Misguided Loyalties In Romeo And Juliet

The theme of tragedy is highlighted effectively in Romeo and Juliet. At the play’s beginning, Romeo comments on the way the misguided loyalties of the feuding servants and family members leads them into violent conflict with each other. Shakespeare allows his audience to see that the hatred between a small number of individuals can disrupt a whole community. However, when Romeo meets Juliet, all thoughts of the feud temporarily disappear as their attraction for each other overrides the dispute between their families. But the love they feel does not protect Romeo and Juliet from the larger forces that compel them towards tragedy, as family and friends fail them and events and circumstances push them to more and more desperate actions. Shakespeare

This is demonstrated by the Capulet servants in I, i, of the play. The Capulet servants start this because they are led by blind hate for the Montague household. Realistically, they do not know the servants or the higher staff of their rival household well enough to make these judgements about them. They only know that the Capulet masters hate them, so they must as well, as Gregory, a Capulet servant, says; "The quarrel is between our masters and us their men." (I,i,1). Eventually, this fight spreads throughout the town as more and more servants join in the fight, because of the need to defend their household’s dignity, as well as their own. The outcome of this fight scene is the Prince implementing a death penalty the next time anyone starts a

When Juliet is told to marry County Paris, the Nurse encourages Juliet to do so, saying that; "…he’s a lovely gentleman! Romeo’s a dishclout to him." as well as; "I think you are happy in this second match, For it excels your first. Or if it did not, Your first is dead, or ’twere as good he were, As living here and you no use of him.". The Nurse does not think that Romeo is able to provide Juliet with the lifestyle she needs, and she thinks that Juliet should just be complacent with the choices that have been made for her. This behaviour is quite contradicting, as at the beginning of the play the Nurse encourages Juliet to marry Romeo. Later on, in Juliet’s sepulchre, Friar Laurence is with her in the tomb. However, when he hears a noise coming in from the outside he quickly flees the scene, as he does not want to be caught in the crossfire of this situation; "I hear some noise… Come, go good Juliet; I dare no longer stay." (VI, iii, i). At the end of the play, the Prince says "And I for winking at your discords too Have lost a brace of kinsmen: all are punished." (VI, iii, ii). He is frustrated that he had turned a blind eye to all this turmoil, that could have been easily avoided. He does not sentence any more death penalties, as he thinks that the death of both families’ children in punishment