romeo and juliet essay love vs hate

Love and Hate in Romeo and Juliet

By Chris Nayak Globe Education Learning Consultant

I love you! I hate you!

Have you ever said those words? Did you mean them? Have you had them said to you? How did that make you feel?

In Romeo and Juliet, the emotions of love and hate are the lifeblood of the play. Everything that happens seems to be caused by one, or both, of these two forces.  Shakespeare frequently puts them side by side: ‘Here’s much to do with love but more with hate’ , ‘my only love sprung from my only hate’ . Such juxtaposition of conflicting ideas is called antithesis, and Shakespeare loves using it. In every one of his plays, this clash of opposing ideas is what provides the dramatic spark to make the play come to life.

But in Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare makes frequent use of a particular type of antithesis: the oxymoron. This is when two conflicting ideas are contained within a single phrase, maybe in just two words.  We use oxymorons in everyday speech:

‘Act naturally’, ‘organised chaos…’

Romeo uses many of them:

‘Cold fire, sick health…’

Later, Juliet joins in:

‘Beautiful tyrant, fiend angelical…’

But this play has many more oxymorons that any other Shakespeare play. Why does he choose this literary technique for Ro meo and Juliet ?

For me, it’s the perfect way of capturing how you feel when you’re young. The extremes of new and worrying feelings and the fact that you can flip from one emotion to the opposite in a heartbeat.

How can you in one moment having  carefree and happing conversation with your parents, brother or sister or friend and then because of a look or a comment, you are filled with anger and hatred for people you know that you love/ Although it was a long time ago, this is exactly how I remember being as a teenager. And an oxymoron is just that – two extremes expressed in a second. Adults tend to qualify, quantify, and have more shades of grey. Perhaps they grow out of having feelings like this. But for some young people, this is how life is experienced.

Romeo shares this last viewpoint. When the Friar tells Romeo to see the positives in his banishment, Romeo attacks him, saying ‘thou canst not speak of that thou dost not feel’ . And why doesn’t the Friar feel this way? Because he’s old, says Romeo. ‘wert thou as young as I…then mightst thou speak’ .

The type of love and hate that Shakespeare is depicting in this play belongs to young people, and oxymorons are the way to show it. Of course, some of the older characters feel their version of these emotions (Lord Capulet and Lord Montague join the brawl in the first scene), but Shakespeare’s focus is on the younger generation.

But are love and hate really opposites?

Even though Shakespeare sometimes places them in opposition, maybe they are not as different as we might think. In the play, there seem to be a lot of similarities between people when they are full of love, and when they are full of hate.

Romeo’s describes the hate he feels when Tybalt kills his friend Mercutio as a fire raging inside him. ‘Fire-eyed fury be my conduct now’ he says. The Prince is similar, ordering the families to ‘quench the fire of your pernicious rage’ .

But Romeo uses similar imagery when burning with passion for Juliet. ‘She doth teach the torches to burn bright’ , he says. ‘Juliet is the sun’ , a ‘bright angel’ . Juliet also expresses her love in the same way: Romeo is her ‘day in night’ .

The author Elie Wiesel once said that ‘the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference’ . Despite all the opposites and contrasts in this play, maybe Shakespeare thinks the same.

What do you think?

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience from our website.

Carry on browsing if you're happy with this, or find out how to manage cookies .

• Ask LitCharts AI
• Discussion Question Generator
• Essay Prompt Generator
• Quiz Question Generator

• Literature Guides
• Poetry Guides
• Shakespeare Translations
• Literary Terms

Romeo and Juliet

William shakespeare.

Ask LitCharts AI: The answer to your questions

“These violent delights have violent ends,” says Friar Laurence in an attempt to warn Romeo , early on in the play, of the dangers of falling in love too hard or too fast. In the world of Romeo and Juliet , love is not pretty or idealized—it is chaotic and dangerous. Throughout the play, love is connected through word and action with violence, and Romeo and Juliet ’s deepest mutual expression of love occurs when the “star-crossed lovers take their life.” By connecting love with pain and ultimately with suicide, Shakespeare suggests that there is an inherent sense of violence in many of the physical and emotional facets of expressing love—a chaotic and complex emotion very different from the serene, idealized sweetness it’s so often portrayed as being.

