William Shakespeare wrote "Romeo and Juliet" in the 16th century, when tragedies were very popular. It is a romantic tragedy about two conflicting families, who bitterly hate each other for generations and often fight with each other. Romeo is an eighteen year old boy from the Montague family and is very much in love with a woman called Rosaline. Juliet is a fourteen year old girl, who is destined to marry a man called Paris and comes from the Capulet family. Juliet and Paris throw an engagement party and Romeo and his friends decide to go to sleep, as Romeo wants to see Rosaline and they want to irritate the Capulets. However, at the party, Romeo and Juliet cross paths and instantly fall madly in love, unaware that they come from conflicting families. This causes complications, as they would be banned from being together if their families found out about their relationship, so they resort to keeping their romance a secret, which leads to a bitter tragedy. In this essay I will explore the themes of conflict and violence in Act 1 Scene 1, Act 3 Scene 1, and Act 3 Scene 5. In Act 1 Scene 1, a clash occurs between the Montagues and the Capulets, in which the prince must intervene. The fight begins with Sampson biting his thumb against Montague, which was an offensive action in those days. Abraham, of the Montague family, asks: "Do you bite our thumb, sir?" and Sampson replies, "I bite my thumb, sir." This causes tension and encourages both verbal and physical violence. When Gregory, of the Montagues, asks Abraham: "Are you arguing, sir?" Abraham replies: “Argument, sir? No, sir." Sampson then says he will join the fight by saying “But if you do, sir, I'm for you. I serve a good man like you." and Ab......middle of paper......but this was perfectly acceptable in those days, as men were considered the superior sex. This situation creates conflict between her family members, as Juliet's father is insisting that she marry Paris. A quote to support this statement is “but prepare your joints for next Thursday, to go with Paris to St. Peter's Church.” Another quote to show that Capulet is forcing Juliet to marry Paris is "or I will drag you over an obstacle yonder". These quotes show that Juliet has no choice but to marry Paris and if she doesn't, then he himself will drag her to church. There is then conflict between the Nurse and Juliet's father, as she defends Juliet by saying, "God in heaven bless her! The fault is yours, my lord, if you look upon it so. This aggravates her even more." father because he is already furious, since he is never disobeyed in the family.