Have you ever felt indecisive or thought “should I do it or should I not”? In The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare reflects on the human nature of internal conflict. He writes of feuding families, the Montagues and the Capulets. They each have one child, Romeo and Juliet. Although they are from feuding families, Romeo and Juliet fall in love and through an unfortunate series of events, these ill-fated lovers take their lives, resulting in the end of the feud. Throughout this tragic drama, the theme of internal conflict is expertly woven in, leaving the reader questioning whether the character made the right choice and what would have happened if they chose something else. The three characters that capture the theme of internal strife best are Friar Lawrence, Romeo, and Juliet.
When Romeo asks Friar Lawrence to marry them, The Friar at first disagrees and then changes his mind. Friar Lawrence says, “Thy love did read by rote, that could not spell … In one respect I’ll thy assistant be; for this alliance may so happy prove to turn your households’ rancor to pure love” (Shakespeare II.III 411). Friar Lawrence knows Romeo and how fast he went from Rosaline to Juliet. He refuses to marry Romeo and Juliet until
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Romeo says, “My very friend, hath got his mortal hurt in my behalf — my reputation stained with Tybalt’s slander — ” (Shakespeare III.I 428). There are two reasons Romeo blames himself. Originally, Tybalt challenged Romeo, not Mercutio. If Romeo had fought Tybalt, he could have prevented Mercutio’s death. Or if Romeo didn’t try to stop the fighting, Mercutio might’ve had a better chance of survival. It is only human nature to regret one’s actions and wonder what could’ve happened if one made different choices, especially when things end tragically. Shakespeare accurately depicts the human nature of internal conflict when Romeo blames himself for Mercutio’s