at first sight?” William Shakespeare e l’amore a prima vista

4 A BST R A C T Th is wor k of thesis a im s to highl ight the theme of l ove a t fir st sight , taking a s it s re fe re nc e the S ha ke spe a r e a n wo rks tha t be st foc us on thi s topi c . The e xc u rsus of the se l e c t e d wr it ings wa s im porta n t in orde r to provid e a n ov e r view of how su c h love ma nife sts it se lf a nd wh a t c onse que n c e s it ha s fo r those who fe e l it . The e xa mi na ti on o f these wor ks shows that lov e a t fir st sight , fa r fr om be ing c onsi de re d t rue , re a l a nd posi ti ve , ha s no thi ng but ne ga ti ve c onse que nc e s: a nyon e who ha s e xpe rie nc e d it , in fa c t, ha s c ome to grie f, due to the l a c k of knowle dg e of the l ove rs a nd the im matur it y of that love: we c a n se e it in As you li ke it a nd Tw e lft h night whe r e the c ha ra c ter s, not knowing the re a l identit y of the p e rson in f ront of them , fa ll hope lessly i n love with those who be l ieve to be diff e re nt fr om wha t they re a ll y a re . Th e y a re disappoint e d a nd invol v e d in sil ly a c ti ons, driv e n by that im me a sura bl e love they thi nk to f e e l. A mi dsum mer night 's dre a m , is no dif fe r e nt in the topi c : he r e l ove , made throug h the e xpe dient o f the ma gic poti on, c re a tes only troub les a nd show the de c e it fu lness of the fe e li ng. R om e o a nd Juli e t, fina ll y , symb oli z e s the ne ga ti ve pe a k to whic h love a t fir st sight c a n tend: for a love born too quickly a nd li v e d just a s quickly a nd f or the la c k of ra ti ona li ty of the main c ha r a c te rs, the tra ge dy take s pl a c e ; t he y die f or a love th a t i s not re a ll y love. The c ha r a c te rs of a ll the mentioned wor ks , more ove r, c ha ng e e a sil y a nd c onti nuousl y the objec t of their love, proving that love a t fir st sigh t is va in a nd supe rf icia l, be ing re lega ted only to the physi c a l a spe c t. R omeo l ove s R osa li nda a t the be ginni ng of the play a nd f e w mi nutes late r he d e di c a tes roma nti c wor ds to a noth e r woma n. F e b e , hope les sly in love with Ga nyme de , do e s not he sit a te to mar ry S il vio, whe n s he re a li z e s that Ga nymede will ne v e r love he r, a nd these a re j ust two of the many e xa m ples propo se d in t he thi s thesis . F rom the a bov e , ther e for e , we c a n c ome to the c onc lusi on that a t fir st sight you c a n only de sire someone , but you c a n love him , be c a us e you re ly on a physi c a l a tt ra c ti on: you may fe e l se xua ll y a tt ra c ted a t fir st glanc e , but you c a n not love. The fe e li ng of love, in f a c t, im pli e s be ing will ing to do e ve rything for the ha ppin e ss of the o th e r, to sa c rif i c e som e thi ng, but all t his c a n only b e de v e loped o ve r ti me, w he n the two lover s know the mselve s de e pl y a nd c ompl e tely. Ea c h o f us ha s fe lt stron gly a tt ra c ted to the othe r, but not e ve ryone is a ble to put a side thei r own se lf in orde r to c r e a t e a str onge r a nd mor e last ing us. Only whe n thi s ha ppe ns, is it possi ble to sp e a k of love a nd the latter in volves not only the e ye s, but the pe rsona li ty, the c ha ra c t e r, the fe e li ngs, the