Romeo and Juliet, often called the greatest love story in history, contains some of the most passionate and tear-jerking scenes ever recognized by the theater world. However, this masterpiece is not written solely to highlight love, one of the most important themes in this play is actually irrational hatred. In Romeo and Juliet, the destructive effect of irrational hatred can be portrayed by the lifelong feud between the Montagues and the Capulets which causes the deaths of both Tybalt and Mercutio, fighting in the streets, and Romeo being banished by the Friar. The Montagues hatred towards the Capulets leads to many problems in Romeo’s life, along with the play, mainly due to the fact that the woman that he loves is a Capulet, while he is …show more content…
Along with making it very difficult for Romeo to spend time with Juliet, this nonsensical loathing also leads to the deaths of some important characters during the play. A quote which supports this explanation of irrational hatred can be noticed in the prologue when it is said that, “Do with death bury their parents’ strife. The fearful passage of their death-marked love”(Prologue 1-12). Illustrated here is, how before the play even begins it is made clear that the rancor between the two families will ultimately lead to death and forbidden love. This quote also demonstrates, how the theme of contempt performs a very large role in the play. Additionally, another quote can be discovered quite early on in the play, which conveys, “You …show more content…
Mercutio’s death takes place in the middle of the street in Verona, for the foolish reason that him and Tybalt are descendents of different families. The disheartening end to Mercutio’s life does not come without consequences, however, because not soon after, Tybalt is murdered by Romeo as vengeance. These deaths do not go unnoticed, especially by the prince, who is entirely fed up with the Capulets and the Montagues childlike behavior. Which becomes obvious when the prince exclaims his fury by saying, “Where be these enemies? Capulet, Montague, see, what a scourge is laid upon your hate”(5.3.301-305). What can be analyzed here is that the prince is entirely uncomprehending of the hate that takes place between the two families, leading him to believe that the feud causes nothing but death and harm in Verona. This is significant because, the community is beginning to get irked by the constant conflict that takes place in their city; leading them to believe that there is no real reason for the families to incessantly hate each other. However, the prince and community are not the only people who realize that the hatred shared between the families is preposterous. In one quote, Romeo even admits to this by saying, “Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee doth much excuse the appertaining rage to such a greeting. Villain am I none.Therefore,