Family Loyalty In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

Throughout the play The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, family loyalties are a major part of the story. The Capulets, Juliet’s family, and the Montagues, Romeo’s family, are constantly bickering and arguing. While trying to move on from his latest heartbreak, Romeo sees Juliet at a masquerade party and is instantly smitten. What he doesn’t know is that she is a Capulet, but when he finds out he is determined to not let that stop their love, even if it means they can only meet in secret. The theme of family loyalty in the play is explored in three ways: family feuds, who is considered family, and choosing a lover over a blood relative.

The feud between the Capulets and Montagues stretches back to before either Romeo or Juliet was born, and the town of Verona is tired of it, “Clubs, bills, and partisans! Strike! Beat them down! Down with the Capulets! Down with the

All of the cousins of Romeo and Juliet are involved in the dispute between the families, and it is a common occurrence for the younger members of the families to quarrel in the streets. It is one of these fights that results in the deaths of Mercutio and Tybalt and leads to the exile of Romeo. “That late thou gavest me; for Mercutio’s soul is but a little way above our heads, staying for thine to keep him company. Either thou or I, or both, must go with him.”(III. i:124-127). All of the cousins, servants, and any other people who live in the households consider themselves part of the Montague and Capulet families, and each person within the families despises anyone from the other family without question. Well, at least until Romeo and Juliet meet, and even then Romeo was terrified when he learned of her name. Romeo still loves Juliet and those to seem to be the only ones that don’t allow the conflict between their families control how they treat the each