In Romeo and Juliet love and hate combine. However, even if they are combined, love still remains the main theme of the work. Although in the show the theme of hate can be just as important and sometimes intensifies the theme of love. For example, the love between Romeo and Juliet would not have been so extreme and powerful if there had not been 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 hate. Since the prologue is in the form of a chorus and the choruses generally repeat throughout the play, it means that hatred will be a prominent theme in Romeo and Juliet. There are many references to death and war in the prologue which might 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 the cross is negative and reminds of death, since according to the Christian religion Jesus dies on the cross, even the phrase "marked for death" also refers to death, these images can be linked to hatred, this underlines that the love and hate is indivisible in Romeo and Juliet. The phrase “from the fatal loins of these two enemies” connects hatred with an obscene form of love, which once again emphasizes that hatred and love are inseparable. The use of alliteration with the letter “f” sounds quite harsh, which once again gives us a sense of hatred and since the “f” sound is repetitive it could imply that hatred will recur in the work. The emphasis on the words “fatal” and “enemies” also highlights the importance of hatred in the work. The theme of hatred continues in the scene of the first act... in the center of the sheet... in families it ends with love for Romeo and Juliet, signifying that love is more dominant. In Act 5 scene 3 the prince describes the misfortunes of the Montagues and Capulets as "heaven finds means to kill your joys with love". The word “kill” here sounds harsh compared to the rest of the verse, this makes it stand out, which has the effect of making the verse seem negative; it's almost as if love and hate play opposite roles. Although in this scene love is more important than hate because it is what ends the feud between Montegues and Capulet. In Romeo and Juliet we can see that hate and love are very significant themes in the play and often occur together. While love is vital, it would not be so important if it were not for the elements of hate, which intensify love by counteracting it. Works Cited Romeo and Juliet