There are countless instances throughout Romeo and Juliet in which love and violence are connected. After their marriage, Juliet imagines in detail the passion she and Romeo will share on their wedding night, and invokes the Elizabethan characterization of orgasm as a small death or “petite mort”—she looks forward to the moment she will “die” and see Romeo’s face reflected in the stars above her. When Romeo overhears Juliet say that she wishes he were not a Montague so that they could be together, he declares that his name is “hateful” and offers to write it down on a piece of paper just so he can rip it up and obliterate it—and, along with it, his very identity, and sense of self as part of the Montague family. When Juliet finds out that her parents, ignorant of her secret marriage to Romeo, have arranged for her to marry Paris , she goes to Friar Laurence’s chambers with a knife, threatening to kill herself if he is unable to come up with a plan that will allow her to escape her second marriage. All of these examples represent just a fraction of the instances in which language and action conspire to render love as a “violent delight” whose “violent ends” result in danger, injury, and even death. Feeling oneself in the throes of love, Shakespeare suggests, is tumultuous and destabilizing enough—but the real violence of love, he argues, emerges in the many ways of expressing love.

Emotional and verbal expressions of love are the ones most frequently deployed throughout the play. Romeo and Juliet wax poetic about their great love for each other—and the misery they feel as a result of that love—over and over again, and at great lengths. Often, one of their friends or servants must cut them off mid-speech—otherwise, Shakespeare seems to suggest, Romeo and Juliet would spend hours trying to wrestle their feelings into words. Though Romeo and Juliet say lovely things about one another, to be sure, their speeches about each other, or about love more broadly, are almost always tinged with violence, which illustrates their chaotic passion for each other and their desire to mow down anything that stands in its way. When Romeo, for instance, spots Juliet at her window in the famous “balcony scene” in Act 2, Scene 2, he wills her to come closer by whispering, “Arise, fair sun ”—a beautiful metaphor of his love and desire for Juliet—and quickly follows his entreaty with the dangerous language “and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief.” Juliet’s “sun”-like radiance makes Romeo want her to “kill” the moon (or Rosaline ,) his former love and her rival in beauty and glory, so that Juliet can reign supreme over his heart. Later on in the play, when the arrival of dawn brings an end to Romeo and Juliet’s first night together as man and wife, Juliet invokes the symbol of a lark’s song—traditionally a symbol of love and sweetness—as a violent, ill-meaning presence which seeks to pull Romeo and Juliet apart, “arm from arm,” and “hunt” Romeo out of Juliet’s chambers. Romeo calls love a “rough” thing which “pricks” him like a thorn; Juliet says that if she could love and possess Romeo in the way she wants to, as if he were her pet bird, she would “kill [him] with much cherishing.” The way the two young lovers at the heart of the play speak about love shows an enormously violent undercurrent to their emotions—as they attempt to name their feelings and express themselves, they resort to violence-tinged speech to convey the enormity of their emotions.

Physical expressions of love throughout the play also carry violent connotations. From Romeo and Juliet’s first kiss, described by each of them as a “sin” and a “trespass,” to their last, in which Juliet seeks to kill herself by sucking remnants of poison from the dead Romeo’s lips, the way Romeo and Juliet conceive of the physical and sexual aspects of love are inextricable from how they conceive of violence. Juliet looks forward to “dying” in Romeo’s arms—again, one Elizabethan meaning of the phrase “to die” is to orgasm—while Romeo, just after drinking a vial of poison so lethal a few drops could kill 20 men, chooses to kiss Juliet as his dying act. The violence associated with these acts of sensuality and physical touch furthers Shakespeare’s argument that attempts to adequately express the chaotic, overwhelming, and confusing feelings of intense passion often lead to a commingling with violence.

