William Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet': Theme Essay

Agree, the theme of love is foci around which all other themes revolved. The themes of the playwright ‘Romeo and Juliet’ intertwine with one another. William Shakespeare wanted to show that sometimes through love we can also hate. In this play, love is a violent, ecstatic, overpowering force that supersedes all other values, loyalties, and emotions. Shakespeare has held up the possibility of suicide as an inherent aspect of intense love. Passion cannot be stifled, and when combined with the vigor of youth, it expresses itself through the most convenient outlet. The most salient feature of the story is the theme of love – the dominant and important theme. In discussion, the essay is about the major themes in the tragedy, which relate to the theme of love.

The opening scene has many dramatic purposes that prepare the reader for the rest of the play. The introductory conversation between Sampson and Gregory shows the connections between love and violence, while also introducing a witty, comical, and bawdy language that interacts with the play’s more serious discussions of love. In his opening speeches, Romeo emphasizes the disconnection between appearance and reality. But Romeo’s words lead to the question of his love for Rosaline. “These violent delights have violent endings”, Friar Laurence warns Romeo early in the play, attempting to warn him about the dangers of falling in love too hard or too fast.

Shakespeare alerts us from the start that, at its best, life constantly transforms. In the first scene, Verona is stale and violent. Because the Montague and Capulet feud has created a fragmented society, something needs to change to enable Verona’s dismembered social body to reunite. While Shakespeare pokes fun at Romeo’s fake love for Rosaline, the play later shows that true love can be powerful enough to mend the rifts in society: love, like death or violence, takes many forms in this play.

Following this angry exchange between the two Capulets, Shakespeare abruptly shifts the mood of the scene, presenting Romeo and Juliet’s first meeting. The quick change in mood reminds us that this play is about extremes: love versus hate, age versus youth, light versus dark, and ultimately, life versus death. Juxtaposed with the angry exchange between Tybalt and Capulet, the interaction between Romeo and Juliet seems calm and private, outside of the boundaries of the crowded ballroom. The lovers’ first conversation uses the intense language of lyrical poetry and is structured in the form of a sonnet, in which Romeo and Juliet speak alternately. The conversation ends with a kiss. The sonnet is heavy with religious imagery, including references to palmers, pilgrims, saints, and shrines. Juliet’s body is transformed into a “holy shrine”, and Romeo’s lips are “two blushing pilgrims”, waiting to offer a “tender kiss” (94-96).

The third scene also dramatizes Romeo’s growing isolation. By jumping over the wall into the Capulets’ garden, Romeo further separates himself from his friends. Perhaps Shakespeare is guiding us toward a definition of love that synthesizes Romeo’s seriousness and Mercutio’s playfulness. Romeo rushes from Juliet’s house to the Friar’s cell to make arrangements for their wedding later that day. When he arrives, Friar Laurence is in his garden, gathering healing herbs. Later in the play, the Friar will make use of his herbs when preparing a potion for Juliet.

In the third scene, Mercutio and Benvolio search for Romeo in a public square in Verona. Benvolio knows that Romeo didn’t make it home the previous night and that Tybalt sent a letter to Romeo, presumably challenging him to a duel. Mercutio claims that Romeo is already dead – killed by blind Cupid’s arrow of love. Because love has left Romeo weak-willed and melancholy, Mercutio wonders if Romeo will have much success dueling with masterful Tybalt.

Romeo and Juliet’s wedding hour has finally arrived. As scene six opens, Romeo waits impatiently in Friar Laurence’s room. The Friar prophetically prays that the heavens will smile on the marriage, no matter what sorrow later befalls the couple. Rather than presenting a carefree image of marriage in this scene, Shakespeare intertwines images of death with love and sorrow with joy. Juliet says that the real thing means more to her than any words can say. Although tragedy waits in the wings of his marriage, Romeo isn’t worried about sorrow. He feels that nothing can diminish the joy he feels in Juliet’s presence, even if it lasts for only “one short minute” (5).

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While many of the scenes in Act II have a comic tone, the mood of the play shifts in Act III. The juxtaposition between the peaceful wedding ceremony of Act II, Scene 6, and the violence of this scene is shocking. As this scene begins, Benvolio, Mercutio, and several of Romeo’s other friends walk through the streets. It’s a hot Monday afternoon and Benvolio wants to go inside to avoid a fight with the Capulets because he believes that the hot weather sets people’s “mad blood stirring” (4). Mercutio ironically teases Benvolio for being a moody man who easily gets into fights for the most inconsequential reasons, Of course, Mercutio is only joking. As we see later in this scene, Mercutio is the real hothead, while Benvolio is the calmest and most diplomatic of Romeo’s friends. In the middle of this playful conversation, Tybalt and his friends enter, which resulted in many feuds such as a word and a blow, Romeo attempts peace, Mercutio's death, Romeo’s revenge, and banishment.

