Romeo and Juliet
John Homsy
Mr. Del Monte
ENG 1D1
7 May 2012
Fighting Fire With Fire Only Gets You Burned “I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent” (Mahatma Ghandi). This quote says that violence can solve problems but only temporarily, the solution is never permanent. In many situations violence has sparked more violence, not just in Romeo and Juliet but in real life situations. William Shakespeare manages to take real-life themes and incorporates them into his plays. He brought the theme of violence creating more violence in Romeo and Juliet by making the two families, the Capulets and the Montagues, use violence as the solution to their problems concerning each other.
But there are a few characters who abuse and use violence excessively, a perfect example is Tybalt. Tybalt seems to enjoys fighting, he “hates the word [peace] as [he] hates hell [and] all Montagues” (1.1. 68). The majority of the violence in the play is caused by Tybalt because in every scene he is present in he tends to overreact and is always the first one with his sword drawn. In act 1 scene 5 at the Capulet party, Tybalt recognizes Romeo 's voice and within ten words is calling for his sword. Tybalt grew up during the feud and was heavily influenced by what he was being told about the Montagues so he assumes that every Montague is the same; the enemy of the Capulets and must be treated like dirt and not human beings. Tybalt’s violence towards the Montagues has grown into a vendetta. Furthermore, when Tybalt is searching for Romeo because he sent him a challenge letter for a duel to the death and he doesn’t care if Romeo answers or not he is going to duel him the next time he sees him. He finally finds Romeo and challenges him but Romeo refuses time and time again, Mercutio ends up fighting on Romeo’s behalf and is killed when Romeo tries to break up the fight. Mercutio was not related to Romeo in any way, he is just Romeo’s
Mr. Del Monte
ENG 1D1
7 May 2012
Fighting Fire With Fire Only Gets You Burned “I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent” (Mahatma Ghandi). This quote says that violence can solve problems but only temporarily, the solution is never permanent. In many situations violence has sparked more violence, not just in Romeo and Juliet but in real life situations. William Shakespeare manages to take real-life themes and incorporates them into his plays. He brought the theme of violence creating more violence in Romeo and Juliet by making the two families, the Capulets and the Montagues, use violence as the solution to their problems concerning each other.
But there are a few characters who abuse and use violence excessively, a perfect example is Tybalt. Tybalt seems to enjoys fighting, he “hates the word [peace] as [he] hates hell [and] all Montagues” (1.1. 68). The majority of the violence in the play is caused by Tybalt because in every scene he is present in he tends to overreact and is always the first one with his sword drawn. In act 1 scene 5 at the Capulet party, Tybalt recognizes Romeo 's voice and within ten words is calling for his sword. Tybalt grew up during the feud and was heavily influenced by what he was being told about the Montagues so he assumes that every Montague is the same; the enemy of the Capulets and must be treated like dirt and not human beings. Tybalt’s violence towards the Montagues has grown into a vendetta. Furthermore, when Tybalt is searching for Romeo because he sent him a challenge letter for a duel to the death and he doesn’t care if Romeo answers or not he is going to duel him the next time he sees him. He finally finds Romeo and challenges him but Romeo refuses time and time again, Mercutio ends up fighting on Romeo’s behalf and is killed when Romeo tries to break up the fight. Mercutio was not related to Romeo in any way, he is just Romeo’s
Cited: Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. Harcourt Shakespeare.