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 also deserts Juliet, which he shows remorse for. Shakespeare uses the inner stress of the characters to motivate their often outrageous but understandable actions.
When act 1 scene 1 opens we immediately get the sense of underlying frustration. The characters use playful banter at the beginning to show how close they are to each other. Every time Sampson says something, Gregory replies using a pun,
“….we’ll not carry coals.”
“….no, for then we should be colliers.”
Shakespeare uses Homophones when he talks about, “choler” and “collar” because it adds humour to the play and eases the tension created. Although at first Sampson and Gregory are only playing, the mood shifts and the argument changes to being serious. Gregory says he’s not scared and he will stir up the tension.
“I will frown as I pass by, and let them take it as they wish.”
This shows that Gregory is being very loyal to his masters. When Abram comes into this scene he builds up the tension.
“Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?”
This is threatening because of the rude gesture behind the biting of the thumb. Abram also stirs trouble when he says
“Quarrel, sir? No sir.”
This repetition of sarcasm would frustrate Sampson.
Conflict carries on through to lines 55-62, but is controlled by Benvolio, playing the part as the peacemaker. From which he stops a verging fight He uses language that is persuading, to stop them from fighting.
“Put up your swords, you know not what you do.”
He uses language that you could imagine being said to a child.
“You know not what you do.” This is persuading because they would realise how juvenile they are acting.
This is proven when Tybalt replies in an incredulous tone,
“…. I hate the word, all Montague’s, and thee.”
This reply results in another fight with all the men involved.
Every time Tybalt comes into the scene you can normally tell. The mood shifts changing to tense and anxious.
“Have at thee, cowards”
By this Tybalt is insulting Benvolio, Abram, Sampson and Gregory’s masculinity. This shows Tybalts power and confidence. He is never afraid of voicing insults.
When the Lords come into the scene they are aware of the present conflict and draw their weapons.
“…. Give me my long sword”
This shows the high intensity of hatred between the families showing that they wouldn’t hesitate to kill the other. Lady Capulet mocks what her husband has said, “a crutch, a crutch” this implies that he is old and needs a walking stick rather than a sword. This adds humour to the tense scene making the reader laugh.
.“Thou villian Capulet…” says Lord Montague. This is a huge insult for someone to say, implying he is a peasant.
The prince tries to restore the peace into the two families by making them aware of the consequences,
“…. Once more on pain of death, all men depart.”
The prince is telling the two families that if they don’t obey his command they will die. He says this because he is fed up with the conflict in the streets of Verona, and wants it stopped
“…. Your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace.”
The mood the prince creates is angry but also tried of this pointless feud.
“Three civil brawls bred of an airy word.”
Act 3 scene 1 is a pivotal scene in terms of heightening tension and showing the theme of conflict to the fullest degree. It begins with Benvolio setting the scene.
“These hot days is the mad blood stirring”
Here, the use of pathetic fallacy creates a tense atmosphere. The hotness of the day represents the temper and frustration of both families, and therefore ensures that there is a sense of unease from the start.
Benvolio tries to reconcile the situation,
“Am I such a fellow?”
Here it shows Benvolio as the peacemaker again. He tries to calm the situation.
“…. When indeed there is no need.”
There fore there is no need to fight.
Mercutio creates a lighter mood at the start from mocking Benvolio.
“Thou art as hot a jack in thy mood as any in Italy.”
This suggests that Mercutio isn’t as hot headed, as he seems. When Tybalt enters the scene the mood shifts slightly, he creates tension from being polite and sarcastic at the same time. But also Tybalt seems Machiavellian from the start,
“…. Gentlemen, good den, a word with one of you.”
Here he seems sarcastic and brooding. This is to patronise Mercutio without getting the blame for starting the fight.
The duel between Mercutio and Tybalt is mainly because of misunderstanding. Mercutio takes the patronising words from Tybalt badly, resulting in an argument between them.
“…. Couple it with something, make it a word and a blow.”
This is suggesting that they fight. Tybalt winds Mercutio up by saying,
Mercutio, thou consortest with Romeo.”