Violent expressions of love are at the heart of Romeo and Juliet . In presenting and interrogating them, Shakespeare shows his audiences—in the Elizabethan area, the present day, and the centuries in-between—that love is not pleasant, reserved, cordial, or sweet. Rather, it is a violent and all-consuming force. As lovers especially those facing obstacles and uncertainties like the ones Romeo and Juliet encounter, struggle to express their love, there may be eruptions of violence both between the lovers themselves and within the communities of which they’re a part.

Love and Violence ThemeTracker

Love and Violence Quotes in Romeo and Juliet

Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life; Whose misadventured piteous overthrows, Doth with their death bury their parents' strife. The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love, And the continuance of their parents' rage, Which, but their children's end, nought could remove, Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage; The which if you with patient ears attend, What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.

Why then, O brawling love! O loving hate! O any thing, of nothing first created; O heavy lightness! serious vanity! Mis-shapen chaos of well-seeming forms!

Oh, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope's ear, Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear. So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows As yonder lady o'er her fellows shows. The measure done, I'll watch her place of stand, And, touching hers, make blessèd my rude hand. Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.

You kiss by th’ book.

My only love sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late!

But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!

O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I'll no longer be a Capulet.

'Tis but thy name that is my enemy; — Thou art thyself though, not a Montague. What's Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot, Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part Belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What's in a name? That which we call a rose, By any other word would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd, Retain that dear perfection which he owes Without that title: — Romeo, doff thy name; And for thy name, which is no part of thee, Take all myself.

I take thee at thy word: Call me but love, and I'll be new baptis'd; Henceforth I never will be Romeo.

O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon, That monthly changes in her circled orb, Lest that thy love prove likewise variable.

Good-night, good-night! Parting is such sweet sorrow That I shall say good-night till it be morrow.

Romeo, the hate I bear thee can afford No better term than this: thou art a villain.

Romeo: Courage, man; the hurt cannot be much. Mercutio: No, 'tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church-door; but 'tis enough, 'twill serve: ask for me to-morrow, and you shall find me a grave man.

O, I am fortune's fool!

Come, gentle night, — come, loving black brow'd night, Give me my Romeo; and when he shall die, Take him and cut him out in little stars, And he will make the face of Heaven so fine That all the world will be in love with night, And pay no worship to the garish sun.

Wilt thou be gone? it is not yet near day. It was the nightingale, and not the lark, That pierc'd the fearful hollow of thine ear; Nightly she sings on yond pomegranate tree. Believe me love, it was the nightingale.

Is there no pity sitting in the clouds That sees into the bottom of my grief? O sweet my mother, cast me not away! Delay this marriage for a month, a week, Or if you do not, make the bridal bed In that dim monument where Tybalt lies.

Or bid me go into a new-made grave, And hide me with a dead man in his shroud - Things that, to hear them told, have made me tremble - And I will do it without fear or doubt, To live an unstain'd wife to my sweet love.

Then I defy you, stars!

O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick. — Thus with a kiss I die.

Yea, noise, then I'll be brief; O, happy dagger! This is thy sheath; there rest, and let me die.

For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.

• Quizzes, saving guides, requests, plus so much more.

Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Romeo and Juliet — Love In Romeo And Juliet

Love in Romeo and Juliet

• Categories: Romeo and Juliet

About this sample

Words: 618 |

Published: Mar 13, 2024

Words: 618 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

Cite this Essay

Let us write you an essay from scratch

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Dr. Karlyna PhD

Verified writer

• Expert in: Literature

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

1 pages / 561 words

2.5 pages / 1190 words

2 pages / 1003 words

5 pages / 2287 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on Romeo and Juliet

In William Shakespeare's iconic play, "Romeo and Juliet," the theme of fate looms large over the tragic love story of the titular characters. From the very beginning, the audience is made aware of the inevitable doom that awaits [...]

