Feud In Romeo And Juliet

Great Essays
“Feuds do not always have neat beginnings and ends. A feud can be anything from revenge killing that occur many years after the original crime to a complex brew of conditions, grievances, and affront resulting in violence and retribution.” (King 31). Feuds have been around for centuries all over the world, including places like Italy, England, and America. They have come to shape the way people view other countries and groups of people. Although Italian, English, and American feuds all possess different beginnings, they all share the same humanistic desire for power in their earthly realm. Feuds in Italy are more secretive in nature, and there is always something for someone to gain. An example of an Italian feud is the feud between the Guelfs …show more content…
Although this feud is fiction, it is based on a real Italian feud in Verona. Sadly, there are not many firsthand accounts of this feud due to the secretive nature of the Italians. The feuding families in the play, the Capulets and Montagues, have been feuding for years, and two of their children fall madly in love. However, their love is not accepted by their families, so Romeo and Juliet had to find other ways to be together. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare writes, “From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.” (Shakespeare 3). The stubbornness and unaccepting nature of these Italian families left their hands bloody since their inability to accept Romeo and Juliet’s love led them both to committing suicide just to be together at last. The families let their petty feud get between what truly matters, which is their children’s happiness. This play highlights the intensity of Italian feuds because it showcases how easily they let their pride get between their own children’s …show more content…
They all share the similarity of trying to gain power in their realm. For example, the Guelfs and Ghibellines feud started because both groups wanted to gain political stature and power. Similarly, the English were dueling for the throne in the Wars of the Roses, and the Americans were also hunting for power and dominance in their specific region of the Kentucky and West Virginia during the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s feud. Another similarity within Italian, English, and American feuds is there is a familial element to the feud. In Italy’s Romeo and Juliet, it was between two rival families that were “both alike in dignity” (Shakespeare 3). War of the Roses was caused by two rivaling families which had a “…complex series of rivalries and jealousies at court between powerful noble families” (Johnson). The Hatfield’s and McCoy’s were more like the feud in Romeo and Juliet because it involved two families that were alike in their social standings that were both plagued with bloodshed and

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Capulet vs. Montague Have you ever seen two families or people in a feud, have they ever taken actions that would provoke the other group. In the play, Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare the main characters are separated by a family feud. They however, fall in love and get married, separated by only a name, they love each other. Unfortunately, one day they are discovered by the families and consequences follow. The feud between the two families is to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.…

    • 447 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Montagues and Capulets are two of the richest and most powerful families in Verona. From the beginning of the play, it is apparent that the two families hate each other. From the leaders of the households, Capulet and Montague, to their servants, the families fight about everything. Surprisingly, it seems neither families knows why they fight. In the prologue, the chorus describes the feud as an “ancient grudge,” signifying that whatever originally started the argument, occurred a long time ago.…

    • 561 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    How many times has a person wondered what love controls and effects in life? However, when people look broader into the topic of love they find something that affects love more than we think, and that is conflict. The modern day society looks around and sees the connection of love and conflict everywhere they go. Although this is one of the most common aspects of our modern day life it was also very prominent in ancient times and even early modern ages. Even love and conflict seem like opposing forces they have properties that tie them together like the very fact they are opposing forces, love is a very disagreeable topic and many other people will have opinions and think different about love, also love blinds people and the people can get so wrapped up in love they don’t focus on things they should which all of these in turn all of these can easily lead and cause conflict.…

    • 251 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Hate In Romeo And Juliet

    • 365 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In William Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet, hate happens to be one of the main plot points. This hate is between two families; Capulet and Montague. The hate between these two families had caused a lot of conflict throughout the play and eventually led to the death of the protagonists,…

    • 365 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Tensions in the city of Verona run high between the two rival houses of the Capulets and the Montagues. It seems nearly impossible for the two household to even be in sight of each other without breaking into a bloody battle. Lord Capulet's anger and hostility show through whenever his arch nemesis Lord Montague appears.…

