Chaos In Romeo And Juliet

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is one of the best known, and praised, tragedies of all time. It is a dramatic play/retelling of “The Tragicall History of Romeus and Juliet,” by Arthur Brooke. Both tell the story of a forbidden love between two feuding families. The children get married in secret; Romeo is then banished for killing a Capulet. In order to be with Juliet, he illegally re-enters Verona, finds Juliet ‘dead’ in a tomb, kills himself, and then Juliet, upon finding Romeo dead, kills herself. The age old feud is resolved through the deaths of both children. There are many theories about the start of the feud, and the beginning of the feud results in the emergence of this theme- the chaos exists because of the feud, and the peace exists

Be strong and prosperous In this resolve. I’ll send a friar with speed To Mantua with my letters to thy lord.” Juliet: “Love give me strength, and strength shall help afford. Farewell, dear Father.” (4.1. 123-129) There is peace in Juliet’s resolve- time has seemed to slow down since Romeo was banished, as each day is a day of misery to Juliet. The effect of time slowing down results in a peace of resolve for Juliet to agree to this plan of Lawrence’s. Once Juliet commits to taking the poison in order to live peacefully with Romeo, she has a soliloquy about the peace that she will encounter, even if the poison kills her. Juliet: “Come, vial. [She takes out the vial.] What if this mixture do not work at all? Shall I be married then tomorrow morning? [She takes out her knife and puts it down beside her.] No, no, this shall forbid it. Lie thou there...Romeo, Romeo, Romeo! Here’s drink. I drink to thee.” (4.3, 21-24, 59-60) This soliloquy shows that Juliet will do anything to get away from the chaos of her family and live in peace with Romeo until the end of her days. Act Five constitutes the righting of the wrongs. Both families realize they have been blinded by the feud and have failed to see the peace that was working to bring them together. The Prince sums all of the emotions and realizations of peace up when he says: “A glooming peace this morning with it brings. The sun for sorrow will not show his head. Go

The ruler of Verona in the 1500’s was Bartolomeo I della Scala, who devoted a lot of time, effort, and resources toward appeasing the two main feuding families- the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. Their conflict originated as a result of Guelphs being loyal to the papacy and the Ghibellines being loyal to Holy Roman emperor/ the Protestant religion. It is believed by many that this feud was the beginnings of Romeo and Juliet.” Adding further credence to this belief is the presence of the Capulet and Montague (Guelph and Ghibelline) homes. According to “Frommer’s Italy 2011,” the Casa di Giulietta is Juliet’s home and the Casa di Romeo is Romeo’s. The two are just a few blocks apart, showing the realism of Shakespeare’s play. Thus, it is believed and perceived that Romeo and Juliet is based on historical fact. Feuds in the Elizabethan era were considered to be normal and commonplace, at least in England. Feuds were often the result of unfair duels or the need for an increase in wealth and influence on social and economic standings. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the family feud between the Capulet’s and the Montague’s is the chaos that the love between Romeo and Juliet shatters. It is noticeable that whenever Romeo is with Juliet or thinking about her, there is peace and no feuding. When, however, they are distracted, the peace is lost and the feuding