Thursday 31 October 2013

Conflict

The conflict between the Capulets and the Montagues contributed largely to the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. From the start to the end, the conflict has always been apparent. During the first opening prologue, the text states,
     "A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life,/ Whose misadventured piteous overthrows/Doth with their death bury their parents' strife./The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,/And the continuance of their parents' rage."(1.0.6-10).
This admittance from the very beginning indicates that the inevitable tragedy of Romeo and Juliet occurs because of the rivalry between families. This dramatic irony keeps the audience in suspense as they watch the tension unravel, knowing what will happen in the end. If the families' conflicts did not occur, the love between Romeo and Juliet perhaps would not have been so fatal. This is verified toward the very end of the play, when Capulet states that Romeo and Juliet were, "Poor sacrifices of our enmity!" (5.3.315). This use of dialogue helps confirm the audience's belief that the death of the two 'star-crossed lovers' was due to the families' disputes. Therefore, the lethal love story of Romeo and Juliet was largely because of the conflict between the Capulets and the Montagues.

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