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Can Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet be described as a narrative about the conflict of love and hate?

This play by Shakespeare not only describes the conflicts between love and hate but also shows the grave consequence such hatred can have (to help you see the whole story, you can check out this link, which provides a brief summary).


Love: Romeo and Juliet love each other despite the intense feud between their families. They marry, even though it is forbidden. In the end, they portray that they would rather die than live without each other, even going so far as to kill themselves to avoid the reality of life alone.


Hate: The Montagues and Capulet families hate each other, dueling and killing one another. Neither side will repent or make amends.


Conflict: Romeo and Juliet, each from one of the opposing families, quickly meet, fall in love, and are married. Love springs up in the midst of heavy hatred all around.


Although they love each other, neither gives thought to his/her family. Romeo does not think about how his actions (which cause him to be banished) will affect his relatives, and Juliet does not take her family’s emotions or feelings into consideration when she agrees to take a drought that will make her appear to be dead.  The lovers do not show true love to their families, instead letting passion guide them. In pledging their love for each other, they sacrifice the love of their immediate family, a conflict that will never be resolved.


Consequences: Because of hatred and fighting, Romeo and Juliet must flee. Due to misunderstandings, Romeo believes his new wife to be dead. Rather than live without her, he kills himself. And she, upon waking and seeing him dead, kills herself.


Conclusion: The deaths of Romeo and Juliet ultimately cause the two feuding families to make peace. Love wins, but at the cost of two young lives. 


It took the heavy consequence of hatred—death—to bring this peace about.

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