In Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", there are lots of themes; Family, Feuds, Death, Youth and Rivalry. The themes are interrelated and each is as important as the next. Each theme plays its part and has consequences for the other themes. The theme I'm going to write about is one of the most important, love, as it is apparent throughout the play and everyone's life is touched by it, and the different aspects of love for the various characters.
The type of love that creates a lot of tension and problems is family love. Tybalt is in love with his family's name, 'Capulet', and will do anything to protect his family's honour. This type of love is no less real than the love experienced for another human being, but it is an idealistic kind of love, very much like the young love experienced by Romeo and Juliet. Tybalt is in love with the ideal of honour and maintaining the family's good name and prestige. When he sees Benvolio with his sword drawn, and who is a member of the Montague family, his family's arch enemy, Tybalt is furious, "What, drawn and talk of peace? I hate the word as I hate hell, all Montagues and thee." It is Tybalt's love of honour that produces the knock on effect to the tragic ending. When Tybalt sees Romeo at the Capulet ball he's furious, but Lord Capulet stops him fighting, so the next day Tybalt goes looking for "that villain" Romeo. A fight breaks out between Mercutio and Tybalt, where Mercutio is killed. Romeo avenges Mercutio's death and this results in him being banished and causes Juliet to despair and drink the sleeping drug leading to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
Romeo has just married Juliet and doesn't want to fight Tybalt, who is Juliet's cousin. Tybalt seems angry that Romeo won't be provoked into a fight and says to him "Romeo… thou art a villain." The word villain, meaning scoundrel or peasant, was a big insult and would call for an instant reprisal, showing that Tybalt was his usual aggressive self, looking for...