Major Themes in Romeo and Juliet

by jbelz (student)

Romeo and Juliet Essay

"Never was there a tale of such woe..." the story of Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy of passion and forbidden love. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is one of the most referred to stories of all times, setting a precedence for romantic tragedies. In the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, the major themes of love vs. Hate and free will vs. fate are displayed within the protagonists and the events that occur in the play. “See what a scourge is laid upon your hate, that heaven finds means to kill your joys with love” and “wisely and slow, they stumble that run fast” both represent the major themes of the play, as well as the use of several language and dramatic techniques such as dramatic irony, metaphors, hyperbole’s as well as imagery to convey the concepts. The main universal themes Shakespeare incorporates in the play reveals the true characteristics of the characters, revealing their fatal flaws and ultimately leading to their deaths.

Romeo and Juliet is a play of controversy, conflict, passion and death. “See what a scourge is laid upon your hate, that heaven finds means to kill your joys with love” clearly represents both the themes of love versus’ hate and free will versus fate. The theme of love and hate ultimately shapes the tragedy, working as a backbone for the play. The Montague and Capulet’s strong hated for one another consequently leads to the fatal death of Romeo and Juliet. In the final act of the play, Prince directly confronts both families of the consequences of their hatred for each other. The hatred that both families had for each other ultimately resulted in the death of their children as their rivalries had further pushed them to pursue their love. Shakespeare based Romeo and Juliet’s love on hatred, thus making it oxymoronic, at the same time contrasting the love of their families which was which was based on power, dominance and superiority.

The intense hatred that was portrayed by some of the characters in the tragedy is ultimately the cause of Romeo and Juliet’s deaths. The inevitability of fate is empathised in the play by Shakespeare’s use of foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is used in the tragedy to create anticipation as well as to inform the audience about the events that were shortly going to arise. At the end of act 5, Prince reinforces the motif of religious fatalism, that for the Montague and Capulet’s faults, God had punished them for their mistakes, their children’s lives –their joys- being their punishment. The quote itself ...

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Shakespeare continuously gives the audience the impression that Juliet is saint/ heavenly like with continual religious connotations said by Romeo throughout the play. This technique of imagery emphasises on Juliet’s innocence and purity. This continual reference to religious icons is also a hyperbole. Throughout the play, both Romeo and Juliet exaggerate their affection for one another in speeches, asides and soliloquy’s. The use of hyperboles stresses the lover’s strong emotion and passion for one another.

“Wisely and slow, they stumble that run fast” is a metaphoric representation of the human nature of the characters, as well as linking with the theme of determinism. This quote from the tragedy is one of two that closely interprets the tragedy which befalls Romeo and Juliet. The advice given to Romeo by Friar Laurence in Act 2, suggests that one should think, plan and be patient before acting. Highlighted by alliteration the consequences of impulsiveness and the importance of rationality is demonstrated through the recurring ‘s’ sound emphasising one of the fundamental messages of this play. The Friar advising Romeo to be cautious and patient is also an example of dramatic ironic because the Friar is the one who then irrationally and impulsively advises Juliet to fake her death.

The main protagonist Romeo is in-love with the idea of love, his emotions and feelings for Juliet clouding his thoughts and ability to rationalise decisions and situations. As his relationship with Juliet escalates, Romeo’s allows his deep infatuation for Juliet to rise above his other thoughts and emotions which is consistent all throughout the play. His deep, passionate love for Juliet and his infatuation with the idea of being in-love unleashes his fatal flaws of impatience and impulsiveness which leads both his and Juliet’s fatal deaths. The advice given to Romeo by Friar Laurence links with the motif of determinism as the Friar believes that although everything happens for a reason, it is the individual that in the end decides their destiny.

Fate is the supposed force or power that predetermines ones destiny. Fate is a major theme of the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, It was their destiny since birth that their paths would intertwine and that they would become star-crossed lovers due to their families circumstances. When Romeo believes that Juliet is dead he cries out that he defies the stars, whilst his impulsiveness and determination to go against the hands of fate and living without her completes the idea of his and Juliet’s destiny, where their love would only exist peacefully in death. It is Romeo’s fatal flaw of impulsiveness that leads to his death, his impulsiveness contradicting the advice of the Friar and leading to the Romeo murdering Tybalt and being banished from Verona.

The two recurring themes of love vs hate as well as fate vs free will and the quotes mentioned above stresses