Romeo and Juliet Theme of Hate

Love and hate are usually thought of as opposites, but in Romeo and Juliet, love and hate are two sides of the same coin, as two children from warring families (the Capulets and the Montagues) turn their hatred of each other into an insatiable passion. Ultimately, the hatred between their two families propels the lovers towards their tragic deaths. When their parents discover Romeo and Juliet dead in each others' arms, they vow to end the feud between their two families. At last, love triumphs over hatred – but the cost of two young lives is too heavy to bear.

1. Why do the Montagues hate the Capulets? What do we know about the family feud?
2. How do Romeo and Juliet each respond when they realize they have fallen in love with the "enemy"?
3. Rosaline, like Juliet, is a member of the Capulet family, but when Romeo crushes on Rosaline, he never worries about the family feud getting in the way of his love. Why is that?
4. Does the older generation (the parents of Romeo and Juliet) have the same attitude toward the family feud as the younger generation (Romeo, Juliet, Tybalt, Mercutio)?
5. How does the Montague/Capulet feud impact the lives of Romeo and Juliet?

Love as passionate as Romeo and Juliet's could only be born out of hatred; their love is made more intense because of their families' feud.

In the play, love and hate are both intense. The language Shakespeare uses to depict love and hate shows that the two passions are deeply similar.