Love And Violence In Romeo And Juliet

Love is the dominant theme in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and perhaps the most obvious type of love that features in the play is the romantic love between Romeo and Juliet. However this form of love is definitely not the only form to feature in the play. Other examples include fraternal love, paternal love and filial love. All of these themes permeate every aspect of the play and are present in every scene. Love is behind nearly every action in the play and ties very closely in with violence, even though they first appear to be polar opposites. Both love and violence are fueled by passion for another person or for their house that they are fiercely defensive of. For this reason they are interconnected throughout the play and love is the main cause

The relationship between fathers and daughters in the Elizabethan era was very different from what there is today. Daughters were expected to be obedient whilst fathers were the dominant figure. Lord Capulet loves Juliet but not in an affectionate way but more in a formal way. Lord capulet thinks he knows what is best for Juliet and the house so he tries to marry her to Paris as arranged marriages were common amongst the richest families. Daughters were marketable material in a society of social climbing. A successful marriage would allow the family to be seen as better in the eyes of other households and so would climb the classes in this way. This is seen in the play when Capulet wants to marry Juliet off to Paris who is seen as a worthy husband to the

The structure of the play also portrays how intense the love is as all of the events in the play take place within the space of a few days. Romeo and Juliet decide to get married on only their second meeting and Tybalt is killed within a few days of Romeo and Juliet meeting. This portrays a sense of very fierce and passionate love as it so quickly takes over the lives of those who it touches. Love can also be seen as destructive in this way as it causes Romeo and Juliet to kill themselves. However it does end the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets so is also constructive. Friar Lawrence says “these violent delights have violent ends” and “therefore love moderately” this foreshadows the tragic end of the play and also builds a sense of love as a destructive force when it is to