No emotion has such a universal meaning as love. It is an integral part of the human condition. Love is the basis by which all other emotions can be measured. Friendship and even pain are imbued with love. Love is so central to our lives that it is right and proper that it is the topic of so many discussions. Every culture and every writer has some comment or evaluation of love. The New Testament has its share of commentaries on love. The entire basis of the Christian tradition is God's love for humanity. "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son." (John 3:6) Jesus preached much about loving your neighbor, loving God, and even loving your enemies. (Mt 5:44) Shakespeare's biblical knowledge is well known and he was certainly familiar with these concepts as he wrote his plays on the theme of love. By looking closely at his works, we can analyze the nature of true love. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare provides an example of true love overwhelmed by tragic fate. His "star-crossed lovers" are so madly in love with each other that they cannot live without being together. (RJ Prologue, 6) By contrast, in Twelfth Night the characters are so fickle that they change love interests in the space of a few lines. Comparing the true love of Romeo and Juliet with the superficial love of Twelfth Night, it becomes clear that Shakespeare agrees with the biblical assessment of love. It is necessary, of course, to begin by explaining what the biblical evaluation of love is. Of all the references to love in the Bible, and there are many, three sources best fit this discussion. In the Old Testament, the Song of Songs, a descriptive love poem between a woman and her true love, has many parallels to the love in Romeo and...... middle of paper...... and Juliet, Critical Essays. Garland Publishing, New York: (c)1993Palmer, DJ "'Twelfth Night' and the Myth of Echo and Narcissus.'" in Shakespeare Survey 32. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: (c)1979Parker, Barbara. A precious look, love and reason in Shakespeare's works. New York University Press, New York: (c) 1987 Shaheen, Naseeb. "Shakespeare's Knowledge of the Bible: As Acquired" in Shakespeare Studies XX. Burt Franklin & Co., New York: (c)1988Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. Cliff's Notes, Lincoln: (c)1965Shakespeare, William. Twelfth night. Cliff's Notes, Lincoln: (c) 1965Summers, Joseph H. "The Masques of Twelfth Night" in Twentieth-Century Interpretations of Twelfth Night. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs: (c)1968Vyvyan, John. Shakespeare and the rose of love. Chatto & Windus, London: (approx)1960