Hostility in Romen and Juliet - Research Paper Example

Accordingly, the theme of the play can be described as the hostility of “two households” in Verona, Montague and Capulet, who try to attack aggressively the lovers, Romeo and Juliet, who preserve loyalty to their true kingdom of love. Therefore, not love simply must be regarded as relevant in the play, but rather the hostility of two households, which arises between them, trying to destroy the sweet feeling of the young lovers. Then, focusing on the summary of the plot and also sub-plots, both with its outcomes for the proposed theme, it should be concerned that “ancient rage” was the most powerful motive for action throughout the play for both minor and major characters.

Here, Shakespeare shows his constant shifts from comedy to tragedy, and the development of the minor characters, who are able to conduct the supporting atmosphere for the protagonists. The star-crossed lovers present a stable opposition to the hatred, being able to forget about rage in a flame of their swift and passionate love; however, due to the star-crossed fate or simply by chance they were doomed for the mutual suicides. To force a thesis, some researchers put an emphasis on solely love when treated the play, such as, for example, Lawrence Edward Bowling1, and some suggested that not only factor of love may be objectified in the whole play, such as Thomas Honegger2; but, on the contrary, it should be stated that simply hatred/rage/hostility of the clans was an fundamental factor which determined the development of the relations between the lovers because their love from the beginning contradict strongly with the whole situation within the families.

This situation gives a powerful impact on extremely impulsive process of mutual relationship of Romeo and Juliet. Therefore, a quite extravagant thesis should be forced that the lovers’ strongest sympathy is initiated by the powerful hostility/rage/hatred between the clans, which statement is presented in the prologue of the Act 1 in such a way: “Two households… / From ancient grudge break to new mutiny… / From forth the fatal loins of these two foes / A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life; / Whose misadventured piteous overthrows / Do with their death bury their parents' strife.

/ The fearful passage of their death-marked love, / And the continuance of their parents' rage…” (Act 1, Prologue) Therefore, as prologue puts it, two households descended their “mutiny” long beforehand, but “a pair of star-crossed lovers” “bury their parents’ strife” “with their death;” as a result, great love is determined and initiated by the great hatred, and thus great hostility is defeated by the great passion of the lovers, the conjunction between two principal motives in the dramatic plot of the play is unquestionable.

The hostility between the clans in Verona influenced a lot on a very character of the relations between the lovers, determines its doomed and swift process. Accordingly, in Act 1, Scene 5, Romeo asks rhetorically: “Is she a Capulet? / O dear account! my life is my foe's debt”; (Act 1, Scene 5) which phrase is responded by Juliet in such words: “My only love sprung from my only hate! / Too early seen unknown, and known too late! / Prodigious birth of love it is to me, / That I must love a loathed enemy;”