Loyalty is a trait that is often associated with good, but in Romeo and Juliet it is sometimes shown to be something negative that causes a lot of harm. Some people think loyalty is only for good when in real life and in the story, strong loyalty can sometimes make it hard for people to think clearly, and it forces people into conflicting scenarios. Loyalty is one of the most prevalent themes in Romeo and Juliet, and it’s demonstrated by many of the characters. In Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, loyalty is shown to cause disorder between groups and internally in people. This theme is apparent with the conflict between Tybalt, Mercutio, and Romeo. There are multiple instances in Romeo and Juliet where extreme loyalty is shown …show more content…
This scene shows the theme of loyalty leading to death and punishment. But due to Mercutio’s level of loyalty, when watching his friend be beaten he acts out emotionally, and without listening. Him acting out because of loyalty leads to his death and eventually snowballs into Romeo’s banishment. This is important in real life because it shows us how extreme loyalty pushes us to do things without thinking clearly. In addition, loyalty causing punishment is apparent when Romeo goes to avenge Mercutio. This is shown when Romeo says, “My very friend, hath got his mortal hurt in my behalf,” and, “Fire-eyed fury be my conduct now.” In this part of the story Romeo has just watched his best friend die for him at the hands of Tybalt, he is overcome with emotion, and seeks to get revenge for Mercutio by killing Tybalt. This develops the theme of loyalty because Romeo’s loyalty makes him extremely angry, so he doesn’t think that if he were to kill Tybalt right now any chances of him and Juliet would be gone. The law would have probably executed Tybalt for killing someone, but Romeo does it himself, which leads to him getting banished and the plans for marriage all going …show more content…
Her mind struggles to accept what happened, at first she despises Romeo, then she forgives him, and cares more about the fact that Romeo was banished. This scene demonstrates how loyalty causes internal conflict because Juliet struggles to choose who she values more, her emotions conflict and she can't decide if she loves Tybalt and her family, but she also loves Romeo. It causes her a lot of distress because she feels terrible for how she talked about Romeo, from her initial loyalty and care-induced reaction to hearing that her cousin died. This is important in real life because it shows how strong loyalty between two opposing parties puts people in difficult situations. Often people have to choose between one or the other and this is a difficult task that creates a lot of turmoil within someone's mind. Both pieces of evidence show how loyalty can be challenged by other loyalties, and how loyalty not only causes outward problems but also problems in the mental state. In the future, people should pay attention to who their loyalties lie with, it can be a double edged sword that either causes harm or