Violence and conflict are central to Romeo and Juliet. Discuss these themes with reference to at least three scenes in the text

Authors Avatar

Romeo&Juliet-essay.conflict&violence                                             Nafaz Miah 11JP

Violence and conflict are central to Romeo and Juliet. Discuss these themes with reference to at least three scenes in the text

Romeo and Juliet was written in the year 1595, when William Shakespeare was 26 years of age. By experimenting with his ideas Shakespeare created a play full of various emotions full of miraculous events. Throughout the play he created a recipe of tragedy, love, hope, sadness and most of all death. He played with these ideas, by making love the creator of death. Although there are many romantic scenes in this play, they often lead to hate and conflict, with various scenes of violence. This can be easily seen in the first few scenes of the play. The conflict occurs over an “ancient” feud between the two families, the Montague and the Capulet. In the play it does not state what the “ancient” feud was about or why it occurred but it creates a huge tension between the families throughout the play. When Romeo and Juliet fall in love it makes matters worse, as the families feuds drive the lovers to their deaths. This essay is based on the conflicts, which occur throughout this play, and how private and public conflicts in the play affect each scene. This essay will also investigate the differences between both public and private conflict and whether they can be treated as two separate issues, or as one.

The first public dispute occurs in the first scene of the play, Act 1:1. The servants of both Capulet and Montague families are involved. The public argument begins between these servants by exchanging subtle comments and rude gestures. The scene is set in a public place in the streets of Verona. After a while the arguments develop creating a huge scene of violence, affecting everyone near the scene.

Abram: Do you bit your thumb at us sir?

Sampson: I do bite my thumb sir

The fact that the servants have no relation to the families at all shows that the bond between the two is very strong. Anything, which affects the family, also affects anyone else close to the family. This shows a huge amount of devotion and loyalty from each of these characters. When Benvolio arrives his character is immediately depicted as a strong silent type and the peacemaker of the group.

Benvolio: “Part, fools! Put up your swords, you know not what you do.”

                  Beats down their swords

Although he is Romeo’s closest friend and being related to Montague’ he is against the idea of fighting over an ancient quarrel. The idea of fighting seems worthless and prefers to stay away from the Capulet’s to prevent further trouble. Although he is the peacekeeper among the group he is the one that creates the scene of violence in the end. The fight occurs between both him and Tybalt, when Tybalt aggravates him by calling him a coward. The scene soon develops into a huge commotion of violence.

Tybalt: “ What, drawn and talk of peace? I hate the word. As I hate hell, all Montague’s                                                                     and  thee. Have at thee coward.”

               They fight

Tybalt’s character is depicted more through his words than his actions. From the moment he first appears in the play he creates a huge amount of tension through each of the scenes. His words are full of hatred and revenge. Being Juliet’s cousin he shows his loyalty towards the family by trying to create trouble and provoke the Montague’s. Although being the most evil character in the play he is also the strongest. His hatred for the Montague’s makes him more determined and he is not afraid to show his true feelings for the Montague’s. His character is the opposite of Benvolio’s. He is against the idea of any sign of peace, as his answer is always violence. Neither Tybalt nor Benvolio were involved in this “ancient” feud, but still they persist on fighting for their families honour. To keep the competition alive, and they won’t rest until their enemy is defeated.

When the Prince interrupts the fight, he explains how tired he is of the endless bickering. How they interrupt everybody else’s peace, showing no concern for people around them. He explains how they have disturbed the peace of others, more than three times. This shows that the family’s private grudge against one another, has effected everyone else around it, whether they are family or not. The feud between the families is no longer a private matter but has become publicly known all over town. The play does not state what the feud was about which adds tension to the story, as the reader wonders what could have been so serious to result in such chaos.

Prince: “Three civil brawls, bred of an airy word, by thee, old Capulet and Montague, Have thrice disturbed the quiet of our streets.”

Join now!

The Prince describes their violent actions and harsh words well, when he calls them beasts. Animals, which cannot control themselves harming anyone in their way.  When he describes them as:

“Profaners of this neighbour - stained steel.”

By saying that, he says that the weapons they use are stained with the blood of their neighbours. This could mean that they aim their weapons at their enemies but they harm everyone else around them. Their actions create huge amounts of pain to others. This is another example showing that their private family issues, develop into a violent public ...

This is a preview of the whole essay