Throughout Romeo and Juliet, love and hatred combine. However, even though they are combined, love remains the main theme of the play. Although in the play the theme of hatred can be just as important and sometimes intensifies the theme of love. For example, Romeo and Juliet's love would not have been so extreme and powerful if it had not been for the hatred between the Montagues and the Capulets. We observe this from the beginning in the prologue. The first five lines of the prologue are not about love but about hatred. As the prologue is in the form of a chorus and choruses generally repeat throughout the play, this means that hatred will be a prominent theme in Romeo and Juliet. There are many references to death and war in the prologue which could suggest that Shakespeare is trying to introduce an important theme into the play, namely hatred. Romeo and Juliet are described as “star-crossed lovers and as having a “love marked by death”. The image of a cross is negative and reminds us of death, because according to the Christian religion Jesus dies on a cross, the expression "marked by death" also refers to death, these images can be linked to hatred , this highlights that love and hatred is indivisible in Romeo and Juliet. The expression "from the fatal loins of these two enemies" links hatred to a form of debauched love, which once again emphasizes that hatred and love are inseparable. The use of alliteration with the letter 'f' seems quite harsh, again giving us a feeling of hatred and as the 'f' sound is repetitive it could imply that hatred will reoccur in the play . The emphasis on the words “fatal” and “enemies” also highlights the importance of hatred in the play. The theme of hatred continues in the act 1 scene...... middle of paper ...... in families ends with the love of Romeo and Juliet, meaning that love is more dominant. In Act 5, Scene 3, the prince describes the misfortunes of the Montagues and Capulets as "heaven finds a way to kill your joys with love." The word "kill" here sounds harsh compared to the rest of the line, this makes it stand out, which has the effect of making the line seem negative; it's almost as if love and hate play opposing roles. Although in this scene, love is more important than hatred, because it is what ends the feud between the Montegues and the Capulets. Throughout Romeo and Juliet we can see that hatred and love are very important themes in the play and often occur side by side. Although love is vital, it would not be so important without the elements of hatred, which intensify love by contrasting with it. Works Cited Romeo and Juliet