The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, is one of the most famous love stories in literature. Throughout the play, Shakespeare uses various forms of figurative language to enhance the themes of love, [...]

Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet, is perhaps one of the most renowned tragedies of all time, exploring themes of love, fate, and violence. The untimely death of the play's titular characters, Romeo and Juliet, is the climax [...]

Romeo and Juliet is a well-known play written by William Shakespeare that has stood the test of time. It is a tragic love story that revolves around two young lovers from feuding families, the Montagues and the Capulets. The [...]

Introduction to the theme of love and hate in Romeo and Juliet Thesis statement: Love and hate can drive people to extreme actions. Juliet's desperation to avoid marrying Paris Friar Laurence's plan to fake [...]

Life is driven by both choice and faith but choice is mainly what life is driven by. To begin with, fate is responsible for the reason that both Romeo and Juliet were born into two opposite families that hate each other, yet [...]

Related Topics

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Where do you want us to send this sample?

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Be careful. This essay is not unique

This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before

Download this Sample

Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts

Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.

Please check your inbox.

We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

Love and hate in 'Romeo and Juliet' essay

Love and hate in 'romeo and juliet' essay, introduction for romeo and juliet essay.

'Romeo and Juliet' was written in 1595 by William Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy and love story about two children from rival families, who fall in love. Their misunderstandings lead to them both dying. Shakespeare uses an oxymoron in the play, love and hate. Shakespeare presents love and hate is many different ways, through language, context and some characters. In the times when Shakespeare was alive and his productions were first being shown, Juliet had to be played by a boy/man, this was because women weren't allowed on stage in those days. In this essay I will be talking about the ways Shakespeare presents love and hate.

Love vs hate Romeo and Juliet

In 'Romeo and Juliet' there are two rival families, the Capulets and the Montagues. Juliet is a part of the Capulet family while Romeo is a part of the Montague family. Both families live in Verona, Italy and both families hate each other. Shakespeare has presented hate in this way to show a major division between the two families who lives on separate sides of Verona. He shows hate in this way because he wants to show how Romeo and Juliet cannot be happily married like a normal couple as they both have to hide their marriage from their families. Shakespeare shows that love cannot heal hate. The play opens with a fight between the two families including Gregory and Sampson, the Capulet servants, and Abram and Benvolio, members of the Montagues. Benvolio is being the peacemaker between the two families. “Part, fools! Put up your swords, you know not what you do.” This shows that Benvolio tries to stop the fighting but everyone ignores him and fights anyway. Later on in the play, a fight occurs between Mercutio and Tybalt which turns very violent and Mercutio is stabbed by Tybalt, but Romeo steps in and kills Tybalt. This fight is representing hate between Capulets, a Montague and a member of royalty. Shakespeare uses a fight to show hate because it shows the conflict between two main families and someone who had nothing to do with the argument between Benvolio and Tybalt. Tybalt uses negative words by using alliteration which are snake sounds. “A villain that is hither come in spite, to scorn at our solemnity this night.” This scene is at the Capulet party in which Romeo and Juliet first meet and fall in love as the Montagues turn up at the party unexpected. Tybalt sees the Montague at their party and tells his uncle Lord Capulet and names Romeo as a villain. Later on the play, Romeo says that life must hate him because he has fallen in love with someone he is meant to hate. “Is she a Capulet? O dear account! my life is my foe's debt.” This shows that Romeo is surprised when he finds out Juliet is actually a Capulet.

