Romeo and Juliet has violence and conflict as one of its central themes. Discuss how this is shown in act 1 scene 1 and act 3 scene 1.

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Cheryl Brassington

Romeo and Juliet has violence and conflict as one of its central themes. Discuss how this is shown in act 1 scene 1 and act 3 scene 1.

If we were to think about the world’s greatest lovers, our attention would be immediately drawn to Romeo and Juliet. Why is this? Could it be because there love is so pure, so unspoilt? Or is it because the innocent couples lives ended so unpredictably? Are we intrigued by the role played by fate in the lives of every day people? Could it be that Shakespeare immortalised the couple in poetry that remains quite breathtaking in its intensity and beauty? Chance, destiny, and fate are all discussed in this play, because of the questionable theories of the time. Is it a popular story because of the universal themes: love, hate and death?

The story starts with a boy and girl, Romeo and Juliet, who fall in love after seeing each other at a ball. To their horror they discover that their families are sworn enemies. They get married secretly, because of Juliet’s arranged marriage with Paris. Romeo gets banished forever for taking tybalts life. The lover’s part, having spent the night in each other’s arms. The Friar explains how Juliet can escape from her coming marriage to Paris by taking a poison to fake death. Later that night Juliet takes the poison alone in her room. The Nurse discovers Juliet’s ‘dead’ body the following morning. In Juliet’s tomb a despairing Romeo takes Poison. The star- crossed lovers are united at last in death.

The story of Romeo and Juliet had been around for along time before Shakespeare decided to set it as a play. The story of the tragic lovers was said to have originated in Italian myth and folklore, finding its way to England via France. The story of Romeo and Giulietta appeared as a poem by Arthur Brooke. Also William Painter wrote Romeus and Juliet in a prose version. Shakespeare took what had come to England as a poem and transformed it into a play. Shakespeare’s play is set in Verona in about the 12th or 13th century. The play takes place in mid July. The playwright uses the heat of the mid summer to heighten a constant sense of irritability. This increases the tension as the characters become involved in the action. Shakespeare also chooses an urban, wealthy and sophisticated setting because it allows him the opportunity to portray a wide spectrum of society. It is because of this that English people are interested in the film, also by the art and culture of the Renaissance.

Conflict is a common thing in Romeo and Juliet. When the play opens we find ourselves in a world where gangs roam the streets in search of trouble from rival gangs. The conflict is not only between the masters but also with the their servants and those loyal to the families. Both families fight for the number one position within the city-state. Private conflict exists in the main characters, the life or death decisions causes high amounts of anxiety and tension. The lovers in the story are placed with a lot of conflict and decision-making. Romeo makes a quick decision to fight Tybalt, then his decision to accept banishment, also what to do when he hears of his wife’s untimely ‘death’, finally his decision to die with Juliet in the tomb.

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Juliet has the worry of the arranged marriage, the worry that her formerly trusted are no longer her allies, leaving her alone to make the decisions. She faces all sorts of imagined possible horrors before taking the poison finally there is the decision whether to live without Romeo are to die with him.

The Nurse finds herself in a similar state of conflict, with who should she side with, the family or Juliet. She resolves the conflict by siding with the family.

Inner conflict comes from Friar Lawrence with the decision between what is right and what is wrong. He ...

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