Explain How the Theme of Conflict is Explored in Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet'

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Explain How the Theme of Conflict is Explored in

“Romeo and Juliet”

“Romeo and Juliet” was written in Elizabeth times by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare is a world famous playwright whose work is studied in many countries. His play “Romeo and Juliet” was written around 1595/1596 and was probably Shakespeare’s tenth play. It is amongst his most well known plays and it has been acted out many times and adapted into films.

In Elizabethan times, when this play was written and acted, people lived in very poor conditions. Theatres were very popular with the common people and it was a great day out for them. The first theatre, built in 1576, was simply called “The Theatre”. Soon after, many other theatres were built along the River Thames in Shoreditch. Shakespeare’s theatre was called “The Globe” and was built in 1599. This was where all of his plays were performed and is one of the most famous Elizabethan theatres. There were two types of theatre, public and private. Public theatres were larger and seated more people, this made them cheaper. Therefore, the private theatres were used more by the higher class people as they could afford it. Theatre performances were held in the afternoon as there was no artificial lighting. Women were a very minor part in Elizabethan society but were allowed to attend theatre performances. However, no women acted in the plays so female roles were acted out by young boys. The males in Elizabethan society were always more dominant.    

“Romeo and Juliet” is a tragedy but is sometimes mistaken for a romance. There are many themes that run through “Romeo and Juliet” which include: love, violence, death and hatred but a main theme is conflict. There are many cases of conflict in the play, which at times, overlap and intertwine together to make the tale interesting and more complex. The theme of conflict is also used to create a sense of tension between all the characters. The quarrelling and fight scenes add action and therefore the play will appeal to a wider audience. The disagreement emphasises that nothing ever runs smoothly and there are always a number of problems that you will encounter along the way. This is still a matter in today’s society as there are always things going wrong which can either hurt us or make things better. Secrecy is also used throughout the tale as Romeo and Juliet’s marriage is kept secret by, not only the lovers, but also by the nurse and Friar Lawrence. The level of secrecy also adds to the dramatic irony of the play as the audience are aware from the beginning of how the play will end.

The play begins with a Prologue which is written in the style of a sonnet. Shakespeare wrote many sonnets throughout his lifetime which were almost all about love. A sonnet is a poem written in iambic pentameter which is made up of fourteen lines each with ten syllables. The Prologue gives information to the background of the story. It is also a very vague outline of the plot. I think that Shakespeare does this to attract the audience’s attention and give them a basic idea of how the tale will end without going into much detail which leaves the audience wanting to know more. The theme of fate is explored throughout the play and this is reflected in the Prologue where it calls Romeo and Juliet “a pair of star-crossed lovers”. This means that Romeo and Juliet are being directed by the stars and that their love and death was fate. The Prologue also adds some dramatic irony to the play as now the audience is aware of what will happen and the characters do not.

Act 1, scene 1 portrays the continuing theme of conflict well. It immediately draws the audience in and gets their attention. I think that it was good to start with some action because it automatically grabs peoples’ thoughts and will keep them interested for the rest of the play. It shows the feud between the families and the style of quarrelling. For example, to bite your thumb at a person was very offensive and this insulting action added to the forthcoming battle. The audience watching in the Elizabethan period would have immediately sensed the rivalry between the two groups so this scene adds to the conflict well. The Prince of Verona appears in this scene. His part in the play is to enforce the law and keep peace in his city. Shakespeare also uses the Prince as an awkward narrator. Although his title is not a narrator, he often informs the audience of brief history and of what is happening at the present time. An example of this is, “three civil brawls…/By thee, old Capulet, and Montague, /Have thrice disturb’d the quiet of our streets;” this statement informs us of how many major quarrels there has been and who has been involved.

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Act 3 Scene 1 is a major part of the play and in some ways, it considerably changes the plot. At the end of Act 2, in Scene 6, Romeo and Juliet have just been married and love is in the air; everything is going well. The audience feels happy and at ease as Act 3 begins. Up until now, the quarrelling has not really come to anything but here, there are two key deaths.

The scene starts with Benvolio who wants to go home. He says “…these hot days, is the mad blood stirring” This quote ...

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