The Motif Of Good In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

In The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet’s love both brought people together and tore them apart. Leading Romeo and Juliet to their demise. The patterns and contrasts in language express how good and evil contrast each other and show balance. It emphasizes how in the story, there are good situations and then very bad or dark situations. The motif of good in Romeo and Juliet is developed by the contrasting idea of evil and imagery to convey how similarities and contrast are a part of nature and humanity, without either there would be imbalance in the world. In the beginning of Romeo and Juliet, the motif of both good and evil is demonstrated through imagery. The use of imagery emphasizes the theme and

Shakespeare uses the motif to create both contrast and balance throughout the play. As Friar states, “For naught so vile that on the earth doth live.But to the earth some special good doth give. Nor aught so good but, strained from that fair use revolts from true birth, stumbling on abuse” (Shakespeare.2.3.17-20). Friar states that there is nothing so evil or bad in the world that there is not good in it. And vice versa, there is nothing so good in the world that it could not host bad in it. If good things are overused then they can eventually turn evil or poisonous. Much like how Friar said, when Mercutio was killed Romeo felt an overwhelming sense of grief. But, eventually he found light in such a bad situation when Friar gave him advice that, “The law that threatened death becomes thy friend. And turns it to exile-there art thou happy. A pack of blessings light upon thy back, happiness courts thee in her best array” (3.3.139-142). Romeo was able to enlighten himself after the situation that caused him so much pain and even made him question if he had evil intentions, but he found good in