The Montague-Capulet feud is the backbone of “Romeo and Juliet”. Every conflict is rooted in the rivalry, and it is constantly being sustained by both families. The secondary characters show just how deeply rooted the tensions are, and by doing so allow it to persist, affecting the primary characters in the process. Take the very first scene for example, in which two Capulet servants are engaged in some ultraviolent, innuendo-filled banter regarding the Montague women. Sampson joking about killing the Montague maids, or rather taking their virginities in the quotes “I will be cruel with the maids; I will cut off their heads/Ay, the heads of the maids, or their maidenheads; take it in what sense thou wilt” (Shakespeare 1.1 21-22/24-25) is evidence
