Theme 3: Conflict Flashcards
- Opening street fight (A1S1)
“Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?”
• What: Sparks fight between Montagues and Capulets
• How:
• Question = challenge masked as politeness
• **Gesture “bite your thumb” → Elizabethan insult = visual conflict
• **Polite address “sir” = ironic civility disguising aggression
• Dramatic function = symbolic of petty origins of large-scale feud
• Why: Exposes absurd foundations of inherited violence
• Character: Abram
• Themes: conflict, honour, generational divide
- Prince breaks up fight (A1S1)
“Your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace.”
• What: Warns of death for future disorder
• How:
• **Legal register “forfeit” = conflict becomes civic threat
• **Conditional threat = power through fear
• **Irony → law itself cannot prevent violence
• **Foreshadowing → death as inevitable outcome of feud
• Why: Introduces tension between authority and emotion
• Character: Prince
• Themes: conflict, individuals vs society, fate
- Tybalt sees Romeo at the Capulet ball (A1S5)
“Now, by the stock and honour of my kin, / To strike him dead I hold it not a sin.”
• What: Wants to kill Romeo for attending the party
• How:
• **Religious lexis “sin” = justifies violence through honour
• **Elevated, formal diction = rigid family code
• **Alliteration “stock…sin…strike” = venomous rhythm
• **Irony → sacred honour justifies sacrilegious murder
• Why: Conflict driven by legacy, not reason → blind loyalty
• Character: Tybalt
• Themes: conflict, honour, family loyalty, fate
- Mercutio mocks Tybalt (A3S1)
“O calm, dishonourable, vile submission!”
• What: Angered by Romeo’s refusal to fight
• How:
• **Tricolon = escalated rage
• **Juxtaposition “calm” vs “dishonourable” = peace seen as weakness
• **Loaded language “vile” = disgust at compromise
• **Foreshadowing → peace leads to Mercutio’s own death
• Why: Conflict escalates because masculinity equates honour with violence
• Character: Mercutio
• Themes: conflict, male friendship, honour
- Mercutio dying after being stabbed (A3S1)
“A plague o’ both your houses!”
• What: Curses both families as he dies
• How:
• **Biblical allusion “plague” = wrath of divine punishment
• **Repetition of curse = builds emotional intensity
• **Direct address = breaks loyalty, exposes futility
• **Irony → comic character dies tragically
• Why: Conflict consumes even those who seek humour or peace
• Character: Mercutio
• Themes: conflict, family loyalty, fate
- Romeo kills Tybalt (A3S1)
“Either thou or I, or both, must go with him.”
• What: Seeks revenge for Mercutio
• How:
• **Tricolon structure = inevitability of death
• **Modal verbs = determined fatalism
• **Metaphor “go with him” → death = shared path
• **Tone = cold, fixed → no room for reason
• Why: Peace gives way to emotional chaos → love becomes catalyst for violence
• Character: Romeo
• Themes: conflict, fate, death, love vs hate
- Capulet enraged at Juliet’s refusal (A3S5)
“Hang thee, young baggage! Disobedient wretch!”
• What: Verbally abuses Juliet for disobedience
• How:
• **Asyndetic list = relentless verbal attack
• **Dehumanising metaphors “baggage” / “wretch” = strips identity
• **Plosive sounds = violent tone
• **Breakdown of parental authority → replaced with rage
• Why: Conflict exists not just between families but within them
• Character: Lord Capulet
• Themes: conflict, generational divide, gender, family loyalty
- Juliet appears to accept Paris (A4S2)
“Henceforward I am ever ruled by you.”
• What: Pretends to submit to Capulet’s authority
• How:
• **Irony → audience knows this is deception
• **Formal structure → mirrors obedient tone
• **Lexical passivity “ruled” = faked compliance
• **Tension builds → false peace before collapse
• Why: Temporary truce conceals deeper rebellion → conflict shifts form
• Character: Juliet
• Themes: conflict, appearance vs reality, gender
- Romeo threatens Paris at tomb (A5S3)
“Put not another sin upon my head.”
• What: Warns Paris to stay away or be killed
• How:
• **Biblical lexis “sin” = death framed as moral burden
• **Foreshadowing → Paris will die
• **Calm tone masks volatility
• **Irony → love drives violence to final point
• Why: Conflict persists even in death → love and hate indistinguishable
• Character: Romeo
• Themes: conflict, death, love vs hate, fate
