The Opposing Themes of Love and Hate in the Play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet is conflict and love. Conflict and love are both shown through characterization in all of the characters. In the beginning, we see Juliet 's character as a little young child who obeys her family duties. When she meets, Romeo, her character is taken on a rollercoaster of emotions. Juliet 's character is the source of conflict and we see this through her developing actions. Romeo creates Juliet into this powerful young women. Romeo is so important to Juliet that she does not want to loose him. Conflict begins to arise when things actually take off. Once they are together on the balcony, is when they both realize that they are meant for each other. That true love is true and that they are destined for the stars. True love is
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy that involves young lovers, their “untimely death,” and a feud between their two families. The Capulets and the Montagues war against each other. The feud continues to escalate and provides the background for the story of these “two star-crossed lovers.” This literary masterpiece is still relevant today since it involves parental ambition, family fighting, and young love.
The titular play of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by William Shakespeare, suggests a very negative view of the human nature that in all its complexities, is flawed and hinders a very glorified subject of Shakespeare’s from ultimately prevailing: love. The faults of young love, a family feud and the power struggles within the chain of being are all complex products of the human nature that prevented a happy ending. Shakespeare stresses that the lovers were only driven to their suicidal fate by their young love in a very limited time triggering attempts to rebel against the wishes of their feuding families and the chain of being. Shakespeare utilises dramatic
In this essay, I will be examining Shakespeare’s treatment of relationships in Romeo and Juliet. As a poet and playwright, he wrote 154 sonnets, 2 long narrative poems and 38 plays, one of his most famous plays being Romeo and Juliet. There are many different types of relationships between characters, and these are essential to the play. The prologue tells us that the play is about two star-crossed lovers from two feuding families, the Montagues and Capulets. There is hatred between these two families, this explains this, ‘Thou villain Capulet’. This quote suggests because of the hate between their families, the lovers are doomed from the start.
In the popular Shakespearean play Romeo and Juliet, love and hate is a big contributor to driving the plot as they portray the violence and passion of being in love and how it led to the tragic ending of Romeo and Juliet. These emotions are repeatedly experienced by the main characters and is what drives the play as love overtakes every decision these star- cross’d lovers make. However, with love comes hate and it will find its way through and exculpates the story line. Love blinds theses characters and heals the hate between the families, but hate ultimately causes of certain deaths including their own.
Many long term feuds will have some violence before the feud is resolved, and this is first shown through the fight between the servants of the Capulet’s and the Montague’s. In the beginning of act one, scene one, the servants of the Capulets are eager to start a fight with the Montagues because they disrespect them so much. Sampson, one of the Capulets’ servants, says, “I will bite my thumb at / them, which is a disgrace to them if they bear it” (1.1.43-44). In Shakespeare’s time, biting your thumb at someone was very disrespectful, and because even the servants were doing it, the feud must have spread from the main source of the conflict between the families to the servants. The feud spreads even further to the common people of Verona. The
Hate is one very important idea examined in Romeo and Juliet and is explored by Juliet when she states ‘Here's much to do with hate, but more with love’ (1.1.166). William Shakespeare conveys the consequences of hate in his play through the ancient feud between the Capulet’s and the Montague’s, the irrational decisions made and the deaths that resulted. It is the ancient feud between the two families that lead to the irrational decisions made by Romeo and Juliet as well as their demise. It is questionable as to whether Romeo and Juliet’s lives would be spared if their families were not feuding.
To begin with, the feud between Romeo and Juliet’s families began even before the two were born, tragically dooming their relationship before it could even start. The Feud was triggered by an old grudge, causing family, friends, and servants between the two families to take sides. “What, drawn, and talk of peace?
Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet between 1594 1595, a play about love, courtship and marriage that ended in tragedy.
Romeo and Juliet shows how the story of true love can break the ancient grudge between two families. The conflict in the story is Capulets against Montagues. From ancient times, the two families have held grudges against each other. As the book states. “Two households, alike in dignity...from ancient grudge break to new mutiny. Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean” (1.Prologue.1-4). The grudge between the two families led to fighting and even death.
William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet is not just about the love affair between two main characters. It is also about a long lasting family feud which in turn causing two brutal deaths.
Everyone has felt hate sometime in their lives varying in severity, from a mild dislike to the intense and deep hatred we see in Romeo and Juliet. In this play, we see two lovers from opposing families fall madly in love. Consequently, this relationship causes the families to commit insane acts in the blind rage of anger. By using the fierce family feud between the Capulets and Montagues, William Shakespeare makes the controversial point that anger is blinding and causes people to act out of character, departing from the traditional idea that anger is just an emotion.
In the world, it is common for families and even countries to argue, and these arguments cause unnecessary controversies. In William Shakespeare’s, “Romeo and Juliet”, Juliet, a Capulet, falls in love with Romeo, a Montague, whom is in love with Juliet. Because of the arguments between the Capulets and Montagues, Romeo and Juliet are forbidden to be together. Riots break out, and secrets are kept, resulting in many more problems and tragedies. Romeo and Juliet’s tragic death is a result of the families’ feud because of the unnecessary fighting between the Capulets and Montagues, and the need for secrecy in Romeo and Juliet’s relationship.
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet discusses the many challenges the ‘star crossed lovers’ face. It is their own deceptive actions that ultimately lead them to their untimely end. However Romeo and Juliet are forced to be deceptive due to their fate and misfortune, the ongoing feud in Verona, and the misleading guidance they receive from others; which also contribute to their deaths. Romeo and Juliet focuses on the theme of love and hate, this theme is interweaved throughout the play.