Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Plot Simply put - teenage lovers who are caught in a family feud.

Conflict Simply put - the outstanding family feud that gets in the way of the young teenagers in love.

Themes Youth vs Age Love and Passion Secrecy and Trust Fate Anger and Violence Depression and Despair Tragedy vs Comedy Reconciliation

Youth vs Age The generation gap creates issues amongst different characters. Romeo and Juliet are young and in love and their parents just don’t understand them!

Love vs Passion Love is the major storyline and is in most of the play’s speeches. Teenage love is filled with impulsive actions and decisions. There is a marked difference between love and passion and Romeo and Juliet cannot understand the difference.

Secrecy and Trust The use of deception by many of the characters lead to serious consequences. Ultimately, Romeo and Juliet’s secret leads to the eventual tragedy.

Fate Karma, kismet; chance, luck. Fate, destiny, doom refer to the idea of a fortune, usually adverse, that is predetermined and inescapable. The biggest tragedy of the story Romeo and Juliet is that fate helps them to believe that their love and actions are meant to be.

Anger and Violence Violence and rage are shown when characters choose not to be rational. Decision making become more impulsive with anger and emotion. The violence trickles outward and affects innocent bystanders.

Depression and Despair The roller coaster ride that is teenage love is demonstrated when the lovers struggle to be together. The emotional withdrawal and prolonged sadness that stems from an incredibly passionate and fast moving relationship and leads to teenage suicide.

Tragedy vs Comedy The isolation of the tragic hero is demonstrated by the two main characters: Romeo and Juliet. The lovers are put into difficult and tense situations, but comedy is used to help ease the tension.

Reconciliation When all is said and done - peace is learned the hard way. Human nature has a way of figuring out what is right after everything goes wrong.