The Play Romeo and Juliet’ Is a Play of Contrasts in It Is as Much About Hatred as It Is About Love. Discuss
Romeo and Juliet is a play about contrasts as much as it is love and hate. It’s a tragic play which love and hate are embodied in many different ways. The Montagues and Capulets hate each other after a long feud long forgotten, but Romeo and Juliet meet each other and fall in love instantly “star crossed lovers” showing that hate can be born in love, an oxymoron.
The prologue establishes the themes of love and hate from the beginning and links the two. The sonnet at the start of the play gives us an insight into the play the love and hate of the family is from long ago that they have an ancient grudge and everyone is becoming involved in this feud without consent. “Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean” suggests that people who otherwise would be innocent civilians are being made to fight and have death on their hands. The prologue explains Romeo and Juliet’s love as being born from the hatred and grudges of the two families. However from the prologue it is telling us their love is destined to end “star crossed lovers” which suggest that destiny has fated them to death. Also their “death-marked love” is referring back to Elizabethan belief that there is a greater force then that of humans such as God. Shakespeare reveals the information that the love of Romeo and Juliet’s is that they will die because the audience is not interested to know whether they will die, they want to now know how, why and in what circumstances they died. By doing this Shakespeare has increased the dramatic tension when saying Romeo and Juliet will die in the play.
In act 1 scene 1 the themes of hatred and love are introduced very early into this play. The scene starts with a violent scene which shows the disorder from the conflict of the two families. The scene opens with two servants from the Capulet house; Shakespeare shows they are ready to fight in many different ways “A dog of that house shall move me to stand. I will take the wall of any man or maid of Montague’s” which means
The prologue establishes the themes of love and hate from the beginning and links the two. The sonnet at the start of the play gives us an insight into the play the love and hate of the family is from long ago that they have an ancient grudge and everyone is becoming involved in this feud without consent. “Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean” suggests that people who otherwise would be innocent civilians are being made to fight and have death on their hands. The prologue explains Romeo and Juliet’s love as being born from the hatred and grudges of the two families. However from the prologue it is telling us their love is destined to end “star crossed lovers” which suggest that destiny has fated them to death. Also their “death-marked love” is referring back to Elizabethan belief that there is a greater force then that of humans such as God. Shakespeare reveals the information that the love of Romeo and Juliet’s is that they will die because the audience is not interested to know whether they will die, they want to now know how, why and in what circumstances they died. By doing this Shakespeare has increased the dramatic tension when saying Romeo and Juliet will die in the play.
In act 1 scene 1 the themes of hatred and love are introduced very early into this play. The scene starts with a violent scene which shows the disorder from the conflict of the two families. The scene opens with two servants from the Capulet house; Shakespeare shows they are ready to fight in many different ways “A dog of that house shall move me to stand. I will take the wall of any man or maid of Montague’s” which means