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Violence and Conflict in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet, a story set in Verona Italy, tells the story of “two
star crossed lovers” from two feuding families, the Capulets and
Montagues. There is much violence and conflict in the play and this in
the main, stems from the feud. The plays themes are punishment,
revenge, supernatural fate, lies, deceit, and conflict. After a while,
Romeo and Juliet secretly marry behind their parents backs, perhaps
hoping that their true love would end the feud. But it only gets
worse.
There is a lot more violence, including the deaths of Mercutio, the
‘joker’, and Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin. Then finally in the last scenes,
the deaths of Paris, then Romeo and Juliet themselves.
The first reference to the violence and conflict is in the opening
scene, Act 1 scene 1. An argument between a few low rank family
members occurs. Soon other family members get involved and the once
petty squabble, that started when a Montague servant bites his thumb;
“Do you bite your thumb at us sir?”
“I do bite my thumb sir”
spirals out of control and the two families fill the streets and start
to sword fight. More and more family members join in, until the law of
the town, represented by the Prince, rides in to break everything up.
The Prince then threatens the penalty of death on anyone who disturbs
the streets again.
“By thee old Capulet and Montague have thrice disturbed the quiet of
our streets” … “once more, on pain of death.”
This first scene is important because it introduces us to the
families, but more importantly, the feud.
I think that the biggest violence and conf...
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..., and erect a solid gold statue of the in memory of the
lovers.
Even though Shakespeare wrote this play in the 1500s, the play closely
relates to modern society. It relates to different races, different
religious groups and different countries that are continuously feuding
and fighting. For example, like the current affairs in Iraq. Two
different countries with different beliefs (America and Iraq) cannot
agree and continue to fight, and have been doing for years.
I think that the play is very interesting and uplifting. It reflects
on real life problems and emphasises how the violence and conflict
results in the destruction of people’s lives and unnecessary deaths of
innocent people. I think Shakespeare was trying to compare it to his
society, and has successfully impacted his beliefs in a tale of love
and hate.
Thought the play, these lovers go through many obstacles that range from arranging a wedding and finding a time to meet to Juliet trying to get out of marrying Paris. The entire time fate is tossing them around. Romeo realizes this after he kills Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, in a brawl. At first, Romeo does not want to fight because Romeo and Juliet are already married at this time and he knows that they are cousins. Tybalt asks for a brawl from Romeo but Mercutio fights instead. Mercutio gets killed by Tybalt and that is what makes Romeo mad and fight Tybalt.
“This, by his voice, should be a Montague. Fetch me my rapier, boy. What dares the slave come hither, cover’d with an antic face, To fleer and scorn at our solemnity? Now, by the stock and honour of my kin, To strike him dead I hold it not a sin.” (Shakespeare, page 54).
Act 3 Scene I of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Before Act 3 scene i we know that there are two feuding families, the Capulets and the Montagues. The audience has been told at the start that to resolve this dispute their children, two innocent lovers, must die. The Prince had explicitly told the family that if there is another brawl their ‘lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace’. Romeo a Montague went unwelcome to the Capulets’ ball. Tybalt, a nephew of old Capulet noticed Romeo.
...the intensity of the play, the very sweet and romantic scenes would have intrigued the audience and with the shock deaths at the end it would have saddened then because Shakespeare involved his audience and drew them in with his soft and subtle scenes to the heart wrenching scenes. When, after Romeo and Juliet die, the two families make friends. I would think the audience wouldn’t be surprised because in the prologue it said, “Doth with their death bury their parent’s strife.” This means that with Romeo and Juliet’s death it will end the family’s feud. In conclusion I would say that Shakespeare puts conflict in sense which represents both physical and verbal abuse. It is important to include both aspects because not every character is going to have either a constant physical or verbal fight. Romeo and Juliet without conflict are like Romeo and Juliet without love.
Shakespeare's Use of Violence and Conflict in Romeo and Juliet in Act 3 Scene 1
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 arrived.
Romeo And Juliet, alongside Hamlet, is probably Shakespeare’s most performed play and has also been adapted in many forms. In Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, the star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet killed themselves due to the conflicts between the Capulets and the Montagues, Romeo and Juliet’s families. Regardless of the differences in reactions regarding the conflict between the two families, both Romeo and Tybalt are characters that act before they think, causing an unfortunate effect on the tragedy of the play.
