Themes of Violence and Conflict are Central to Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare

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Recommended: Theatre during the Elizabethan era

Romeo and Juliet is a play written by William Shakespeare who was born in 1564 and died in 1616, during his time he wrote many plays which were prolific including Macbeth, Othello and The Tempest.

Theatre in Elizabethan times was marvellous entertainment. Plays would be performed almost anywhere, the theatres were new and extremely popular places for people to meet up socialise. All sorts of people went to watch plays, from the poorest people to the richest. The poor people would stand at the front while the richest would sit down and watch from a more comfortable place. During 1592-93, Shakespeare wrote long poems instead of plays as the theatres were closed due to the plague. The people in this time were very religious and wouldn?t have allowed love stories or anything other than violence and conflict, this is why Romeo and Juliet is superseded with much violence and conflict which covers the love story in Romeo and Juliet.

In Romeo and Juliet violence and conflict are very important as a result of the fact that two families in this play dislike each other and are feuding. This causes much friction in the play leading to a huge amount of violence and conflict.

A prologue is an introduction or foreword which is used to prepare the audience for the violence and conflict in the play. This is done when it states: ?Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean? this informs the audience that a high class family?s blood is spilt by another high class citizen. Another part of the prologue states: ?A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life, ?Doth with their death bury their parents? strife.? This explains to the audience that two lovers kill themselves and when they die they end their parent?s trouble.

Throughout Act 1, S...

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...s is shown when she says: ?Talk not to me, for I'll not speak a word Do as thou wilt, for I have done with thee.?

I think Shakespeare made his play violent because in those times people were very religious and they wouldn?t have watched his plays if they wasn?t violent. This is why he couldn?t write Romeo and Juliet as just a love story as that wouldn?t have been allowed in those times, therefore he covered up the love in the play with violence and conflict.

The violence in the play has the effect of turning it into a tragedy due to the amount of conflict and the death of Romeo and Juliet. It also creates the image of violence being unfair because of the deaths of so many in the play and the tragic end of the two lovers. The violence in the play has the effect of exciting the audience, causing them to worry and think about what will happen to Romeo and Juliet.

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