    • 694 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The recapitulated theme that is described in the stories, “The interlopers” and “The Poisonous Tree” is that there's more than one way to resolve rivalry. Although some resolutions are better than others, you can still come up with better ways to solve problems. There’s also many different types of rivalries, including ones such as family, or friend rivalries. Between the two stories, I am going to give examples of two different friend rivalries. First off, some rivalries can be noted as bad ways, and some can be noted as good ways.…

    • 327 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    One giant family feud is between the Grangerfords and the Sheperdsons, which satirizes the Civil War. These families have been fighting for so many generations that they are born into the fighting and in most aspects do not even know what they are fighting for. This criticizes the Civil War in the United States, showing that many people fought for reasons they did not know. The reasons were from slavery to states rights and how people thought of it.…

    • 922 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In today's world, family issues are a dime a dozen, but in the time of Romeo and Juliet, it was much more of a deal than now. An ongoing rivalry between two major families caused more strife than someone today could possibly try to comprehend. "The quarrel is between our masters and us their men," says Gregory to Sampson (Shakespeare 30). The whole of Verona was on edge, the Prince was down to his last nerve, and Romeo and Juliet never stood a chance.…

    • 595 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Romeo And Juliet Quarrels

    • 245 Words
    • 1 Pages

    They are worse than children fighting over a toy. Romeo has ruined his life and his chances of a happy life with Juliet. The fighting between these two families has caused me much pain and suffering.…

    • 245 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    From the beginning we are told, "Verona was being torn by a terrible, bloodthirsty feud which no human endeavor had been able to settle [. . .]" (Charlton 147). In the play and the movie, Romeo and Juliet are similar to all victims of tragedy. Both characters "are isolated-even from each other-before they are destroyed" (Goldman 167). In the play and the movie, their families' names, Romeo's banishment from Verona, and the poison separate them. The feud "was the direct cause of the death of the lovers, and but for those deaths it never would have been healed" (Charlton…

    • 1957 Words
    • 8 Pages
    • 7 Works Cited
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Romeo And Juliet Blame

    • 708 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is a play written by William Shakespeare, and in the play families, the Montagues and the Capulets, are enemies and their children Romeo and Juliet fall in love but cannot be together and in the end the tragically take their own lives. The feud between the two families had the biggest impact because if they weren't supposed to be enemies they wouldn't have had to keep their love a secret. When Tybalt has stabbed Mercutio and he is dying, Mercutio:” A plague O both your house’s! They have made worms meat of me.…

    • 708 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The struggle for power between the two is prevalent In Shakespeare’s tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. In Shakespeare’s tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, the sympathy and ignorance of Friar Lawrence, although his intentions were pure, interfered with his resulting judgement that spiraled both households into unimaginable sorrow and regret.…

    • 765 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There will always be division and conflict. And whenever these divisions exist, love that crosses cause problems. The impulses of young lovers that still take dangerous risks are evident, even in this day and age, The feud itself demonstrates the social poisons caused by meaningless hatred, as feuds to tend to become over time. Situations in which ancient hatred is still inherited, where people hate and kill because " that's the way it has always been .". Racism in America.…

    • 711 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the play by William Shakespeare, that was published in 1597, Romeo and Juliet had faced a family feud that had been going on long before the birth of the lovers. The feud caused several problems which lead into a number of unfortunate events. I believe that, in Romeo and Juliet, the family feud had a major role on the teenage love. The feud caused them to become rebellious, secretive, and to end their lives. The actions from both families influenced the couple to make unwisely choices behind their parent’s backs.…

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Hatred And Violence In Romeo And Juliet

    • 816 Words
    • 4 Pages
    • 1 Works Cited

    Since the Montague and Capulet families are enmities, Juliet is devastated when she realizes her love for Romeo cannot endure. She expresses her grief to the nurse while saying, “My only love sprung from my only hate!... Than I must love a loathed enemy.” (Act I Scene V Line 138-141). Juliet apprehends that her parents would forbid her to marry Romeo because he is the son of their worst enemy.…

    • 816 Words
    • 4 Pages
    • 1 Works Cited
    Improved Essays