Origin Of The Capulet Montague Feud By David Blixt

Everyone has heard of the story of Romeo and Juliet. Star-crossed lovers whose forbidden love forces them into absurd situations. The only reason why this happens is because of some feud between their families, but when reading or watching the play it is never stated what the feud is about. Luckily there are people who take the time to think about these things on a higher level and give us an insight on what could have happened. In the article 'Origin of the Capulet Montague Feud' written by David Blixt it is clear that the feud between the Montagues and Capulets was caused by Lady Montague.

David Blixt believes that there was a love triangle between the Montague, Romeo’s parents, and Lord Capulet, Juliet’s father.

Blixt was putting some finishing details into the play when he noticed something strange about Lady Montague's part. Other than having a few lines in the beginning and making an appearance in scene foor she is never really heard from or talked about.

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The last we hear about her is when he says “Montague. Alas, my liege, my wife is dead tonight!”. Blixt noticed that in a scene with Lady Montague and Capulet in it and they don’t talk, other than Capulet saying a few things after being talked to. While this could just be a coincidence it would make a lot of sense for both of them being awkward around each other. Lady Montague doesn’t say anything during this scene and during the play “she uttered a mere two lines!”.

In act 3 scene 5 scenes of the play Juliet is talking with her parents. At this time she is married to Romeo secretly and only the nurse knows. Her parents are trying to get her to marry Paris but she responds with no. Her father is suddenly outraged and begins to threaten her “Capulet. Hang thee, young baggage! Disobedient wretch!/ I tell thee what-get thee to church a Thursday/ Or never after look me in the face”. In Blixt’s article he talks about how this could be Capulet thinking about what had happened to himself years ago. He has a theory that Capulet and Lord Montauge could have been friends and Lady Montague was with Capulet until she had to marry Lord Montauge. Capulet could be trying to not have Paris go through the same thing or having Juliet cause another man that sort of pain.

On the other hand Blixt’s article is just a theory and has no actual proof. He even says that “Of course, in Shakespeare’s day. There was a very good reason. The actor who played Lady Montague was probably needed in another role” “Or it could be simple balance in numbers”. Even though this may be true it would explain a lot of the story and help us understand more clearly what is going on with each character. It would also makes the play a little more rich in story.

While this is all just a theory it makes sense when you take a closer look at play. Shakespeare most likely didn’t have the intent of their being a reason for the feud since it would make the play longer it’s still interesting to think about what could have happened if this was real. The whole play takes on a new meaning when the love triangle between Lady Montague, Lord Montague, and Capulet it brought into the picture. With the evidence provided in the article and play, this could be a possible reason for the whole play turning out the way it did.