Examples Of Dark Forces In Romeo And Juliet

Most of the events and speeches in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by William Shakespeare, leads up to the final conclusion of the couple’s untimely demise. The couple faces contrasting darker forces of hatred which injects a sense of urgency and hastiness into the lovers’ relationship and leads to risk-taking sacrifices in the name of their love. Tybalt, Mercutio, Lord Capulet, and Friar Laurence are the characters that make up the contrasting dark forces that Romeo and Juliet have to face. Mercutio and Tybalt are considered one of these dark forces as they both perpetuate the family feud with provocative statements to protect their families pride, even though the Prince and even Lord Capulet had warned them of the consequences if it happened again. Another contrasting dark force they face is Lord Capulet. His despotic nature and abuse of power, led Juliet to fake her death, since

The last dark force that leads them to their death is Friar laurence. He gets the two married even though he knew it was a bad idea, in hopes it would end their parents’ feud. He also devises an ill-hatched plan to keep the two together and does not even consider a backup plan in case it didn’t work. Thus it can be argued that Romeo and Juliet died from the hands of the selfish people around him. The simmering brawl to protect their families pride between Tybalt and Mercutio, directly precipitates the chain of tragic events that lead to Romeo’s exile and the lovers’ death. Both Mercutio and Tybalt can be seen as complete mirror images of one another as they both are troublemakers, indignant, and both are loyal; Tybalt to protect his family and Mercutio to protect Romeo. William Shakespeare deliberately set up a character foil between Tybalt’s indignant and hotheadedness, and Romeo’s desire for peace and forgiveness to reinforce his point that hatred only leads to division and death. This is evident when Mercutio and Tybalt encounter in Act 3, Scene 1. Mercutio provokes