Is Romeo and Juliet More About Hate or Love?

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Throughout Romeo and Juliet love and hate are combined. However even though they are combined love still remains the principal theme in the play. Although in the play the theme of hatred can be just as important and sometimes it intensifies the theme of love. For example Romeo and Juliet’s love wouldn’t have been so extreme and powerful unless there was the hatred between the Montague’s and Capulet’s.

We observe this from the very beginning in the prologue. The first five lines of the prologue aren’t about love but they are about hatred. As the prologue is in the form of a chorus and choruses generally repeat throughout the play it signifies that hate will be an eminent theme during Romeo and Juliet. There are many death and war references in the prologue which could suggest that Shakespeare is trying to introduce an important theme in the play, which is hate. Romeo and Juliet are described as “star crossed lovers and as having “death-marked love.” The image of a cross is negative and reminds us of death, as according to the Christian religion Jesus dies on a cross, also the phrase “death marked” also refers to death, these images can be linked with hate, this stresses that love and hate are undividable throughout Romeo and Juliet. The phrase “from forth the fatal loins of these two foes” links hatred with a bawdy form of love, which again emphasizes that hate and love are inseparable. The use of alliteration with the letter “f” sounds quite harsh, which again gives us a sense of hatred and because the “f” sound is repetitive it could imply that hatred will reoccur in the play. The use of stress on the words “fatal” and “foes” also underlines the importance of hate in the play. The theme of hatred is continued into Act 1 Scen...

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...n the families is ended by love of Romeo and Juliet signifying that love is more dominant. In Act 5 scene 3 the prince describes the misfortunes of the Montague’s and Capulet’s as “heaven finds means to kill your joys with love.” The word “kill” sounds harsh here compared to the rest of the line, this makes it stand out, which has the effect of making the line seem negative; it is almost like love and hate are playing opposite roles. Although in this scene love is more important than hate because that is what ends the feuding between the Montegues and Capulets.

Throughout Romeo and Juliet we can see that hate and love are very significant themes in the play and often occur alongside each other. Although love is vital, it wouldn’t be so major if it weren’t for the elements of hate, which intensify the love by contrasting against it.

Works Cited
Romeo and Juliet

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