Refuse Thy Name

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose 
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, where he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title.  Romeo, doff thy name,
And for thyh name which is no part of thee
Take all myself." (II; II; 43-49)

Identity is also a pretty big theme in Romeo and Juliet.  In this play, we see how much one person can influence another's identity and make them do something that they wouldn't normally do.   The star-crossed lovers only met once and they fell in love instantly.  Since then, especially after their marriage, the audience watches as both characters change dramatically.  They also started depending on each other more and more.  Romeo's identity influences Juliet's identity drastically, and vice versa.

Love a Loathed Enemy

Another theme that is quite present in Romeo and Juliet is of course love.  Here are some moments when it demonstrated vividly.

1. Mercutio makes fun of Romeo's sorrow because of his unrequited love for Rosaline.
2. Mercutio talks about Queen Mab who started as the fairy of love, she was loving, kind, heart-filled, and so on.  Later she becomes cruel and evil.
3. Romeo falls in love with Juliet at first sight.  He even asks himself, "Did my hear love till now?  Forswear it, sight! / For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night." (I; V; 52-53).
4. When Juliet is on her balcony after the party, she proclaims her love for Romeo.
5. When Romeo goes to ask Friar Laurence to marry him to Juliet, the Friar doesn't understand Romeo's impulsive love for it wasn't too long ago that he was in love with Rosaline.  He feels that Romeo is only loving with his eyes.
6. Romeo and Juliet get married.
7. Juliet refuses to marry Paris, she would rather die.  (her love belongs to Romeo and him alone)
8. While Juliet is waiting for Romeo on their wedding night, she talks (to herself) about her love for Romeo.
9. Juliet's love for Romeo gave her the strength to trust the Friar and drink the potion.
10. Romeo will do ANYTHING for love; he even chooses to follow Juliet to the grave.
11. In the end, they both do the ultimate act of love: they kill themselves for love.

Hey, did you notice how I have less content for the theme of love than the one of fate?  That's because Romeo and Juliet isn't all about love.  In fact Romeo and Juliet is mostly about destiny; their love is but a sacrifice.

Tale of Woe

Like fate, there are many moments when the theme misery is demonstrated, here are the most prominent.

 

1.                Romeo mourns over his (obsessive) love for Rosaline for the love is unrequited.

2.                Romeo talks to both Benvolio and Mercutio about his misery over Rosaline.

3.               Romeo and Juliet discover each others' identities as Montagues and Capulets.

4.               Romeo and Juliet are separated when Romeo is banished, they mourn for they won't be able to see each other again.

5.               The Capulet household mourns Tybalt's death, but Juliet mourns Romeo's banishment.

6.               Juliet wept when she learnt that she was to marry Paris.

7.               The Nurse finds Juliet "dead", family mourns her death.

8.               Paris mourns the loss of his (obsessive) love over Juliet (which was also - without him knowing - unrequited).

9.               Romeo believes Juliet to be dead, so he decides to take his own life and follow her to the grave.

10.           Juliet finds Romeo dead beside her, so she decides to take her own life and be with him eternally.

11.           Lady Montangue dies of grief because of her son's, Romeo's, banishment.

Fortune's Fool

In the play, there are many moments when the theme of fate is demonstrated.  Here are some moments when the theme is most prominent.

1. In the Prologue, it is said that Romeo and Juliet's star-crossed love is death-mark'd.  Their love is fated to die and so are they
2. Romeo and Benvolio meet up with a Capulet servant who is illiterate.  He asks of them to read the message that Capulet gave him, when they do they learn of the party.  If Romeo and Benvolio had not met this servant, they would not of gone to the party, hence, Romeo and Juliet would not of met.
3. Before Romeo enters Capulet's party (end of act I scene IV), he fears that something that will happen that night at the party will change his life entirely, leading to a "vile forfeit of untimely death" (I; IV; 111).
4. Friar Laurence warns Romeo that people who act impulsively tend to have negative consequences.  Romeo makes decisions to quickly and easily assumed Juliet dead, so he killed himself to follow her.
5. Romeo dreams that Juliet will find him dead ---> Juliet does find him dead.
6. After Mercutio is stabbed by Tybalt, he yells out, "A plague on both your houses".  With this the audience is reminded that a tragedy is FATED to happen.
7. Romeo eventually realizes that these events were fated to occur, "Oh I am but fortune's fool!".
8. Juliet dreams that she'll find Romeo dead at the bottom of a tomb ---> she does find him like that.
9. When Romeo finds out that Juliet is "dead", he say, "I defy thy stars".  He is saying that he is going to defy fate by following her to the grave, but really his death was already fated to happen.
10. Fate did not allow the Friar to contact Romeo about their ruse, that Juliet was not really dead.  Fate did not allow Friar Laurence to contact Romeo because the messenger, Friar John, was confined for fear of having the plague.
11. When Juliet awakens at the end of the play, Friar Laurence says that some higher presence has foiled with their plans; the higher presence being fate in this case.

Tensions

"Two households, both alike in dignity,
      In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny
      Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean." (Prologue; 1-4)

The two households that this Prologue speaks of are the Montagues and the Capulets.  Being "both alike in dignity" means that both households have the same the social status.  The play does not specify why exactly these households have this grudge.  We can infer that the households themselves have forgotten the reason for their hate, they just do.