Starting with this extract, explore how Shakespeare presents conflict in Romeo and
Juliet. (3,1)
Write about:
how Shakespeare presents conflict in this extract
how Shakespeare presents conflict in the play as a whole
Throughout Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare explores the physical and
emotional conflict that is the destructive backdrop against which love,
identity, and tragedy unfold. This displays Shakespeare’s intent to critique
the self-destructive cycle of inherited hatred, that provokes a patriarchal
society that leads to toxic masculinity and female disempowerment.
Within the extract, Tybalt embodies the senseless inherited violence in a
divided society, while the societal expectations of male honour lead to
Mercutio’s tragic death. Mercutio demonstrates the passion that was
expected of him as Tybalt comes looking for Romeo, he cries “O calm,
dishonourable, vile submission!”. The juxtaposition of ‘calm’ and
‘dishonourable’ identifies the belief in Verona that peace is cowardly,
reinforcing the toxic values that only catalyse the tragedy. Shakespeare
identifies the destructive constructs of Verona, as ironically to be peaceful
will only propel tragedy. Here, we are reminded of the Prince’s speech in
Act 1, that the feud is ‘bred of an airy word’; this only enhances
Shakespeare’s critique of the patriarchal oppression as Romeo’s refusal to
fight is justifiable in a senseless feud, yet by not fighting he essentially
causes Mercutio’s death and arguably leads to the later tragic events that
follow. Shakespeare highlights the inevitable destructive consequences of
a society build on violence and conflict to reflect his intention to
deconstruct the patriarchy.
Shakespeare continues to display conflict in any form tragic – as the
lover’s relationship is formed in defiance of the feud, yet their inability to
overcome this except in death reinforces violence as a source of
catastrophe. Upon meeting Romeo and instantly falling in love, Juliet
discovers he is a Capulet and asserts “My only love sprung from my only
hate!”. The irony is that Shakespeare establishes the lover’s journey in the
prologue as they are ‘star-cross’d lovers’, which evokes to Elizabethan
society that they are doomed due to the widespread beliefs of astronomy.
The repeated conditional “only” emphasises the dramatic irony but serves
to enhance how her ‘love’ is sprung from ‘hate’. This establishes
Shakespeare’s intent to display how nothing can thrive in a society built
on conflict. Ironically, Juliet subconsciously knows this as she proclaims,
Juliet. (3,1)
Write about:
how Shakespeare presents conflict in this extract
how Shakespeare presents conflict in the play as a whole
Throughout Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare explores the physical and
emotional conflict that is the destructive backdrop against which love,
identity, and tragedy unfold. This displays Shakespeare’s intent to critique
the self-destructive cycle of inherited hatred, that provokes a patriarchal
society that leads to toxic masculinity and female disempowerment.
Within the extract, Tybalt embodies the senseless inherited violence in a
divided society, while the societal expectations of male honour lead to
Mercutio’s tragic death. Mercutio demonstrates the passion that was
expected of him as Tybalt comes looking for Romeo, he cries “O calm,
dishonourable, vile submission!”. The juxtaposition of ‘calm’ and
‘dishonourable’ identifies the belief in Verona that peace is cowardly,
reinforcing the toxic values that only catalyse the tragedy. Shakespeare
identifies the destructive constructs of Verona, as ironically to be peaceful
will only propel tragedy. Here, we are reminded of the Prince’s speech in
Act 1, that the feud is ‘bred of an airy word’; this only enhances
Shakespeare’s critique of the patriarchal oppression as Romeo’s refusal to
fight is justifiable in a senseless feud, yet by not fighting he essentially
causes Mercutio’s death and arguably leads to the later tragic events that
follow. Shakespeare highlights the inevitable destructive consequences of
a society build on violence and conflict to reflect his intention to
deconstruct the patriarchy.
Shakespeare continues to display conflict in any form tragic – as the
lover’s relationship is formed in defiance of the feud, yet their inability to
overcome this except in death reinforces violence as a source of
catastrophe. Upon meeting Romeo and instantly falling in love, Juliet
discovers he is a Capulet and asserts “My only love sprung from my only
hate!”. The irony is that Shakespeare establishes the lover’s journey in the
prologue as they are ‘star-cross’d lovers’, which evokes to Elizabethan
society that they are doomed due to the widespread beliefs of astronomy.
The repeated conditional “only” emphasises the dramatic irony but serves
to enhance how her ‘love’ is sprung from ‘hate’. This establishes
Shakespeare’s intent to display how nothing can thrive in a society built
on conflict. Ironically, Juliet subconsciously knows this as she proclaims,