Shakespeare shows love in many different ways in this play but the most important way of showing it is Romeo and Juliet's love. Shakespeare even starts the play off with a way of showing love by using a Sonnet. At the start of the play, Romeo is said to have been in love with Rosaline but she did not love him back, this is an example of unrequited love. Romeo is not happy about his love for Rosaline, instead he acts grumpy and sad but Benvolio gives him advice to forget about her and look for some more women to fall in love with. “Be ruled by me, forget to think of her. By giving liberty unto thine eyes, Examine other beauties.” This shows that Benvolio is tired of Romeo being sad about being in love so he gives him advice to forget about her and move on. This is showing love because while Romeo and Benvolio are looking for other women, Romeo meets and also falls in love with Juliet. Another example of requited love is between Paris and Juliet, this is shown later on in the play. As Lord and Lady Capulet are arranging their daughter's wedding, Friar Lawrence and Juliet are thinking of a way for her to get out of the wedding she does not want to take part in as she is already married to Romeo. Paris tells Lord Capulet that he wants to speed up the wedding but looks silly as Lord Capulet wants Juliet to be ready. Paris thinks there is no reason for Juliet to not marry him. “And in his wisdom hastes our marriage, To stop the inundation of her tears.” This shows that Paris thinks Juliet is still upset about Tybalt's death when in fact she is upset about Romeo being banished. “I will confess to you that I love him” This quote shows that Juliet tells Paris that she is in love with 'him', here she is referring to Romeo but Paris thinks she is talking about him, throughout this scene Paris and Juliet's exchanges have a double meaning. Juliet does not want to give away that she is already married to Romeo. Benvolio appears as the peacemaker in the play as he represents love. He does not want to fight with the Capulet's. “I do but keep the peace” This shows Benvolio does always keep the peace between the two families. Romeo and Juliet's love is the main part of the play and is shown in a lot of ways. Juliet has fallen in love with someone she is supposed to hate and she also says that Romeo's name does not matter as she still loves him. “'Tis by thy name that is my enemy; Thou art myself, though not a Montague” Juliet wonders why their names make a difference to who they are and if Romeo's name was different he would still be the same person. She also says that their names are keeping them apart. Mercutio is a person who makes jokes, most of them are about sex, which entertain the audience. He enjoys winding Romeo and Juliet up about their love. “O Romeo, that she were, O that she were An open-arse, thou a pop'rin pear!” Mercutio is energetic and full of life and makes a lot of puns. Shakespeare makes him like this to add some comedy to the play. Mercutio talks about sex and lust between Romeo and Juliet which highlights their love for each other.

Fated love is very important in the play because in the Sonnet at the start of the play, it sets out the scene and talks about fated love. “A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life; Whose misadventured piteous overthrows” This part of the Prologue says that Romeo and Juliet's fate was written in the stars and their misunderstandings lead to them both dying. Shakespeare shows in the play that fate brings Romeo and Juliet together, as they have both fallen for someone they are supposed to hate. Juliet can imagine what is going to happen to her and Romeo, while Romeo has a dream. In Romeo's dream, he talks about the stars and death. “Some consequence yet hanging in the stars. Shall bitterly begin his fearful date. By some vile forfeit of untimely death.” Romeo looks into the future and has a premonition of death. He believes that dreams come true and must mean something and have a purpose behind them while Mercutio thinks the total opposite. Mercutio believes that dreams are false and do not mean anything.

