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Allan Alcalai
Mr. Phillips
English 9B
29 May 2014
The Hidden Evil in Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet, by Shakespeare, uses violence as one of its most prominent
themes. The story is taken place in the middle of an ongoing vendetta between two
families. The consequences of the feud between the two families is seen throughout the
entire play, with images of death, violence and revenge. More specifically, Shakespeare
explores violence and its destructive consequences in the Prologue, the death of
Mercutio and Tybalt, and the death of Romeo and Juliet.
In Romeo and Juliet, prejudice leads to violence shown in the play when the
feuding families, the Montagues and Capulets fight. In each case, disruption, fighting,
injuries and death occur (Novelguide). The result of constant fighting and revenge
between the two families is exactly what the quote mentions. Violent events between
the families are over the play, from street fights between their servants to the deaths of
the two main characters, Romeo and Juliet.
From the very beginning of the play Shakespeare explores violence and its
consequences for Romeo and Juliet. What he has chosen to "portray is violent and
hate-filled from the very beginning. The prologue shows the audience exactly how the
feud will play a major role throughout the production" (Brooke Webster). The love story
of Romeo and Juliet is set in the middle of an everlasting feud between the families,
which is unknown to them. An example of this is the scene in the Prologue when the


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servants from the Montagues bump in the servants of the Capulets. Because of the
grudge between the families, it results in a fierce fight between both parties. Verona is
"where civil blood makes civil hands unclean" (prologue.4). It does not only affect them
but the people around them too.
The consequences of violence in the play are shown by the deaths of Mercutio
and Tybalt, which represent the turning point of the relationship between Romeo and
Juliet. During the fight between both of the characters, "Romeo tries to stop the fight,
but Mercutio is stabbed by Tybalt" (Emily Gulledge). When Tybalt stabs Mercutio, he
says "a plague aboth your houses", which he refers to the grudge between both
families (3.1.88-89). He is comparing the family feud to a violence-spreading plague. As
an act of violence and revenge, Romeo kills Tybalt. The consequence of this is Romeo
getting exiled from Verona, resulting in him being unable to see his wife, Juliet. Here we
can see three consequences from the violence between the two families; Romeo being
exiled from Verona and the deaths of Mercutio and Tybalt. In this part of the story,
Shakespeare explores violence as revenge and that nothing is gained from it, just
negative consequences.
Lastly, Shakespeare explores the consequence of violence with the death of
Romeo and Juliet. We can see "two obvious images of the tragic death brought on by
violence, in the two lovers Romeo and Juliet"(Chris Resnick). In the final pages of the
play, after Juliet took the poison, Romeo thinks she is dead. This happened because of
mis-communication between the two characters due to Romeo's banishment from
Verona. His banishment was due to the violent crime he committed against Tybalt.
Juliet, after seeing Romeo dead, commits suicide to be with him in heaven. When Lord


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Capulet sees the two lovers dead, he says that they were poor sacrifices of our enmity
(5, 3, 303). They died because of the battle between both families. Their fight and
constant revenge caused the death of one member of each family. Juliet created this
plan because it was the only way the two lovers could be together. If there was no feud
between the two families, none of this would have happened. In the last part of the
story, Shakespeare shows the consequence of almost all the violent acts committed in
the story, the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. It was caused by the feud between both
families and the fight between Tybalt and Mercutio.
Shakespeare explores violence and its negative and destructive consequences
through the hate between the Capulets and the Montagues. He uses violence in the
play to show that nothing good can come out of it, using the deaths of the characters to
make his point, resulting in a powerful and effective story. As the story ends, the conflict
between the families end and peace is restored not only between the families, but in the
city of Verona. Shakespeare creates a moral lesson saying that no good comes from
revenge and violence in the end of the story.





Works Cited
"Romeo & Juliet: Tybalt." Romeo & Juliet: Tybalt. Web. 24 May 2014.
<http://pages.towson.edu/quick/romeoandjuliet/tybalt.htm>.


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"Romeo and Juliet - Violence." Novelguide. Web. 24 May 2014.
<http://www.novelguide.com/reportessay/literature/shakespeare/romeo-and-juliet-
violence>.
"Romeo and Juliet: The Feud Between the Families." Romeo and Juliet: Family Feuds.
Web. 24 May 2014. <http://pages.towson.edu/quick/romeoandjuliet/famfeud.htm>.
Shakespeare, William, and Richard Hosley. The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. New
Haven: Yale UP, 1954. Print.
"Violence in Romeo and Juliet." Violence in Romeo & Juliet. Web. 23 May 2014.
<http://pages.towson.edu/quick/romeoandjuliet/violence.htm>.