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Romeo and Juliet: Hatred as a Theme
By Mark Bryan
Gifted English 1
First Period


One of the most famous tragedies of any playwright ever alive was that of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. The play focuses on three different themes: hatred, ignorance, and fate. Of the three, I think that hatred is the most important (and most obvious) theme of the tragedy. Not only is it present in most of the scenes, it is what causes Romeo and Juliet’s eventual suicide. Not only this, but it is also the first theme mentioned: “Two households, both alike in dignity, /In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, /From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, /Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean...” (Prologue, lines 1-4)

As the play opens, we see series after series of arguments between servants, and then Benvolio and Tybalt, and then Capulet and Montague get in the fight, only to be stopped by the prince who tells them how much of fools they are and tells us how the feud started in the first place: “Three civil brawls, bred of an airy word, /By thee, old Capulet, and Montague…” (Act I, Scene I, Lines 89-90) Their feud was started by a stray insult, which soon escalated to a war between the families, which shows their true hatred for each other. The families don’t usually break out into fights unless they’re threatened, which is why Capulet stops Tybalt from skewering Romeo at their party where the whole love story really starts.

Later on, in Act II, we see how much Juliet hates the feud during the infamous balcony scene when she says, “O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? /Deny thy father and refuse thy name!… ‘Tis but they name that is my enemy;…” (Act II, Scene II, Lines 40-41, 45) Translated, she is asking why Romeo must be a Montague; because of the hatred between families, it will become very trying for them to love each other, and eventually get married which they accomplish at the end of the second act. All good things, however must come to an end, though; Tybalt challenges Romeo to a duel because of his meddling with Juliet, which he declines and has Mercutio fight for him. Tybalt kills Mercutio, and Romeo kills Tybalt in pure hatred for killing his friend. Since Romeo’s actions were associated with the families’ hatred for each other, he is banished. Juliet’s parents also have no idea of her marriage and are forcing her to marry Paris in a few days.

A plan is concocted between Juliet and the Friar involving a potion causing something that looks physically like death, but only works for 42 hours. Her family is supposed to think her dead and put her in the crypt where Romeo waits for her. It seems foolproof until the letter never arrives to Romeo describing the plan. Instead, he gets news of her “death” and immediately goes to the crypt in Verona to find her, only to run into Paris, who very much hates Romeo for killing Tybalt, evident as he says, “This is that banish’d haughty Montague /That murd’red my love’s cousin… And here is come to do some villainous shame /To the dead bodies. I will apprehend him.” (Act V, Scene III, Lines 49-53) Unfortunately, he does not apprehend him. Romeo enters the tomb to find Juliet supposedly dead. He drinks some poison he bought earlier and dies, minutes before Juliet awakens. She finds him dead, and stabs herself with Romeo’s dagger. Just after she dies, Capulet, Montague, Friar Laurence and others discover her. The Friar explains the whole story, and the two rivaling families finally make up as Capulet says, “O brother Montague, give my thy hand, /This is my daughter’s jointure, for no more /Can I demand.”(Act V, Scene III, Lines 296-29 cool

After their death, the families’ hatred is finally over. Knowing that the only reason the events in the play would never have happened had Capulet and Montague not feuded is evidence enough that hatred is the prominent theme of this play. Without these emotions, we would not have Shakespeare.