2. Main Themes
 There are many themes explored in the play,
some examples are:
Love
Sex
Hate
Death
Fate
Loyalty
Language and Word play

3. Theme of
Love
 Love is a word that means many different things to many different people. Romeo
starts the play captivated by Rosaline (Act 1, Scene 1), a gorgeous Capulet with no
interest in him, in a childish love. His first encounter with his “true” love Juliet
seems like puppy love. The two star crossed lovers are in different warring
families but their love over comes their families hatred resolving with them both
dying in each others arms, this love, puts a stop to the feud.
 Throughout the play love becomes a violent and drastic overpowering force that
clouds the families values, loyalty and rational thought.
 “Deny thy father, and refuse thy name”
 “My only love sprung from my only hate”
Love Examples in the Play
 Love causes Romeo and Juliet to act irrationally:
 Example: Romeo abandons his cousin Benvolio and best friend Mercutio to go to
Juliet's garden; Romeo returns to Verona after his banishment to be with Juliet.
 It is also described as a kind of magic:
 Example: “ Alike bewitched by charm of looks”
 Romeo and Juliet are consumed be thoughts of death:
 Example:” if all else fail, myself have power to die”
 Its used to make decisions or influence them.
 “if my heart’s dear love”

4. Other Types of Love
 Nurse and Mercutio physical love-sexual puns and tawdry
images.
 Paris represents a contractual love based on family
connections only and is only marrying Juliet for her
“name” only.
 Romeo has a lust for Rosaline and only for her looks.
 Love is also a cause of violence

5. Theme of
Sex
In the hormone-charged atmosphere of Romeo and
Juliet, it seems that pretty much everything is about
sex. A boy and girl from warring families fall in love,
and their relationship is marked by both intense
chemistry and the constant threat of violence. Romeo
and Juliet live in Verona, a city where the dirty jokes
are constant, and even asking the time of day acquires
a sexual connotation. ("The bawdy hand of the dial is
now upon the prick of noon," -Mercutio.) In this hyper-
sexual atmosphere, it can be tempting to interpret the
protagonists' young love as primarily physical. Their
relationship, however, delineates a relationship
between sex and love that eludes the stereotypes other
characters try to project on them

6. Theme of
Hate
 Hate- the two families hate each other and are constantly
disagreeing and feuding causing many deaths and eventually
their own children's deaths. Although no-one knows the reason
for all this chaos.
 Hate in Romeo and Juliet is paired with love as they are two
sides of the same coin. In the play Romeo and Juliet turn their
hatred into an insatiable passion for each other that ends up
propelling themselves to their own tragic deaths.
 Romeo and Juliet's love is threatened constantly by a society
full of hate
 The honour code that governs the feuding families sees the end
of Romeo, Juliet,Mercutio, Tybalt and Paris.,
Quotes Of Hate
 “That’s him, that villain, Romeo”-Tybalt
 “Can god be jealous and hateful?”-Juliet

7. Theme of
Death
 Death is mentioned a lot, in lots of different ways,
such as ‘we were born to die’ or ‘cold death’, and ‘death
darting eye’. Mercutio, Tybalt, Paris, Romeo and
Juliet all die during the play.
 Death is never far away in the divided world of
Verona
 Images of death: ‘death marked’, ‘ultimately death’,
‘death bed’
 Death is embodied throughout as a compelling
connection between hate and violence and in
conclusion, passion.

8. Theme of ‘ A Pair Of Star-crossed
Fate Lovers’
The mechanism of fate works in all of the events
surrounding Romeo and Juliet's Life.
 The family feud
 Friar Lawrence’s letter being mislaid
 The timing of Romeo’s death and Juliet’s awakening
These events are not coincidences but are indications of
fate that bring the unavoidable outcome of Romeo and
Juliet’s death.
Romeo and Juliet are Star-crossed lovers and are fated
to die together.
Quotes of Fate
 “I dreamt my lady came found me dead”- Romeo
 “Then I defy you, stars!”- Romeo

9. Minor
Theme of
Themes Loyalty
Some characters have certain loyalties, like Nurse to Juliet, the
Friar to Romeo and The Montague's and the Capulet's to their own
blood relatives. These loyalties are hard to respect when certain
choices have to be made.
Examples of Loyalty:
-Mercutio to Romeo( risks his life and goes with Romeo to see the
Nurse who is a Capulet)
-Tybalt kills Mercutio so in revenge Romeo kills Tybalt
-Romeo" Good man why are you crying”, Benvolio” I’m crying
because your sad”
-There is loyalty between Romeo, Juliet and Father Lawrence as
well as trust.

10. Theme of
Language and Wordplay
Romeo and Juliet constantly play with language. They rhyme and
create puns. Romeo and Juliet play with language to escape the
world. They claim that they are not a part of their families the
Montague's and Capulet's: they use words to try to transform
day, for a moment, into night: they hide their love even while
secretly admitting it. Language in Romeo and Juliet serves two
purposes. It allows some characters to escape the world into
intense love while it allows other characters to reveal that the
world of love, honor, and high ideals are just masks people use
to cover their animal instincts.

11. References
 My Journal Responses
 Google-Images
 Lit Chart- Themes Romeo + Juliet
 Slide Share for ideas and set out of my PowerPoint
http://www.slideshare.net/katstrelow/romeo-juliet-themes-l
http://www.slideshare.net/katstrelow/romeo-juliet-themes-