Themes of Love and Hate in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a play about two young lovers, whose love was
destined for destruction from the beginning because of the hatred
between the two families, Montagues and Capulets. Therefore, the
themes of love and hate are very important in the play as the plot is
driven by these two themes. Shakespeare brings out the love between
the two rivals through Romeo and Juliet and their relationships with
the Friar and the Nurse.
I want to argue that in the play, the themes of love and hate are
closely linked. To show this, I have selected some of the most
important scenes in the play, which illustrate the idea that love and
hate are closely bound together. The first example is the chorus,
which is found at the beginning of the play, in the prologue. It is a
short summary of what the play is about. The chorus is in the form of
a sonnet and sonnets were often associated with love in the time of
Shakespeare. However, the words of the chorus seem to emphasize the
idea of hate although there are some words about love.
“From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.” (Prologue, 3-4)
These two lines are about the feud between the families. It shows that
it is a feud, which has been brewing for many years. By repeating the
words civil, Shakespeare is stressing the fact that they are all
civilians but the pride within each family has led them to violence
and evil.
The play then goes straight from the prologue into a brawl in the
first scene between both houses. It begins with servants from the two
houses but later Tybalt, the son of the Capulets, and Benvolio arrive.
Tybalt, during the brawl, says to Benvolio about the idea of peace,
“As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee.” (1.1.65) These are powerful
words as Tybalt is ranking Benvolio and all the Montagues at the same
A key theme of Romeo and Juliet that occurs throughout the play is Loyalty Vs. Disloyalty and the effects that this has on the characters Romeo and Juliet and their families. For example Romeo knows that if he tells his family of his love for Juliet it will be seen, as a disloyalty to his family and Romeo knows this so he tries to hide this truth.
his life is morally wrong. This contributes to the theme or themes of the play
the main theme of the play. With out this scene in the play I don’t
project of the play, of which is touched upon in Act One. It is this
and hate in the play. Romeo and Juliet fall in love at first sight at
One of the biggest meanings was that time was running out before them. After they meet, they are on the run for the clock when they only have a couple of days to be together. Another theme is the generation gap. Juliet is only 14 but Romeo is a few years older. This was not a big theme but this is still important for today’s generation. Another major theme is Romeo and Juliet’s love compared to the society around them. They seem so peaceful when they are together but the community around them is violent and chaotic, especially with the feud with the Montagues and Capulets. The families fought over many things including religion, the position of the power that the father should’ve been placed in, and the law and the desire for public honor. There were many horrible things happening to their society. Their love and their untimely deaths were the cause to bring the Montagues and Capulets together. One more important theme that is vital to the plot is the fate between these characters and their futures. The playwright says that the lovers are star-crossed meaning that their fates are controlling them. They see omens throughout the play and when Romeo says “Then I defy you, stars,” it completes the idea that their relationship is in opposition to the decrees of destiny. The horrible events after Friar Laurence’s plans and the lovers deaths are manifestations of death that bring about the end of the lives of these young
This theme is not only represented in “Romeo and Juliet”, or other playwrights and stories that people read about online, but in their everyday life. Although Shakespeare makes the theme of love and hate dramatic and over the top in Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare delivers the message of how love and hate can overpower and consume us, and if we aren’t careful, it can easily blow up and destroy everything. As Kurt Tucholsky once said, “Those who hate most fervently must have once loved deeply; those who want to deny the world must have once embraced what they now set on fire.” The coexistence of love and hate was not something Romeo and Juliet could choose to embrace or avoid, it was simply
scene ii, ll.46-50). This quote from the play also shows the importance of night and
The everlasting theme of Identity is a vital aspect in the play and is what ends up killing Romeo and Juliet, as it is their identities or more noticeably just their names that is the major conflict in the play, their families’ rivalry. Identity helps connect the audience as everyone has an identity and so it helps the audience feel sympathy for the lovers as they can’t escape the plague their identity has forced upon their lives. Impulsivity is also a prominent theme through out the play. It enthralls the audience which results in anticipation that leaves the audience not knowing what will happen next and wanting more. Lastly fate is a perpetual theme during the play.
are two main plots in the play, both based upon the theme of love. The
The theme of the play has to do with the way that life is an endless cycle. You're born, you have some happy times, you have some bad times, and then you die. As the years pass by, everything seems to change. But all in all there is little change. The sun always rises in the early morning, and sets in the evening. The seasons always rotate like they always have. The birds are always chirping. And there is always somebody that has life a little bit worse than your own.
First of all, the themes of Romeo and Juliet such as love and hate are essentially the same in all its facets and colours whether it is in the 1500’s or the present time. The play is still accepted universally because people can closely relate to themes such as love and hate, and life and death, and these themes are the basis of the play. For example, there is the i...
Love, loyalty, and death are each words with different meaning that work together to formulate theme. One theme in the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is an obsession with loyalty leads to death. For family or for love, many of the main characters die or kill to stay loyal to the ones they care about. Once the star-crossed lovers are married, dependability becomes severely important. After the wedding, Romeo refuses to fight Tybalt because Romeo does not want to kill his new family member, but after Tybalt kills Mercutio, Romeo seeks revenge.
Love is a very powerful force which some believe has the capability to overpower hate. Within the play, Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare displays various events in which the characters convey the message that love can conquer all. The characters in this play continue to forgive the ones they love, even under harsh circumstances. Additionally, Shakespeare effectively demonstrates how Romeo and Juliet’s love for one another overpowers significant emotional scenes within the play, including the feuding between their two families. Furthermore, by the end of the play the reader sees how love defeats the shock of death and how Romeo and Juliet’s love ends the ancient feud between the Capulets and Montagues. Using these three events, the reader sees Shakespeare’s message of how love can conquer all. In the desperate battle between love and hate, Shakespeare believes love to be the more powerful force in the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.
Romeo and Juliet is a romantic love story about a young lad named Romeo who has fallen in love with Lady Juliet, but is unable to marry her because of a long-lasting family feud. The play ends in the death of both these characters and the reunion of the friendship between the families. Romeo is in love with Juliet, and this is a true, passionate love (unlike the love Paris has for her or the love Romeo had for Rosaline) that nothing can overcome, not even the hatred between their two families that is the reason for the death of their two children. Throughout the play, Shakespeare thoroughly explores the themes of both true love and false love and hatred. Without either of these themes, the play would loose its romantic touch and probably would not be as famous as it is today.