William Blake once said, “Without contraries is no progression. Attraction and repulsion, reason and energy, love and hate, are necessary to human existence.” In his play Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare explores the theme of duality through two feuding families and their children, Romeo and Juliet, who fall in love. The duality of misery and bliss is used to show that one’s experience of sorrow and grief enables him to truly appreciate happiness, and therefore, have a fuller understanding of the world.
Early in the play, Romeo experiences a heartache that will eventually allow him to feel joy and bliss. After Rosaline rejects his love, Romeo expresses the grief love causes him while talking to his cousin Benvolio: “Love is a smoke raised