Juliet's “death” has a high impact on most characters in the play, especially Romeo and Paris. They are both grieving for her and are both in love with her. While Paris shows up to Juliet's tomb with flowers and mourns for her, Romeo shows up with poison and is planning on killing himself. Romeo is genuinely devastated of Juliet's death and cannot stop thinking of how he is going to carry out his death. Paris on the other hand, does not show much emotion, he stays calm and says he will cry every night even though he didn't know Juliet that well, but he feels sadness and pain for losing her. “Sweet flower, with flowers thy bridal bed I strew- Nightly shall be to strew thy grave and weep.” This shows Paris is mourning for Juliet unlike Romeo who just wants to know how Juliet died and wants to see her body so he can say goodbye. As Romeo tries to enter the tomb, Paris challenges Romeo to a fight, as Paris thinks Romeo killed Juliet because of Tybalt. “This is that banished haughty Montague, That murdered my love's cousin, with which grief.” This shows that Paris is trying to stop Romeo getting into the tomb. After Paris challenges Romeo to a fight, he is killed by Romeo. He tells Romeo he wants to be buried next to his love, Juliet, and as he did not mean to kill Paris, Romeo agrees and lays him next to Juliet's body and does not feel jealous. “Open the tomb lay me with Juliet.” Paris challenged Romeo because he wants to protect the Capulets and is getting involved with the family feud between the Montagues and Capulets. While Romeo is laying Paris next to Juliet's body, he finds Tybalt's body and asks him for forgiveness as he feels sorry for killing him. “Tybalt, liest thou there in thy bloody sheet? O, what more favour can I do to thee.” This shows Romeo wants to apologise to Tybalt before he dies. Romeo is also shocked that Juliet was due to marry Paris and he has killed for love. Romeo is more aggressive than sad towards Juliet's death as he does not mourn for her very much. Romeo thought his marriage was going to end the family feud. As Romeo takes one last look at Juliet's body, he still talks about her beauty. “Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty: Thou art not conquered, beauty's ensign yet. Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks, And Death's pale flag is not advancèd there.” Romeo says here that Juliet looks as if she is still alive, he can tell this by the colour of her cheeks. Romeo then declares his love for her and drinks the poison unaware of Juliet soon to be awakening. “Here's to my love! [Drinks] O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die. [Dies]” This is the point in the play where Romeo dies as Juliet awakes from her “death”. Juliet's fake death also has an effect on the Nurse and Lord and Lady Capulet. The Nurse arrives in Juliet's room excited for her and her wedding to Paris, this then changes as she begins to realise something is wrong. “Alas, alas! Help, help! my lady's dead! My lord! My lady!” This shows the Nurse trying to wake Juliet for her wedding and finds that she is dressed and will not wake up. Lady Capulet then enters and grieves for her daughter but also seems upset that there will not be a marriage. “O me, O me, my child, my only life!” This shows that the Nurse's grief seems much more real and extreme. Lord Capulet then enters and cannot believe the death of his daughter either. “O child, O child! my soul and not my child!” This shows that Lord Capulet does not believe that it is his child that has died. Altogether this shows that the Nurse reacted worse to the death of Juliet, while Lady Capulet did not seem too upset.

In Shakespeare's time, young girls were to be married at a very young age such as 13 years old. This is how old Juliet was when she met Romeo and the age when her mother starts talking to her about marriage. Juliet's father, Lord Capulet, believes Juliet is too young to be married but would like her to get married if Juliet agrees to it. But then later on in the play after he meets Paris, Lord Capulet decides he wants Juliet to be married as soon as possible, even though he does not know she is already married to Romeo. Lord Capulet believes Paris would be the perfect husband for Juliet because he is royalty and related to the Prince. “She shall be married to this noble earl.” This shows Lord Capulet wants Juliet to be married to Paris straight away rather than let her get to know or fall in love with Paris. Lord Capulet then organises the wedding himself without consoling Juliet because she cannot accept she has to be married. Juliet's parents think that her getting married will cheer her up after the death of Tybalt. “But for the sunset of my brother's son It rains downright. How now, a conduit, girl? What, still in tears?” This shows Lord Capulet thinks that Juliet is still grieving for Tybalt when she is actually upset that Romeo has been banished.

Shakespeare shows that Juliet and the Nurse have a strong bond, almost like a mother and daughter bond. The Nurse is more like a mother to Juliet than Lady Capulet because Juliet and her mother have a distant relationship as she has been bought up by the Nurse. She knows more about Juliet than Lady Capulet does for example, her age and her opinion on marriage. The Nurse treats Juliet like a daughter because she had a daughter, Susan who is mentioned in the play, but died. “Susan and she- God rest all Christian souls!- Were of an age. Well, Susan is with God” This shows that the Nurse is telling Juliet and Lady Capulet about the death of her daughter. This is the reason why the Nurse has stayed around looking after Juliet for so long, because she misses her own daughter. Lady Capulet is so distant from her daughter, she needs the Nurse in the room when she speaks to Juliet. “Nurse, give leave a while, We must talk in secret. Nurse, come back again, I have remembered me,” This shows that Lady Capulet cannot be left alone with her daughter as she barely knows her that well and needs the Nurse's company. The Nurse is relaxed, informal and feels comfortable and speaks freely around Juliet and her mother. Juliet is a lot closer to the Nurse than her own mother but she respects her mother a lot, although they are very distant, she can be a bit afraid of her mother. Juliet is not bothered about being married as she is not interested. “Tell me, daughter Juliet, How stands your dispositions to be married?” “It is an honour that I dream not of.” This is showing Lady Capulet starting to speak about marriage to her daughter and she tries to convince Juliet to get married and starts to speak of her own experience of getting married at a young age.

