The first time that I read Romeo and Juliet, I was a freshman in high school. I hated it, and my teacher hated it just as much. Unfortunately, it was a part of the curriculum, so it had to be taught. I remember my teacher stressing over and over again, the small details about the play that proved that it wasn't a love story, as well as the great comical moments. The most memorable comical scene is actually the opening altercation of the play between Abram, Sampson, and Gregory. I know that this is such a small section of the play (it doesn't even take up an entire scene), but it's importance is obvious simply because of its position at the opening of the play. So, for this post, I'm going to break down the first eight pages of the play and show why everything we possibly need to know about this play is right there.
Before I begin, I would like to say that I came into this assignment greatly distracted by the current political climate. I have said multiple times in the last two weeks that I was going to step away from social media, especially Facebook, because, too often, I was finding myself in frustrating comment exchanges where I was trying my best to remain calm and logical while the people on the other end had decided that they didn't like me from the moment they deemed me a "liberal." As a result, I began reading Romeo and Juliet through a lens of uneducated hatred.
I believe it was Sean that asked in his post, "why are the Montagues and Capulets even fighting?" I think this is an important question, but I think another question that rises from that is, "why do individuals from each of the families decide that they hate other individuals based solely on their name?" We are told in the prologue that the quarrel between the families is an "ancient grudge," so it's a fair assumption that nothing done by anyone living, from either of the families, could have been the cause of the feud (I.Prologue.3). That being said, the hatred portrayed over and over is simply the hatred of a name--a combination of meaningless letters that these characters deem positive or negative.
The opening of act 1 scene 1 introduces us, first, to two fairly unimportant characters, Sampson and Gregory of house Capulet. For no given reason, they begin gossiping about their hatred for the Montagues, and some of the things that they say are quite concerning. The most alarming thing is said by Sampson in regards to the women of the Montague house:
Sampson: 'Tis all one. I will show myself a tyrant.
When I have fought with the men, I will be civil
with the maids; I will cut off their heads.
Gregory: The heads of the maids?
Sampson: Ay, the heads of the maids, or their maiden-
heads. Take it in what sense thou wilt. (I.i.22-27).
While Sampson threatens physical violence to the Montague men, he is threatening rape against the Montague women--all of these threats are based solely on a family name. These threats and words of hatred seem to be very reminiscent of the feelings of animosity that are filling the air between political parties right now. While many have been peaceful, there have been outbursts of violence or threats of violence simply based on ideas or the labels of liberal or conservative. In direct relation to to the above quotation in the play, I have seen rape threats from both sides. Feminists have received rape threats for words that have been perceived to be against men, while conservative women have received rape threats by people who think it will make them more inclined to support some of the "liberal" causes.
Back to Romeo and Juliet, we soon see these simple words evolve into an actual fight in the streets of Verona between multiple members of both families, even the heads of each household. Even the civilians choose sides in the quarrel, for reasons unknown. The entrance of Prince Escalus is a breathe of fresh air in the midst of the hatred. The Prince is level headed, and, to relate him to my political commentary, he might be considered a centrist since he chooses neither side in the feud. While the entire exchange passes quickly, it gives us everything we need to know about the characters in the play. Their feud exists only in theory. They have been taught to hate each other for no reason other than a name, very much like those who hate others based solely on the assignment of a political label. The only admirable characters are those that acknowledge the futility of hatred (I know this is a stretch considering Romeo and Juliet's annoying naiveté, but that is beside the point).
To conclude, I think that the monologue of Prince Escalus is a perfect call to action for everyone in these divided times:
Rebellious subjects, enemies to peace,
Profaners of this neighbor-stainèd steel--
Will they not here?--What ho! You men, you beasts,
That quench the fire of your pernicious rage
With purple fountains issuing from your veins:
On pain of torture, from those bloody hands
Throw your mistempered weapons to the ground (I.i.83-89).
If I'm going to get political, I think we should take the prince's message to heart: perhaps it is time to drop these meaningless political titles that divide us and actually try to do some good for our country, in the same way Prince Escalus wants the people of Verona to drop the empty feud between the Montagues and the Capulets and actually think of the city as a whole.
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