Conflict is everywhere, in all forms. Whether it is on a large scale such as international wars, or trivial everyday dilemmas that citizens face at home, conflict is everywhere. This essay will analyse the role of such conflict in William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”. More specifically, it will explore the relationship between hate conflict and love conflict, and then analyse how these two interact together to create a compelling tragedy. In Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, conflict is a fundamental theme that the entire plot is based around, and plays a crucial role as the foundation of the play’s tragedy. For example, the long-standing feud between two warring families sets the play.
Firstly, the “ancient grudge” between the Capulets and Montagues develops the
…show more content…
It is Romeo and Juliet’s loyalty to their family that is causing their inner conflict. On the other hand, throughout the play, the fact that “[Juliet] must love a loathéd enemy” greatly troubles her. This is because by loving a Montague, their “loathed enemy”, their love shows disloyalty towards her family, and in Elizabethan England, dishonour and disloyalty were absolutely shunned. When they make the decision to marry in the famous balcony scene where Juliet proposes to Romeo, “Thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow”, Juliet is disobeying her family for choosing to marrying their enemy and ignoring her father’s wishes of marrying Paris - an extremely unwise choice, considering society was patriarchal and fathers planned their daughters’ lives. Another conflict within her family arose: Capulet insulted her by calling her names such as “green, sickness carrion”, “tallow face” and “disobedient wretch”. Therefore, the audience will be sympathetic towards Romeo and Juliet for being entangled in conflict, thus creating a more tragic