Allan Bloom. "Romeo and Juliet" in Love and Friendship. Simon and Schuster. New York, NY, 1993.

Excerpt:

“Romeo and Juliet is always greeted by the young with immediate sympathy, somehow expressing the essence of love, what it ought to be, a permanent possibility, fulfillment of every renascent hope and a thing to be admired. However far away this love affair may be from any real experience young men and women have today, however alien to the prevalent atmosphere of either careful and contractual relations or careless promiscuity, its two star-crossed lovers engage the admiration of most people without any need for instruction. Love at first sight, tapping the most generous sentiments and focusing the whole of two persons’ energies on each other, bringing out the best in each, suppressing the petty and ugly passions, seems to be good manifestly and always possible. Here is a natural imperative.”

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