Juxtaposition In Romeo And Juliet

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Pages: 5

William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a five act play about two lovers who come from opposing families. They redefine the meaning of love in a story filled with drama, suspense, and heartfelt poems with a twist in the end that no one expects. Romeo comes from the Montague family and Juliet from the Capulets; their families have a grudge against each other, but that all changes when Romeo and Juliet meet by chance and fall in love. Love is one of the biggest themes in Romeo and Juliet due to the fact that it always overpowers hate. Shakespeare uses the juxtaposition of love versus hate to show that even through their family’s hate, Romeo and Juliet still find love and were able to bring their families together.
The first example in Romeo and Juliet of choosing love over hate is when Romeo is at the Capulet’s party and sees Juliet, then sneaks up to her balcony through the garden after the party. During the party, Tybalt sees Romeo and goes to complain to Lord Capulet about how a Montague has invaded their house: “such a villain is a guest/ I’ll not endure him” (1.5 84-85). In this scene, Tybalt wants Romeo to be kicked out of the Capulet’s house because he is so filled with hate that he cannot fathom the idea of just looking at a Montague. Lord Capulet decides to let Romeo stay which leads to him spying Juliet in the crowd and then sneaking up to her room after the party. When Juliet spots him on her balcony, she asks him how he got past the guards and over the garden wall. Romeo says, “with
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It shapes the way the story plays out and the decisions that the characters make. Love and hate are powerful emotions that can dictate whether a person makes a good or a bad decision that affects themselves and others. The characters in Romeo and Juliet all make decisions that revolve around love and around hate, and each time a decision is made, love always