How is the conflict caused and presented in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet?

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Lorraine Smith                                                                           

                                             English coursework 

How is the conflict caused and presented in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet?

I have been asked to write an essay the Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet. The aim of this essay is to find how the conflict was caused and presented in Romeo and Juliet.

The conflict took place in a place called Verona in the 12th century and it involved two families the Montague’s and the capulets. The feud between the two families has been going on for century’s and has been passed on throughout generations and was called an “ancient grudge”. And finally came to an end after the tragic death of a pair of “star crossed lovers” Romeo and Juliet.

In order to understand the conflict I will discuss each individual character and say what there place is in the conflict.

Romeo is the son of lord and lady Montague. He is a young boy about sixteen. The first time we see Romeo he is a sad youth with incurable lovesickness that is until he goes to the capulets ball with benvolio and mercutio, where he meets and falls in love with Juliet the daughter of lord and lady Capulet, his family’s greatest enemy. “It is the east and Juliet is the sun” He then marries Juliet to prove how much he loves her. Because of this he backs out of the fight with tybalt because he values the name Capulet as much as he does his own. “Good Capulet which name I tender as dearly as mine own” We then see Romeo turn evil when his friend mercutio is killed by tybalt, He feels that he has to get revenge on tybalt to respect and honor mercutio and also because he feels guilty for getting in the way when they were fighting.

Juliet is the daughter of lord and lady Capulet. She is a young fourteen year old girl who is very shy and polite and comes when her mother calls her “madam I am here what is your will”. When her mother discusses the topic of Paris she agrees to meet him but will only let her looks go as far as her mother gives permission. But all this changes when she meets Romeo at the ball because she falls madly in love with him straight away and even marries him behind her parents back. She put all her trust into Romeo and even turns against the nurse when she turns against Romeo. But then when her parents want her to marry Paris she goes to the friar for help and this is when she is given the potion that makes her look dead when really she isn’t so that she doesn’t have to go through with the wedding.

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Benvolio is a nephew to lord and lady Montague and cousin and friend to Romeo. His name which means well wisher reflects to some degree his role in the play as a loyal friend and a peace maker. We first see him at the petrol station and straight away we can see that he is a peace maker because he tries to stop the fighting “part fools! Put up your swords. You know not what you do”. We then see him being a loyal friend and trying to help Romeo get over his love sick feelings for Rosaline. He ...

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