Love Is A Trap In Romeo And Juliet

A well known quote stated by Paulo Coelho reads “Love is a trap. When it appears, we only see its light, not its shadows.” Love is something that has affected every single person on this planet. Whether it is a family member, friend, or that special someone, we all have dealt with it and most of the time it fills us with joy. On the other hand, love can lead to problems is not dealt with correctly. Within the walls of Verona, two youngsters by the names of Romeo and Juliet met at a party and experienced love at first sight. Although this moment changed their life forever, it may not have been in the best way possible. In this case, love completely took over their lives and they didn’t think of the long term consequences down the road. In Shakespeare’s
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, the rocky road of their true love is caused by the feud between the two rival families, the banishment of Romeo from Verona, and Friar Lawrence’s involvement in the relationship of Romeo and Juliet.
From the start, the main reason why there is a divide in Verona and why Romeo and Juliet’s success rate was so low was because of the feud between the Montague and Capulet Families.
In Act II, and after Romeo and Juliet met in the Capulet yard, Juliet states “This bud of love by summer’s ripening breath may prove a beauteous flower when next we meet (Act II, scene II). This quote proves that Romeo and Juliet couldn’t stay with each other, but instead had to separate soon after they first met. This is because the families would not want the Montague son and the Capulet daughter to be with each other since the two families hate each other. Next, in Act I scene I, as the two rival families battle it out throughout the streets of Verona, Prince Escalus
exclaims,

Rebellious subjects, enemies to peace,
Profaners of this neighbor-stainèd steel!—
Will they not hear?—What, ho! You men, you beasts,
That quench the fire of your pernicious rage
With purple fountains issuing from your veins….
If ever you disturb our streets again,
Your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace.
(I.i.71-89).

This quote proves that the Prince could not stand the fighting between the Capulets and Montagues. The fighting would draw blood, cause injury to many men, and when it crossed the Rubicon, the Prince condemned the people for their actions. The Prince also added that the next time any commotion breaks out in the streets of Verona, the people responsible shall be killed. Finally in Act II scene ii, Juliet states,

'Tis but thy name that is my enemy.
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What’s Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man….
Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name, which is no part of thee
Take all myself.

This quote proves that although Romeo and Juliet are so close through their love, their family names still make them so far apart. In the quote by Juliet, she is stating that since the only thing standing in front of their relationship is their family names, why not simply change it. She is soon to realize that much more challenges are on the way.

While the family conflict is a major barrier to the relationship of Romeo and Juliet, another important event that almost officially out an end to their love affair was Romeo’s banishment from Verona.

Throughout The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, Juliet and her Romeo struggled to find a point throughout their relationship where nothing troubling was ahead. The main reasons of this were the fact that they lived in rival families and that Romeo was banished from Verona in result of the murder of Tybalt. In all, three days was all it took for a young couple to meet, fall deeply in love, and then
die.