Shakespeare also shows that Romeo and Friar Lawrence have a close relationship. After Romeo returns from Capulet mansion, the Friar fears that Romeo has spent the night with Rosaline, but then he learns Romeo has fallen in love with someone else and is asked if he could marry him and Juliet. Friar Lawrence agrees to carry out the ceremony because he thinks their marriage will end the feuding of the Montagues and Capulets. “For this alliance may so happy prove To turn your households' rancour to pure love.” This quotation shows that Friar Lawrence will do anything to stop the families feuding, and he is taking a big risk by marrying a member of the Montague family and a member of the Capulet family. If a family member of either Romeo or Juliet found out Friar Lawrence married them, the Friar could be banished. Shakespeare also shows that Juliet and the Friar have a close relationship. This may be because the Friar helps Juliet think of a plan to get out of the marriage to Paris. He acts like a father to Juliet as she is not close to her father either. “Hold, daughter, I do spy a kind of hope, Which craves as desperate an execution.” This shows that Friar Lawrence call Juliet 'daughter' which shows that they obviously have a close relationship. Shakespeare shows Romeo and Juliet close to the Nurse and Friar Lawrence because they are both distant from their parents. They are also very close to them because the Nurse and Friar Lawrence are the only people that know about Romeo and Juliet's relationship and that they got married.

The end of the play is very important because it shows where the Montagues and Capulets finally forget about their feud and make peace with each other. The Prince starts to talk about Romeo and Juliet's relationship and how it strengthens love, but still talks about the hate that they have caused for their children to die. The Prince advises them to end the feud for they have both lost children. Their hate for each other has caused some deaths and loosing family members from each family. “Where be these enemies? Capulet, Montague? See what a scourge is laid upon your hate, That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love!” This shows that the Prince is showing the Montagues and Capulets what their argument has caused. The two families then agree to settle their differences as they realise what damage they have done to their family and themselves. “O brother Montague, give me thy hand. This is my daughter's jointure, for no more Can I demand.” This shows Lord Capulet making an effort. The families also promise to make a golden statue of Romeo and Juliet. “But I can give thee more, For I will raise her statue in pure gold, That whiles Verona by that name is known, There shall no figure at such rate be set As that of true and faithful Juliet.” This shows Lord Montague then making an effort by saying he will let everyone know in Verona about Juliet. “As rich shall Romeo's by his lady's lie, Poor sacrifices of our enmity!” This then shows Capulet saying he will also put up a statue of Romeo and tell everyone in Verona about him too. The Prince then ends the play with a speech, saying some will receive punishment and some will be pardoned. “Some shall be pardoned, and some punished: For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.” This quote shows the play ending with a Sonnet which sums up what happens at the end of the play. At the beginning of the play, which starts with a Sonnet, Shakespeare warns us that the only way the feud would end is if their children die, which is exactly what happens.

In conclusion, Shakespeare has shown love and hate in many ways. He has shown love through Romeo and Juliet and Romeo and Rosaline. He shows true love through Romeo and Juliet, who are willing to die for each other, and unrequited love through him and Rosaline. Shakespeare shows in the balcony scene that Romeo and Juliet have fallen in love with each other even though they have only just met. This play shows the couple taking a lot of risks in being together despite of their feuding families. Shakespeare also shows hate through Benvolio and Tybalt and the Montague family and the Capulet family. He also shows what hate can do by showing the death of Mercutio, Tybalt, Paris, Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet are supposed to hate each other but they accidentally fall in love. Shakespeare also shows hate with a lot of fights between members of the families. Overall, Shakespeare shows love and hate in lots of different ways which are shown throughout the play. They are shown in this way because Shakespeare wants to show the division between the two families and the love for Romeo and Juliet.

