William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet as a Play Of Opposites

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William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet as a Play Of Opposites

In the play Romeo & Juliet, William Shakespeare utilizes opposites in

both the thoughts and actions of the characters in Romeo and Juliet.

Outlined are contrasts of crime and violence versus peace and law,

love versus hate, and young versus old.

The uses of crime & violence versus peace and law are demonstrated in

Act 3, Scene 1. Tybalt and Mercutio exchange remarks back and forth,

when Benvolio steps in and encourages them to stop.

Mercutio: Consort? What, dost thou make us minstrels? And thou make

minstrels of us, look to hear nothing but discords. Hereî–¸ my

fiddlestick, hereî–¸ that shall make you dance. Zounds, consort!

Benvolio: We talk here in the public haunt of men. Either withdraw

unto some private place, Or reason coldly of your grievances, Or else

depart. Here all eyes gaze on us. Mercutio: Menî–¸ eyes were made to

look, and let them gaze. I will not budge for no manî–¸ pleasure, I.

This is just a small sampling of crime and violence versus peace and

law. Later in this scene, Mercutio challenges Tybalt in a duel, then

when Mercutio is slain, Romeo goes on to challenge Tybalt, killing

him. If Mercutio, Tybalt and Romeo would have listened to Benvolio,

the fights would have not occurred, and the outcome of the play would

be changed.

An example of love versus hate occurs through the relationship Romeo

and Juliet and the hate between their families. The love that Romeo

and Juliet share completely opposes the deep roots of anger and hate

between their parents. The quote from the Chorus best states this.

Chorus: Two houses, both alike in dignity ?From ancient grudge break

to new mutiny ?A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life: Whose

misadventured piteous overthrows, Doth with their death bury their

parents?strife.

The sincere and strong love of Romeo and Juliet contrasts with the

extreme, petty grudges held by their parents. The love between Romeo

Montague and Juliet Capuletnd their love through their deathsrought

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