The Force of Love in Romeo and Juliet

            In William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, love is a destructive force. However, we can't say it is the most harmful. We must consider other key themes in the play such as hate and fate. These forces all aid the eventual deaths of Juliet, Romeo, Paris, Mercutio and Tybalt. These powers are all similar in strength and harmfulness. But the strongest one is hate. Hate is the catalyst for almost every theme in the play, be it love, free will or even trust. They cannot exist or have the same impact without hate.
             Love is an extremely important theme in the play that causes death and depression however it is not always a bad force. Love is one of the main causes of Romeo and Juliet's death but in doing this it ends the ancient fighting between the two families. Affection also destroyed Juliet's relationship with her parents, she says that '' she will not marry yet'' and when she does '' it shall be Romeo. rather than Paris'', this causes Lady Capulet to call Juliet a "disobedient wretch". Romeo risks his life to be with Juliet, she tells him that "if they do see thee, they will murder thee". The love between Romeo and Juliet is described as "too rash, too sudden, too unadvised" and even the Friar says that "these violent delights have violent ends". Depression is another symptom of love, when Romeo can't be with Roseline he feels like he has "a soul of lead" and that he "cannot bound a pitch above a dull woe. Romeo and Juliet are so overwhelmed by love that they willingly take their lives to be with each other, Juliet says "let me die" showing that her love for Romeo is too great that she needs to kill herself to be with him. Love is mostly a terrible and destructive force in the play although it can have its good features.
             Whilst love is a key theme in the play we still need to consider how hate is also an influential power in the play. Hate is the most devastating force in the play, it is what drives all the other forces.