Conflict is a destructive force that makes victims of the innocent.
Conflict is a destructive force that makes victims of the innocent. Not only those causing the conflict are harmed but also those exposed to it through friendships, loyalties, relations, families and communities and can be made victims. William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (1595) successfully addresses the consequences conflict can have on innocent people, it is a main theme which builds tension and leads to the climax of the play. Clearly, the influence of conflict on the innocent and the impact it has on them is an important theme which is effectively discussed in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
Through friendships and loyalties, conflict can devastate those involved. As a consequence of Mercutio’s friendship with Romeo, he was personally involved with the conflict between the Capulets and Montagues, though he was neither. In Act 3 Scene 1, Shakespeare effectively showcases Mercutio’s unnecessary involvement in the violent rivalry through the hyperbole and metaphor “A plague o’ both your houses” which Mercutio exclaims when he is stabbed by Tybalt. In this quote Mercutio claims that he is mortally wounded as a result of the conflict between the two houses, he condemns the heads of the houses because of the conflict they have forced onto their children, causing his end along with the suffering of many other innocent people. Shakespeare explores the extent of the damage that has been inflicted on Mercutio through the ancient family feud, in the metaphor, “They have made worm’s meat of me”. This makes us aware of the impact that conflict can have on the innocent. What more severe consequence can there be than death? In the Prince’s emotive rhyming couplet after Mercutio and Tybalt are found dead, “I have interest in your hearts’ proceeding. My blood for your rude brawls doth lie a-bleeding”, Shakespeare confirms that Mercutio was not a Capulet or Montague but a