Girls were seen as the property of their fathers – to be given away to
Shakespeare’s play is about two families that hate each other for no obvious reason. This fight has dragged on for a long time in Verona, Italy where the play is set. In Verona there are public disturbances between the two families, Capulets and Montagues. It became such a problem that the prince announces “I have an interest in your hate’s proceeding, / My blood for your rude brawls doth lie a bleeding;” (Romeo and Juliet 3:1: 186-87). The families’ feud creates a creepy and dismal atmosphere in Verona, and this leads the Prince to promulgate the rule with both families. Public disturbances will not happen again and if it does then they will take any fighter’s lives in front of those both families. As the reader may notice, the Capulets and the Montagues’ hatred and indignation grew as the feuds escalated. At the Capulet’s party, Tybalt does not accept Romeo being a part of the party saying “I will not endure him” (Romeo and Juliet, 1: 5: 76) and convinces Capulet to drive Romeo out of the room. Although, Capulet accepts Romeo to enjoy the party, “He shall be endured./ What, goodman boy! I say he shall. Go to!”(Romeo and Juliet, 1: 5: 77-78). However, at the end of the play both families finally realize that they have done something wr...
‘Romeo and Juliet’ by William Shakespeare incorporates the theme of conflict through many different characters and situations. The definition of conflict is “a fight, battle, or struggle; especially a prolonged struggle; strife” The play mainly focuses on the tragic lives of Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet; the two characters belong to the Montague and Capulet households respectively, which have held ongoing grudges against each other for years. The play ends with both main characters committing suicide, to be together in heaven. As with many of Shakespeare’s works, the theme of conflict is a strong one. For a start, there is the ongoing conflict between the two families; the Montagues and the Capulets. The audience is unsure how this grudge started; this reflects how tedious some ongoing grudges can be. This is a vital conflict to keep the structure of the story, as without this conflict Romeo and Juliet would not have encountered the problems they had with their marriage. However, there are different ways of putting this grudge across - through dialogue, such as Mercutio’s intell...
Instead, they provoke the Capulets enough that the squabble turns into a grand battlefield, the axis of power against the allies. You can tell that they are surprised when Benvolio comes to break them up. When he does, the reader is given a sense of the "bewilderment" felt in the atmosphere. When Tybalt enters though, he disgraces the name Montague and challenges Benvolio. This, in turn, ignites another one of the many disputes between the families.
In the tremendous play of ‘Romeo & Juliet’, Shakespeare’s ways engages the audience straight away. The astounding methods he uses hooks the audience into the play and allows them to read on, wondering what will happen. The tragic love story of Romeo & Juliet, as mentioned in the prologue, sets a variety of themes throughout Act 1 Scene 5. Many of the recognisable themes are: youth and age, revenge, forbidden love, fate, action and hate. The main idea of the play is a feud that had been going on between two families, The ‘Montagues and Capulets’, the son of the Montagues and the daughter of the Capulets fall in love and the story tells us how tragic, death, happiness and revenge find them throughout the play.
Lao Tzu, a philosopher from China once said, “Violence, even well intentioned, always rebounds upon oneself” (Lao Tzu 1). This directly relates to the many acts of violence that Romeo, a Montague, is apart of. In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet have to deal with hatred between their families and what occurs because of it. Many people die and the lives of Romeo and Juliet comes to an end. While some may believe otherwise, violence cannot solve problems.
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy of an ancient feud where the children of two families at war fall deeply in love with each other. Set in the 16th century William Shakespeare’s play has many different themes running throughout it, which include love, hate, death and conflict. The play opens with a fight but ends with suicide that creates peace between both families who unite from their losses. The conflict, violence and aggression in the play happen from revenge and an ancient family grudge. An audience from the 16th century would have enjoyed Romeo and Juliet because of the real life drama and tragedy the play goes through. The patriarchal society gave women absolutely no rights and they had to obey their man’s ordering a patriarchal system. The theme of conflict is revealed as the characters argue over Juliet’s disobedience.
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.