Romeo and Juliet: Themes Flashcards
Light versus Dark
The play is alive with images of light and darkness. The flash and sparkle of eyes, jewels, stars, fire, lightning, torches, exploding gunpowder, the sun and moon, are set against a darker world of night, clouds, smoke and the blackness of the tomb.
Chance versus Choice: Fate and Free Will
The Chorus opens the play with the mention of fate. The belief that fate determines our lives echoes through the play. Romeo fears that fate has unhappy things in store for him if he goes to Capulet’s feast. Juliet fears what inevitably lies ahead as she parts from Romeo. Romeo and Juliet struggle to break free of what Fate threatens in dreams and premonitions.
Love versus Hate
The love of Romeo and Juliet is threatened by a society full of hate. Juliet fears for Romeo’s safety at the hands of her kingsmen. The hateful, hate-full honour code that governs relationships between the feuding families of Verona will destroy Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio, Tybalt and Paris. Love, in Verona’s masculine society, is about domination. The macho servants of Capulet joke about sex in violent, aggressive terms. The selflessness of Romeo and Juliet, equal in love and willing to die for each other, is in strong contrast to the hate that fills Verona.
Public versus Private
The action of the play moves from outdoor to indoor, from public to private spaces. In contrast to the violent happenings inn Verona’s city centre and the grand occasion of Capulet’s party, there are quiet, intimate scenes in the moonlit orchard or in Juliet’s bedroom in the Capulet mansion. The shift from public to private, from social spaces to personal meetings, is symbolic of other tensions:
- The loyalties of groups (Montagues and Capulets) versus the loyalties of individuals towards each other (Romeo and Juliet)
- The freedoms of personal love versus the constraints of social life
- Male dominance versus the vision of equality of the sexes seen in the love between Romeo and Juliet
Youth versus Age - Fast versus Slow
The differences between old and young, between cautious, mature wisdom and youthful impetuous emotion, are striking. Romeo’s passion is evident. The contrast with the Friar’s advice is vivid as he urges ‘love moderately, long love doth so’ and pronounces ‘Wisely and slow, they stumble that run fast’. But don’t think the play is a simple contrast between youth and age. Juliet’s father is given to mood swings and sudden outbursts as violent as any in the young people!
The contrast between passion and caution is evident in the characters, but there are also changes in tempo throughout the play. In Capulet’s orchard, time seems to stand still as Romeo and Juliet exchange vows of love. After leisurely beginnings, scenes explode into violent action. Events force the lovers into hasty action. Capulet’s decision to bring the wedding forward hurries Juliet into drinking the Friar’s potion. News of her ‘death’ sends Romeo speeding back to Verona - and his own death.
Life versus Death
Although Romeo and Juliet’s youthful, life-affirming relationship is at the heart of the play, and their love is full of vitality and energy, death is never far away in the divided world of Verona. Even as they celebrate their wedding night, their thoughts are punctured with ominous forebodings of death.
