Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy about two young star-crossed lovers who come from opposing families that are constantly feuding. Romeo is a Montague whilst Juliet is a Capulet. Although the most obvious theme in the play is love, there are several scenes which contain conflict. This essay considers some of the ways that conflict is presented in Act III scene 1.
At the start of the scene, Shakespeare creates conflict by using pathetic fallacy. Benvolio describes the weather as being ‘hot’ and making their ‘mad blood’ stir. The adjectives ‘hot’ and ‘mad’ foreshadows later events and suggests that the heat alone will entice the men to fight and will make a ‘brawl’ inevitable. The reference to blood also links to the colour red, which could be seen as a sign of violence or danger. The audience may feel tension as they can see Benvolio trying to warn Mercutio of what may occur and because Tybalt had a score to settle with Romeo for attending the Capulet party. This links to conflict as the weather is encouraging a fight by aggravating the characters.
We also see physical conflict when Tybalt kills Mercutio. This shocks the audience and shows how bad the conflict between Capulet and Montague has become. Also, when Mercutio is dying, he curses the feuding families three times: 'A plague o' both your houses!' A 'plague' in Verona was a powerful curse. The use of the exclamation mark after the curse shows how
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The play begins with the Prologue which foreshadows the conflict between the two feuding families and tells the audience about the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet. This immediately establishes the theme of conflict within the play and many of the scenes portray both verbal, physical and inner conflict. Act III, Scene 1 is a fundamental turning point in the play, ultimately leading to the deaths of several main characters, most notably the two young lovers, Romeo and