Another quick change in mood occurs between Act III, Scene 1, and this scene. From the fiery violence of the fight, the play switches focus to a dreamy, introspective Juliet. As the scene opens, Juliet wanders through her father’s orchard, fantasizing about Romeo. Her speech beginning “Gallop apace, you fiery-footed steeds”, poetically expresses her impatience with waiting for the day to end so that she can once again see her lover (1). Juliet’s soliloquy is an example of a traditional epithalamion, or wedding song, in which a bride looks forward to physical union with her husband. Juliet longs for the “love-performing night” when Romeo will be in her arms (5).

Juliet’s excessive emotion about Tybalt’s death and Romeo’s banishment is echoed by Romeo’s hysteria in this scene. Romeo has just arrived in Friar Laurence’s cell, and here they plan Romeo’s future. As the scene begins, Friar Laurence suggests that misfortune follows Romeo, that fate has marked him for hardship, and that he is “wedded to calamity” (3). Romeo wonders what new sorrows await him because he hasn’t yet heard the Prince’s judgment following Tybalt’s death.

Between Scenes 3 and 4 of Act III, Romeo leaves the Friar’s cell and climbs the rope ladder to Juliet’s bedroom. Neither scene shows this action. Scene 4 begins later on Monday evening when Romeo is in Juliet’s room and the Capulets speak with Paris about his marriage proposal to their daughter. The dramatic irony is obvious: while Romeo and Juliet enjoy the consummation of their marriage, the unsuspecting Capulets plan to marry her to Paris.

Earlier in the play, Romeo went to Friar Laurence’s cell to plan his wedding to Juliet. In this scene, Paris is in the Friar’s cell with the same mission. Friar Laurence is shocked first to learn about the proposed wedding and then to discover that it’s planned for Thursday, two days away. Immediately, the Friar understands the desperation of Juliet’s situation. Paris admits that Juliet isn’t necessarily enthusiastic about the marriage, but he blames this on her sorrow over Tybalt’s death. The Friar wonders if the wedding could be delayed, but Paris explains that Lord Capulet is rushing the marriage because of Juliet’s excessive mourning over Tybalt’s death – he hopes that the wedding festivities will help her overcome her grief.

This scene takes place later on Wednesday morning, shortly before the planned wedding celebration. Paris has just arrived at the Capulet house for his wedding celebration, so the Nurse rushes to wake Juliet, who she assumes is fast asleep. The dramatic irony of the play is paramount in this scene because the audience knows that Juliet is merely in a trance, while all the characters in the play, except the Friar, believe that she’s really dead. Entering Juliet’s bedroom, the Nurse jokes that Juliet should get her sleep now because her honeymoon night won’t be restful. The Nurse then apologizes for her rude joke. The irony is acute because Juliet will soon be ‘bedded’ with death. Romeo walks down a street in Mantua as this scene opens. In contrast with the mournful mood of the previous scene, Romeo is in surprisingly good spirits. He says: “All this day an unaccustomed spirit Lifts me above the ground with cheerful thoughts” (4-5). He expects happy news from Verona because his dreams have prophesied good news. The previous night, Romeo dreamt that Juliet found him dead. In the dream, Juliet breathed life back into him with her kisses, and he became an emperor. Although the dream foretells Romeo’s death, Romeo isn’t worried because the dream also prophesies new life with Juliet. How wonderful love is, he thinks, when even dreams of love bring so much joy.

As the final scene of the play opens, Paris and his Page stand in the churchyard at night outside the Capulets’ burial monument. Paris posts his Page outside the vault to listen for anyone who may come along and instructs him to whistle if he hears anything. Paris strews Juliet’s grave with flowers and plans to cover it each night with perfumed water – his “true love’s rite” (20). The Page whistles and Paris hides. The scene ironically parallels Romeo and Juliet’s balcony scene (Act II, Scene 2). In that scene, Romeo, hidden in the darkness, overhears Juliet’s feelings for him; here, Paris, also covered by night, listens to Romeo’s parting words to her. Then followed by many events, the bed of death, fate claims Paris, the feast of death, moments too late, the final kiss, the remembering of the state of Verona, and the show of reconciliation.

In conclusion, the theme of love is revolved around all themes of this playwright. William Shakespeare intertwined all themes to love, furthermore, as this theme of love is dominating in the play ‘Romeo and Juliet’, the major discussion was based on it.