Hate In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

Love and hate are contrasting emotions that appear at the forefront of the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is set in Verona, Italy. Romeo and Juliet are the only children of the Montague and Capulet families, noble families who have a long-standing and bitter feud. When Romeo and Juliet end up falling in love, it only leads to disaster. Love and hate are prevalent feelings that overcome many characters in the play, including members of the Capulet and Montague families. According to Merriam-Webster, love is defined as strong affection for one another arising out of kinship or personal ties, often based on physical desire. Hate is defined as intense hostility and aversion usually deriving from fear,

Both love and hate include elements of life, passion, bonding, and loathing. Because these two emotions play such a big part in life, they can be dominant and controlling. In the end, however, love wins out over hate. Throughout the play, Shakespeare develops the idea that love overpowers hate in many ways. The characters in the play are able to forgive the ones they love, despite hard circumstances. In addition, Shakespeare effectively demonstrates how Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet's love for each other overpowers significant emotional scenes, including the clashing of their two families. Furthermore, at the end of the play, the reader realizes how love defeated the shock of the two teenagers’ death and mended the feud between the Capulets and the Montagues. Using these three events, the reader sees how Shakespeare develops his message of how love triumphs hate. In the desperate battle between love and hate, Shakespeare believes love to be the more powerful emotion in the tragedy of Romeo and

Another part in the play where characters are able to forgive each other is when the Montague and Capulet families realize the death resulted out of their hate. They are able to forgive each other and call a ‘truce’ for the wrong actions they have committed against each other. When the two families are grieving at the tomb of their dead children together, Lord Capulet says: “O brother Montague, give me thy hand. / This is my daughter’s jointure, for no more / can I demand” (5.3.296-298). Another way Shakespeare shows how love makes it possible to overcome hate through forgiveness is when Romeo regrets impulsive actions that have brought tragedy upon Tybalt. Romeo later goes to Tybalt’s tomb to apologize, and he