Theme Of Hate In Romeo And Juliet

Leah Chiu

Ms. Lovelace

English 9 A1

30 March 2023

A Tragedy of Hate in Romeo and Juliet

Hate is a strong emotion that is always around us and sometimes it is hard to resolve. In modern day, this emotion is often seen in different places like school, businesses, and in relationships; eventually it will be expressed in ways that are hurtful to people and can affect people’s emotions. In the famous play Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare tells the tragic story of two lovers, both children of the Capulet and Montague family that can not fall in love because of their families long past of hatred. Despite their family’s hate, they still love each other and wish to escape, still it did not turn out that way. Both of their families did not agree

Tybalt sees the Montague and Capulet servants fighting and he walks over saying how much he hates the Montague family and calls them cowards by saying, “ I hate the word/ As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee/ Have at thee, coward!” (1.1.71-73). Tybalt is extremely loyal to the Capulets and irritates easily and has a heated temper, so that is why he is so mad when he sees the families fighting. Even though he did not know what was going on, he believed the Capulets are always right and the Montagues are always in the wrong. This shows how Tybalt has a strong amount of hate towards Romeo and the other Montagues because of Lord Capulet’s constant brainwashing. Later on in the play, Tybalt shows hate when he sees Romeo and the Montagues at the Capulet party and wants to confront them. He thinks none of the capulets belong at the party, still Lord Capulet thought Romeo had a good reputation and had no intention of killing anyone at his house. Tybalt was outraged by his uncle’s response so he said, “Uncle, this is a Montague, our foe, A villain that is hither came in spite to scorn at our solemnity this night” (1.5.69-71). By Tybalt saying this it shows how Tybalt’s hate for the Montagues are so strong he does not care if they are doing bad things and killing them will still be his priority and this shows Tybalt’s lack of judgment and maturity.

When Tybalt kills Mercutio, Romeo wants to obtain revenge for Mercutio and challenges Tybalt to a duel. He had so much rage from Mercutio’s death he forgot all about the peace he wanted and the fact that Tybalt is his brother-in-law. When Romeo challenges Tybalt to a duel he announced, “That late thou gavest me, for Mercutio’s soul / Is but a little way above our heads / Staying for thine to keep him company / Either thou or I, or both, must go with him” (3.1.131-134). This shows how Romeo is not thinking things through clearly when he is in the emotion of hate. At this point he simply wants justice for his best friend and does not care that he is killing Juliet’s cousin; however this shows how important friendship is in his life and how love can cause hate. Romeo shows hate when he sees Juliet dead in her coffin and kills Paris because he thinks Paris forcing their marriage causes the death of Juliet. He is in so much rage he screams, “Wilt thou provoke me? Then have at thee, boy!” (5.3.70). After Juliet dies, Romeo is distraught and wants to succeed in revenge similar to how he killed Tybalt after Mercutio’s death. He found Juliet’s death to be unfair, so he decided to kill Paris. Emotions that cause hate can control the person’s actions and can easily lose control. Similarly, in this part of the play, Romeo loses control when he loses his loved ones and decides to kill