Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy by Shakespeare, an English playwright and poet. The play takes place in 14th-century Verona, Italy. Shakespeare wrote other well-known tragedies, comedies, and histories such as Macbeth, Hamlet, and Much Ado About Nothing as well. Romeo and Juliet are teenagers from feuding families, Montague and Capulet, who find love in the midst of hatred. Love is the central theme in Romeo and Juliet. The play contains different kinds of love such as platonic love, familial love, and romantic love. The main focus of the play is the romantic love between Romeo and Juliet. While their love is pure and intense, the feud between their families serves as a looming threat throughout the play. The conflict between the Montagues and …show more content…
They speak in romantic verses and express their devotion to one another. Their relationship is built on infatuation and idealization, being fueled by physical attraction, and both are unaware of the full extent of the challenges they will face. In Act I, Scene V, Romeo discovers that Juliet is a Capulet, Is she a Capulet? / O dear account! my life is my foe’s debt. (131-132) Even though their love may be forbidden, they continue to see each other and get married the night after the ball. As their relationship develops in complexity, it begins to develop on trust and understanding rather than simple attraction. However, their plans are disrupted when Romeo is banished from Verona for the murder of Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin. Following Romeo’s banishment, Lord Capulet arranges for Juliet to marry Count Paris, a wealthy nobleman. Despite her contempt and disgust towards Paris, Juliet agrees to go through with the wedding. Friar Laurence plays a crucial role in the evolution of their relationship, as he believes that he can bring peace to the Montagues and Capulets by reuniting the couple. However, his plan of using a potion to put Juliet into a temporary state of comatose to avoid the wedding goes south when due to the lack of communication, Romeo believes that Juliet is dead. When he goes to visit her grave, he discovers that Count Paris is there as well, mourning the supposed death of Juliet. Paris, believing that Romeo is there to vandalize the Capulet gravesite, challenges him to a duel and is killed. Romeo then commits suicide by consuming a potent poison after approaching Juliet’s body, still believing that she is dead. Juliet then awakens to Romeo’s dead body next to her and then commits suicide as well. The evolution of their relationship is marked by passion and tragedy, staying loyal to each other until the very end. It shows that love can