Juliet’s mood starts off as very desperate for Romeo’s love and also very miserable after the murder of her cousin, Tybalt, by Romeo. This is seen right at the beginning of the scene when her mother comes into the orchard to talk to her “Madam, I am not well.” Juliet was also crying before her mother comes in “Yet let me weep for such a feeling loss.”
Juliet still loves Romeo even after he killed her cousin but she keeps it a secret from her parents, this is shown in the text “[Aside] Villain and he be many miles asunder.- God pardon him! I do, with all my heart; And yet no man like he doth grieve my heart.”
The secrecy of the marriage of Romeo and Juliet points out a form of dramatic irony. This is shown by Juliet's ‘double-edged’ phrases when Lady Capulet is denouncing Romeo. For example, “Ay madam, from the reach of these my hands: would none but I might verge my cousin's death.” or when Juliet states in an awkward way, “indeed I never shall be satisfied with Romeo till I behold him -dead-”
Capulet seems to have a lot of power over Juliet. When he first enters the scene he seems to be mourning over the death of his brother’s son, Tybalt. He also seems very confident that Juliet has agreed to the proposal, he imagined her to be thankful and proud, this is seen by his swift change in reaction when he finds out that she hasn’t, “Soft! take me with you, take me with you, wife. How! Will she none? Doth she not give us thanks? Is she not proud? Doth she not give us thanks? Is she not proud? doth she not count her blest, Unworthy as she is, that we have wrought so worthy a gentlemen to be her bridegroom?
I think that Capulet isn’t being fair to Juliet. He doesn’t even give her a chance to speak. She even kneels down to him “Good father, I beseech you on my knees,” this demonstrates how much power Capulet has over Juliet.
Lady Capulet supports her husband because she also wants Juliet to get married to Paris, the line showing this says “Talk not to me, for I’ll not speak a word: do as thou wilt, for I have done with thee.” This tells us that she isn’t very delighted at Juliet’s decision.
Juliet is left alone and without much support at the end of this scene. By the end of the scene she feels hopeless and somewhat depressed, the lines which relate to this read “Ancient damnation! O most wicked fiend! Is it more sin to wish me thus forsworn, Or to dispraise my lord with that same tongue”. She’d rather die than have this wedding take place “If all else fail, myself have power to die.”
In conclusion, the theme in Romeo & Juliet is love and the love of Romeo and Juliet was destined to be destroyed. It is tragic that both these people had to give their lives just so they could love each other. There were circumstances throughout the course of their lives that led up to their deaths. If their parent’s had not been feuding and if the Nurse had not betrayed Juliet, the outcome of this story would have been different, although fate could not be changed. This was the most important factor in the lives of Romeo and Juliet.
In my opinion the quote that accurately summarizes this play is, “For never was there a story of more woe, than this of Juliet and her Romeo.” (Act V, scene iii, lines 309-310) Love is the biggest thing that can happen in human life. It can make your life incredible or forgettable. In the case of Romeo and Juliet, it was both. They had something between them that would never be destroyed. Their determination to stay together through the tough times was incredible. Even when they knew that their relationship would never be normal, they never gave up. It was a case of love at first sight when their eyes locked on each other.
The story of Romeo and Juliet is more to do with love than hate. Nearly every scene of the text has love conveyed in some way in them. From the pain Romeo suffered from the rejection of Rosaline, to the first scene where the two meet.
The only scene in the whole story where love isn’t conveyed is the very first scene where we see the first conflict between the Capulets and the Montagues. That just shows how much of an impact love has in Shakespeare’s story about two star-crossed lovers. Romeo and Juliet had such a strong love that they would die for each other. This is what Shakespeare is trying to show us what love is all about and this is why he chose to write this story, not to show hate, but to show love.
The love in the story is not only shown between Romeo and Juliet. It is also shown in the form of filial love between Romeo and Mercutio. Romeo ‘loved’ Mercutio as a friend so much that he would vow revenge on the person that brought upon his death. The friendship was everlasting and would always be treasured by Romeo, even after Mercutio’s death.
Other love was shown between Juliet and the Nurse. Juliet grew up with the nurse by her side all the time. The nurse was more of a mother to Juliet than Lady Capulet ever was. Romeo's parents cared for him much deeper than Juliet's did for her. His mother was always worried or concerned about where he was and what he was doing, hoping he wouldn’t get caught up in any trouble.
Shakespeare also shows paternal love to go along with the others in the text. I guess that you could say that their was a bit of love from Juliet’s parents towards her in that they only wanted what they thought was best for her as well as getting what they want at the same time. They imagine that Juliet would be happy living her life with Paris, although Lady Capulet was much more loving than her husband was.
Romeo and Juliet is a story purely based on love. The majority of the text makes references to love and how it affects those involved. Hate is only shown between the two families only when they are together, not when they are living their normal lives. Most of the hate comes from Tybalt’s mouth anyway; we hardly hear any words of hate from anyone else’s.