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Internal Conflict In Romeo And Juliet

Decent Essays

Romeo and Juliet Act 1 Going Beyond the TextWilliam Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, covers the forbidden love between the main characters, Romeo and Juliet, which was introduced at the end of Act One. Along with this major external conflict, there are many other internal and external conflicts which move the plot forward. One of these conflicts is Romeo’s internal struggle with forgetting the love of his life, Rosaline. In order to accomplish this, he attends a Capulet party. There, he is the subject of the external conflict between Lord Capulet and Tybalt. Overall, Act One of Romeo and Juliet revolves around the internal and external conflicts which occur between different characters. The first conflict introduced to readers in Act …show more content…

Both characters are a part of the Capulets and Tybalt is the Lord’s nephew. Their conflict arose at a party that Lord Capulet held for all of the unmarried men and women except the Montagues. His intention was to introduce suitors to brides. While the party transpired, Romeo appeared. Upon his entrance, Tybalt noticed the Montague and was ready to kill him. When he was waiting for his servant to bring his short sword, Lord Capulet spied him and asked what caused his distress. Tybalt described his situation, and much to his dismay, Lord Capulet refused to let Tybalt harm Romeo. He instructed Tybalt that Romeo should not be harmed and that he could stay, as long as he remained peaceful. “Content thee, gentle coz. Let him alone. / He bears him like a portly gentleman, / And, to say truth, Verona brags of him / To be a virtuous and well-governed youth. / I would not for the wealth of all this town / Here in my house do him disparagement. / Therefore be patient. Take no note of him. / It is my will, the which if thou respect...” (1.5.74-83). Lord Capulet’s and Tybalt’s reaction to Romeo’s presence greatly differ, resulting in an external conflict. This conflict further moved the plot as it reinforced the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets. If the Capulets and Montagues were friends, then Tybalt would not have cared about Romeo’s presence, and would not have engaged in a heated conversation

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