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How does Shakespeare present the Theme of Conflict in Romeo and Juliet?
Shakespeare’s Tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, opens in “Verona”, a city in northern Italy where the hot, narrow
streets are the perfect place for tempers to flare
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Honour was seen as one of the most valuable
possessions one could have; if one were to questions another’s honour, be it simply by “biting” their
“thumb” at them, people could expect a fight
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In the Prologue, there are references to fate and destiny
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In Shakespeare’s time, people
believed that the stars determined human destiny, so by describing Romeo and Juliet’s love as “Starcrossed” (which means thwarted by the stars), Shakespeare illustrates the misery that their love will bring
them and those around them, and how inevitable that misery is
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However, this vile language is undercut by the form of the Prologue, as
it is written in the form of a Sonnet, a type of poem that was associated with romance in the Elizabethan
era
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In Act 1 Scene 1, there is a fight between the Capulets and the Montagues
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The “men” in this quote is
representative of both courage and masculinity, so Sampson is questioning the Montagues’ honour by
attacking these two characteristics
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Later in Act 1 Scene 1, Romeo is introduced into the play
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His inner conflict about his unrequited love for Rosaline is shown when he uses oxymorons, “O loving
hate!”, and metaphors, “a fire sparkling in lovers’ eyes”
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Romeo constantly using over-blown language is an
intentional decision by Shakespeare, who is making fun not just of Romeo, but of the very concept of a
Petrarchan lover, presenting them as too emotional and dramatic
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In Act 1 Scene 5, Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time
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The Sonnet’s lines are spoken by both Romeo and Juliet,
Romeo says the first quatrain, Juliet the second, they share the third and the final couplet is divided evenly
between them
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The conflict here is between sex and religion, there is the vocabulary of the body, such as “hand” or “kiss”,
and the vocabulary of religion, such as “pilgrim” or “holy”
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For example, Romeo refers to his lips as “two blushing
pilgrims”, this metaphor attests to the seriousness of their relationship, as their physical attraction to eachother, represented here by Romeo’s lips, is spiritual and pure in nature, demonstrated by him referring to
them as “pilgrims”
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How does Shakespeare present the Theme of Conflict in Romeo and Juliet?
At the end of their sonnet, they’ve reached an understanding that a “prayer” is a “kiss”, so they can “kiss”
without problems
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However, after the shared sonnet Romeo calls their kiss a “sin”
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By likening his kiss (which we can infer is a metaphor for sexual
activity) to a sin, which is an offense against God, he is telling Juliet and by extension the audience that
their romance is immoral, and perhaps even blasphemous
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By kissing and associating their “sin” to religious figures such as Pilgrims and Saints, Romeo and Juliet are
challenging the established, punishing social norms
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Therefore, Shakespeare
demonstrates in Romeo and Juliet’s first kiss the conflict between sex and its freedom, and religion and its
strict rules
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Mercutio tells Benvolio, “thou art as hot a
Jack in thy mood…” There is a sense of irony here, as Benvolio, who is presented as peace-making and who
was likened to Jesus in Act 1 Scene 1, is being called hot-headed by the unpredictable, provocative
Mercutio
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A language technique here is the assonance and alliteration in, “…and as soon
moved to be moody, and as soon moody to be moved
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Another, likely intended effect, is that because of the care-free
word play, the audience would be expecting another comedic conversation, and later a fight with no main
character deaths, just like what happened in Act 1 Scene 1
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So, the nonchalant personality and lines of Mercutio makes the audience much less prepared for
the deadly conflict that follows, which draws out more emotion from the viewer
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He threatens to take
her to the church “on a hurdle”, which was used to drag criminals to their execution, and he also threatens
to disinherit her “And you be not, hang, beg, starve, die in the streets”
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And if one would dare
to oppose this, the father could cast her out and dis-inherit her
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His angry, rambling speech and his scolding of his
disobedient daughter show the family structure of Elizabethan society as one where the father and

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