This suggesting that Romeo is his partner, which could be frustrating. He twists the word “consort” and gives it another meaning
“Consort? What, dost thou make us minstrals?”
This shows Mercutio’s quick thinking and intelligence.
Shakespeare changes the mood again when Romeo enters, creating an anxious mood, with Tybalt patronising Romeo.
“Well peace be with you, sir. Here comes my man.”
Mercutio again deliberately misunderstands him, and twists his words,
“Go before to field, he’ll be your followers, your worship in that sense may call him ‘man.’”
Tybalt insults Romeo greatly by saying “Thou art a villain.” Meaning you are a peasant. This would insult a man of noble birth like Romeo. Romeo ignores this comment because he doesn’t want to fight with him. Instead Romeo replies using lots of dramatic irony.
“I have to love thee.”
Romeo tries to make the peace because he realises that he can’t fight with someone who is nearly family to him.
“Therefore farewell.”
Tybalt doesn’t realise what Romeo is implying
“Boy, this shall not excuse the injuries.”
‘Boy’ used to patronise Romeo and to insult him, making it clear that he doesn’t think highly of him
“…. Good Capulet, which name I tender as dearly as my own….”
This gives an impression that Romeo wants Tybalt to know about him and Juliet, but his words are mistaken with sarcasm.
Mercutio is disgusted with Romeo,
“Allo stoccata carries it away.”
He uses the Italian fencing word as a name for Tybalt.
Tybalt is suspicious of what’s being said,
“What woulds’t thou have with me?”
Mercutio repeats, “a plague o’ both your houses” Several times before he dies. This seems like he is foreseeing the future and by repeating it, it makes Romeo and Tybalt and the audience aware.
Romeo talks using dramatic irony after Mercutio’s death.
“Hath been my cousin….”
He says that the events that had happened and falling in love had made him soft.
“O, sweet Juliet… and in my temper soften’d valour’s steel!”
His language here seems strong, even after his friend’s death. This changes when Benvolio enters,
“This days black fate on mo days depend….”
He uses the colour to represent the gloom from that day and the days to come,
“…. This but begins the woe others must end.”
He uses a rhyming couplet to finish what is being said.
Tybalt enters; both Benvolio and Romeo know that the trouble isn’t over.
“…. And fire-ey’d fury be my conduct now!”
Romeo uses alliteration to show his emotion. Saying that he is going to let his anger guild his actions. Tybalt is emotional and rises to the challenge.
“Thou wretched boy, that did’st consort him here, shalt with him hence.”
This causes them to fight and Tybalt falls dead. Benvolio tries to be the peacemaker, he advises Romeo to ‘be gone’ because he knows what the Prince will do when he finds out. Romeo feels guilty for what he has done,
“O, I am fortune’s fool.”
Here the use of personification could have been mistaken for humour. When the Prince enters you can sense his anger,
“Where are the vile beginners of this fray?”
The Prince asks Benvolio “who began this bloody fray?” he asks Benvolio because he trusts that he wouldn’t lie. The Prince hears all the evidence and comes to his decision
“And for that offence immediately we do exile him hence.”
He will banish him for his wrong doings. The Prince uses blank verse to show how serious he is being.
“Mercy but murders, pardoning those who kill.”
In fewer that a hundred lines into the play, Shakespeare has created an atmosphere of tension where the least word or gesture can trigger off unthinking violence which is shared by the entire community- old and young alike, whether they are the lowest servants or the respected heads of noble families. Also in act 3, Romeo forgets his new bride for a moment and takes his sword to attack her cousin in an act of vengeance for the death of Mercutio. Prince Escalus hears of the sequence of events from Benvolio, he promises strict justice. To banish Romeo, “let Romeo hence in haste, else when he is found, that hour is his last.” He can do neither more nor less than this. All though the play there is violent language, which goes with the violent behaviour of the Montague’s and Capulets.
“A dog of the house of Montague moves me.”
Language like this is carried on though the play, showing the conflict.
It is the conflict which is in the way, right until the end, where sadly the conflict is resolved though the deaths in both the two families.
In conclusion it is the conflict and violence that makes the play what it is. In terms of exciting, enthralling and basically loved by many.