In the play “Romeo and Juliet”, the contrast between the themes of love, hate and fate are significant throughout. I will be focusing on Act II, Scene ii and scenes before it. There are various different types of love, from where Shakespeare uses Sampson and Gregory to present the bawdy side of love, when they are talking at the beginning of the play, to the true and passionate love shared by Romeo and Juliet. As the play progresses, the love shown to the audience deepens, preparing them for Romeo and Juliet’s declaration of love in Act II, Scene ii.
The two main families, the Capulets and the Montagues, feel great hatred for each other. It is seen as wholly inappropriate for any members of the family to exchange contact, let alone feel love for one another. This helps to show the purity of the love shared by Romeo and Juliet. If they were not truly in love then they would not have risked the attention that they might have received if their relationship were to be exposed.
The play begins with the Prologue, which warns the audience about what is to come. In the prologue, Shakespeare refers to Romeo and Juliet as “star-crossed lovers”. Shakespeare tells us that the lovers are “death-mark’d” therefore meaning that they will die within the play. Both of these things tell us that Romeo and Juliet are doomed.
In Act I, Scene I, the audience is made aware of the family feud almost straight away. Sampson and Gregory, two servants of the Capulet family, are having a vulgar conversation. From the way that they are speaking, we can see that they are only able to see the bawdy side to love; this shows their immaturity and lack of experience with love: “Ay, the heads of the maids, or their maidenheads; take it in what sense thou wilt.” Sampson bites his thumb, a rude gesture at this time; this shows hatred. Benvolio, the peacekeeper, enters and tells them to stop fighting. Contrastingly, this shows love although he and the two Capulet servants are enemies; he tries to...