Romeo and Juliet (Grades 9–1) York Notes

One of the main themes of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is love, but in addition to romantic love, Shakespeare also presents the love between friends. Friendship is a theme that we see throughout the play and is shown through the friendships of several different characters. It is shown alongside its opposite in the way that the Capulets and Montagues are ‘ancient’ enemies.

The first friendship that we see in this play is between Benvolio and Romeo. Benvolio seeks out his friend Romeo who has been spending a lot of time alone. Benvolio is kind and patient with Romeo. He asks: ‘What sadness lengthens Romeo’s hours?’ The word ‘lengthens’ suggests that Romeo is acting as if time is passing slowly, and also reveals that Benvolio is observant and pays attention to his friend’s moods. He seems to tease Romeo when he says he wants to ‘weep’ about the way Romeo is behaving. Teasing and banter is a feature of friendships throughout the play. Here it might suggest the importance of friendship between young men ‒ they care for each other and can also stop each other from taking things too seriously.

Shakespeare presents a different kind of friendship with the Nurse and Juliet. The Nurse is a kind of mother to Juliet but at the same time, because of their positions in society, Juliet is also the Nurse’s superior. So it is appropriate that the Nurse could be seen as quite childish and inconsistent. Although she supports the impulsive plan for Romeo and Juliet to get married, she isn’t entirely loyal and when Romeo is banished she suggests Juliet should think of Paris instead. It could be argued that the Nurse has her young friend’s best interests at heart. However, she doesn’t really consider Juliet’s feelings.

Another example of friendship is that between Mercutio and Romeo. Mercutio teases Romeo for being lovesick and is more dramatic than Benvolio, delivering a long monologue suggesting that Romeo is under the spell of ‘Queen Mab’. Throughout the play, Shakespeare juxtaposes scenes of friendship with scenes of conflict. The fight between the servants of the two families in Act 1, is followed by a moment of friendship between Benvolio and Romeo. This is mirrored later in the play when Romeo leaves Juliet and effectively stumbles into a fight with Tybalt. When Romeo refuses to fight, Mercutio shows the strength of his friendship by stepping in. Mercutio dies in the fight, cursing the enemy families ‒ ‘A plague o’ both your houses!’ The feud between the Capulets and Montagues overshadows all the friendships.

The relationship between Romeo and Friar Laurence is another example of friendship between generations. The Friar is happy to help his young friend to get married in secret. It could be said that this leads to Romeo’s death, so perhaps this act of friendship is not as positive as it initially seems. The Friar wants the best for Romeo. When Romeo asks for the marriage to happen as soon as possible, the Friar advises him to slow down because ‘they stumble that run fast.’

Shakespeare makes use of binary opposition throughout this play: friends and enemies is one of these. All of the friendships are shown against the backdrop of the ‘ancient grudge’ between the Capulets and Montagues. In conclusion, Shakespeare uses this play to show that friendship and love are more important than hatred and war.