Theme 11: Love vs Hate Flashcards
- Prologue establishes theme (Prologue)
“From forth the fatal loins of these two foes / A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life.”
• What: Love born from hatred
• How:
• **Alliteration “fatal…foes” = destructive family identity
• **Juxtaposition “foes” / “lovers” = conflict embedded in union
• **Oxymoron “star-cross’d” = cosmic love doomed by hate
• Why: Entire play framed by paradox → love cannot exist without hate
• Character: Chorus
• Themes: love vs hate, fate, death
- Juliet realises Romeo’s identity (A1S5)
“My only love sprung from my only hate!”
• What: Learns Romeo is a Montague
• How:
• **Antithesis “love” / “hate” = emotional collision
• **Repetition of “only” = inescapable fate
• **Exclamative tone = intensity of internal conflict
• Why: Love and hate inseparable → emotional reality violates social structure
• Character: Juliet
• Themes: love vs hate, fate, family loyalty
- Romeo’s realisation (A1S5)
“Is she a Capulet? O dear account! My life is my foe’s debt.”
What: Discovers Juliet is from his enemy’s family
• How:
• **Financial metaphor “debt” = love as dangerous cost
• **Oxymoron “foe’s debt” = emotional complexity
• **Exclamative → dramatic shock at consequences
• Why: Love requires surrendering to hate’s control
• Character: Romeo
• Themes: love vs hate, fate, individuals vs society
- Tybalt reacts to Romeo at the ball (A1S5)
“To strike him dead I hold it not a sin.”
• What: Desires to kill Romeo for attending
• How:
• **Religious lexis “sin” = hatred justified by honour
• **Declarative tone = chilling moral certainty
• **Irony → audience sees Romeo in love, not threat
• Why: Hate distorts values → fuels tragic misunderstanding
• Character: Tybalt
• Themes: love vs hate, honour, conflict
- Romeo tries to stop the fight (A3S1)
“Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee / Doth much excuse the appertaining rage.”
• What: Tries to de-escalate violence
• How:
• **Irony → married to Juliet, now kin to Tybalt
• **Juxtaposition “love” / “rage” = emotional inversion
• **Polite register contrasts Tybalt’s aggression
• Why: Love softens Romeo, but society reads it as weakness → fuels hate
• Character: Romeo
• Themes: love vs hate, conflict, family loyalty
- Mercutio curses both families (A3S1)
“A plague o’ both your houses!”
• What: Blames both sides for his death
• How:
• **Biblical curse = divine judgement
• **Repetition = builds intensity + frustration
• **Ironic → caught in crossfire of love and hate
• Why: Neutral figures die when love and hate coexist in extremes
• Character: Mercutio
• Themes: love vs hate, conflict, fate
- Juliet struggles after Tybalt’s death (A3S2)
“That villain cousin would have kill’d my husband.”
• What: Torn between family and love
• How:
• **Oxymoron “villain cousin” = moral disorientation
• **Modal “would have” = rationalises Romeo’s violence
• **Tone = shifting, emotional, defensive
• Why: Love and hate infect her simultaneously → no clear allegiance
• Character: Juliet
• Themes: love vs hate, family loyalty, conflict
- Romeo’s final act (A5S3)
“Here’s to my love! [Drinks] Thus with a kiss I die.”
• What: Kills himself out of love
• How:
• **Juxtaposition “kiss” / “die” = eros and thanatos
• **Stage direction = love ritual meets death
• **Irony → love becomes fatal act
• Why: Love becomes inseparable from hate’s consequences → romantic death born from feud
• Character: Romeo
• Themes: love vs hate, death, fate
- Prince ends the play (A5S3)
“See what a scourge is laid upon your hate / That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love.”
• What: Condemns the families for their hatred
• How:
• **Religious metaphor “heaven…scourge” = divine justice
• **Juxtaposition “kill” / “joys” = love as fatal weapon
• **Declarative tone = final judgement
• Why: Love is destroyed by hate → ultimate tragedy of emotional duality
• Character: Prince
• Themes: love vs hate, fate, individuals vs society
