ROMEO AND JULIET
My Take on what this Play means
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare portray the theme of resentment throughout the play. From servants to high-class people to people who have fallen in love, the hatred between the Montagues and Capulets spreads creating tension through Verona. The play also shows the consequences of those feelings, instilling a warning for the readers. Shakespeare tries to show that holding grudges and being blindsided by anger causes undesirable consequences because even the littlest of things can intensify into something that no one can turn back from.
From the start of the play, Capulet’s servants are fighting against the Montagues, Shakespeare points out that resentment of something or someone trickles down, influencing people who are tied to them. When the servants insult each other by saying, “Do you bite your thumb at us, sir? I do bite my thumb, sir” (Act 1 Scene 137-38). Shakespeare shows that even people with the lowest title from the Capulets are still hostile towards any people who are even remotely tied with the Montagues. This shows how bitterness can spread to the ones that they are connected to, creating even more hatred. From the low to high-class people, anger does not choose based on social status, it expands to everyone increasing tension on all accounts. Later in the play, Tybalt says,” Uncle, this is a Montague, our foe: a villain that is hither come in spite” (Act 1 Scene 5 60-61). Shakespeare wants to add a more in-depth version of that grudge, amplified into people who are more closely related to the Capulets (Tybalt) and the Montagues (Romeo). When Shakespeare portrays Tybalt’s fiery temper toward any Montague, it’s another point in the play that contributes toward the idea of hostility. This shows the similarity between Tybalt and the servants, showing again that malice does not favor anyone. Shakespeare implies that no one feels superior over malignancy against a group of people.
The indecisiveness of Romeo and Juliet once they find out that they are on opposite sides of this feud show that Shakespeare describes familial feuds that cause people who are associated with them to rethink decisions related to those who are their rivals. When Romeo says, “Is She a Capulet? O dear account! My life is my foe’s debt” (Act 1 Scene 5 117-118). Shakespeare wants to show Romeo's reaction to finding out about Juliet to give the reader another perspective of how this grudge influenced people. He depicts that love can blind anger or resentment by showing that, even if at first Romeo’s hesitancy makes him skeptical of his feelings for Juliet, he disregards his wariness. Shakespeare emphasizes this idea of rivalry and indecisiveness when the Nurse and Juliet say,” His name is Romeo, and a Montague, the only son of your great enemy. My only love sprung from my only hate…Prodigious birth of love it is to me, that I must love a loathèd enemy” (Act 1 Scene 5 135-137,139-140). When Juliet learns about Romeo, she feels the same reluctance to pursue him. Shakespeare shows how love can overthrow the doubts of mistrust in a person because of which group they are in.
Lastly, when Shakespeare shows the death of Romeo and Juliet, he implies that long-time bitterness seldom leads to a good outcome. Shakespeare implies that the deaths of Romeo and Juliet caused the grudge to end when Capulet and Montague join together and say “O brother Montague, give me thy hand. This is my daughter’s jointure, for no more Can I demand. But I can give thee more…As that of true and faithful Juliet as rich shall Romeo’s by his lady’s lie” (Act 5 Scene 3 296-298,302). When Shakespeare showed that the Capulets and the Montagues came together, he suggested that even in tragedy, good things can bloom. The seemingly endless spitefulness with each other ended through the death of Romeo and Juliet. In the last few lines of the play, Shakespeare illustrates that tragedy does not always cause the end to everything. There will always be people to pick up the pieces of what insinuates as broken.
Romeo and Juliet try to teach the reader a lesson about the consequences of decisions. Anger between two groups of people creates discourse through the connections people have made with others. Shakespeare represents this idea by creating a predicament to show the reader what could happen because of long term malice. The examples provided in each paragraph gave a more in-depth view of how the resentment spread through the play. Shakespeare uses the characters' views to give the reader a clear picture of disruption through anger. Although Romeo and Juliet may be seen as a tragic love story, Shakespeare portrays bitterness as the fundamental concept of the play.