“Chorus Two households…
From ancient grudges
break to new mutiny…” (Pro. 1 – 4)
How this feud started is never revealed, which suggests that it has arisen from the natural impulses of man to enter into conflict and throughout the play the audience is constantly reminded of it. Shakespeare constructs the opening scene with a violent discussion between two Capulet servants, discussing how they will treat the Montagues. From this, the audience realizes that by now the feud has no meaning; it simply is. This hatred is continued because of characters such as Tybalt who indiscriminately
“Tybalt …hates hell, all
Montagues and thee.” (A1 S1 63 – 64)
Tybalt interprets the presence of Romeo at the feast party as a scornful gesture and therefore wants revenge just for the sake of it. The feud is directly responsible for the secret marriage of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo’s banishment and ultimately for the Friar’s scheme which leads to the tragic death of the lovers. It is the hate which kills Romeo and Juliet in Shakespeare’s play and it is only because they belong to enemy families that all the apprehension and secrecy is necessary and only because of that do things go so badly wrong.
A critical conflict which marks a turning point of the play, is the exciting, yet tragic fight between Mercutio, Tybalt and Romeo. In Act III Scene I, Mercutio rashly picks a fight with Tybalt which results in his own death. Despite Romeo’s genuine attempts to stop the fight, his friends’ death engenders a desire for revenge. Romeo’s past attempts at separating himself from his family’s feuding are all but lost when he kills Tybalt to assuage his guilt of placing his love for Juliet before consideration of his friend Mercutio, which leads to his banishment. The play reaches a dramatic crescendo as Romeo and Juliet’s private world clashes with the public feud with tragic consequences. By killing off Romeo’s best friend and Juliet’s cousin, Shakespeare adds tension to whether or not the relationship between the lovers will part. Romeo’s refusal to fight against Tybalt brings about the very acceleration of violence he previously had sought to prevent and he becomes ensnared in the family conflict after all. Shakespeare has constructed Mercutio’s death in such a way that is serves as a catalyst for the tragic turn the play takes from this point onwards. The killings all contribute to the sense of inevitability; that a chain of events has been set in motion, over which the protagonists have no control.
Another critical conflict is that between Juliet and her parents in Act III Scene V over the marriage with Paris. In some respects, the arranged marriage is to further the social status of the Capulet’s family name. Lord Capulet will not tolerate any opposition to the arranged marriage and meets his daughter’s refusal with violence and hurls insults at her, whilst Lady Capulet simply cuts her daughter off.
“Lady Capulet … I have done
with thee.” (A3 S5 203 – 204)
Juliet withdraws from the conflict and takes her own way out, by drinking the potion and in fact, can be seen to win. In any normal, open relationship between a child and their parents, a child should feel comfortable about discussing key issues. However, this conflict, combined with the underlying family feud, makes it impossible for Juliet to confess her marriage to Romeo to her parents. Fear of parental opposition is one of the main reasons for the deception that runs throughout the play and leads to the tragedy. We see Juliet drink the potion, we see Romeo go to the tomb and we see the double suicide, all because the marriage, born of true love, cannot be accepted in a society whose day to day lives are run within a framework of hate. Lord Capulet’s plan is an example of tragic irony because instead of making Juliet happy, he achieves the exact opposite and contributes to those circumstances which bring about her death.
Societal conflicts such as the placement of familial power in the father and the social importance placed on masculine honour are evident at various levels throughout the play which create obstacles for Romeo and Juliet. The patriarchal power structure inherent in Renaissance families wherein the father controls the actions of all other family members, particularly women, places Juliet in an extremely vulnerable position. Her heart, in her family’s mind, is not hers to give. This was evident when Lord Capulet threatened to throw Juliet out onto the streets if she did not marry Paris, which in those days would have meant her demise.
“Capulet …An you be not, hang,
beg, starve, die in the streets…” (A3 S5 190 – 195)
Disobedience would be considered a breach of the social fabric that guides family structure in this Elizabethan culture. This results in Juliet having to marry Romeo in secret and keeping that from society. These battles between the responsibilities and actions demanded by social institutions and those demanded by the private desires of the individual, who seek to escape the public, only contribute to the inevitable outcome. Romeo cannot cease being a Montague, simply because he wants to as the rest of the world will not allow him. The lovers’ suicide in some respects represents the ultimate privacy.
Shakespeare has, to a certain extent, used conflict to construct the tragic outcome of Romeo and Juliet by preventing the lovers from having the unity of marriage they wish, in the society in which they live. Their only alternative, eventually, is unity in death. It is equally evident that the feud, by creating the circumstances in which Romeo was faced with the choice of killing Tybalt, led to this event. After all, Romeo was a child of the feud, brought up to believe that his honour depended on taking revenge. In the end however, he killed Tybalt and in doing so, brought the conflict into his own life and into Juliet’s and thus, set the tragedy on its course.
NOTES: Teacher noted to NOT list in the introduction especially where I have listed the themes; "...hatred,fate and prejudice." and where I talk about the conflicts that are examined "..through the family feud; the personal conflicts b/n the characters of Mercutio, Tybalt and Romeo......".
Also in the first body paragraph, after the "leads to the tragic death of the lovers..", teacher noted that I was "dealing with other issues" and to stick to conflict, as asked in the question.
Also, after topic sentence of each body para, teacher noted that I should give more textual context before providing evidence.