Resume title

• TOP CATEGORIES
• AS and A Level
• University Degree
• International Baccalaureate
• Uncategorised
• 5 Star Essays
• Study Tools
• Study Guides
• Meet the Team
• English Literature
• William Shakespeare
• Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet: Love vs. Hate

Coral Harris Quin 10Rs                English – Romeo and Juliet Essay

Love or hate?

Most people would say the prevailing emotion is love, and I agree with this however hate also plays a big part in the play. There are many different types of love shown in the play such as the love between Romeo and Juliet compared to the love between the Nurse and Juliet.

The love shown to Juliet by Nurse is a motherly type and most probably unconditional, she acts like more of a mother to Juliet than Lady Capulet does. Also Nurse knows Juliet best and is really the one who raised her; she makes this clear throughout the play.

This is shown when Nurse tells Lord Capulet ‘you are to blame, my lord, to rate her so’. In response he attacks her verbally and also physically, so Nurse gives up. However she did defend Juliet as if in a protective mother-like way unlike Lady Capulet, Juliet’s actual mother. The Nurse then decides that Juliet has no choice but to marry Paris. She knows Juliet’s love for Romeo is real, but in order to save Juliet from the disastrous consequences of her secret marriage, she tries to make a second marriage to Paris seem acceptable. This shows how much Nurse cares for Juliet as she doesn’t want her to have to face Lord Capulet’s consequences if he found out about her and Romeo’s secret marriage. Also to stand up for Juliet like she did was very courageous because Lord Capulet is after all her boss.

One of the first things in the play that you learn is that Romeo is in love with Rosaline, however it is only him that believes he is in love with her and it seems as if he is more in love with the idea of being in love. He is feeling lovesick as Rosaline does not feel the same way about him and expresses his feelings about it by saying ‘Why, such is love’s transgressions. Griefs of mine own lie heavy in my breast, which thou wilt propagate, to have it prest with more of thine. This love that thou hast shown, doth add more grief to too much of mine own’. It shows Romeo’s love as superficial and immature but also as a painful love.

This is a preview of the whole essay

I also think Paris has a similar form of love for Juliet, it just seems as if he wants to marry her for her beauty and the plain fact he wants to have a successful marriage. When he says ‘thy face is mine, and thou hast slandered it’ he partly proves my point. By saying this it makes him sound very possessive and is talking about her as an object not a real person. He is basically saying he owns her face, which may come across as chauvinistic and slightly creepy. Also when he kisses her it is portrayed to be very formal and stiff whereas Romeo’s kisses are very passionate.

Another type of love shown is the love that is shared by many of the characters; it is a bond of friendship. Romeo and the friar share it as do the friendships between Romeo, Benvolio and Mercutio. Even though they joke around and insult each other they still care for and defend each other. Mercutio dies for Romeo by defending him; this proves the love and bond they share.

On the other hand, the two families are warring with each other and that is one of the main plots. If the hate between the families hadn't existed then the whole story wouldn't be as it is. Their families' conflict constantly threatens to turn Romeo and Juliet's love into hate. So, the hatred between their two families kind of pushed them towards their tragic deaths.

William Shakespeare wrote this play over 400 years ago, not knowing it would be famous and being studied by lots of people now. In most of the plays he has written, or most of the best known ones at least, contain love and hate. For example, Antony and Cleopatra includes strong themes of love as does Othello which also contains themes of hatred.

A lot of the things that happen in the play are set to happen in that time. However, people nowadays can also relate to the things too like forbidden love, families feuding and death. In fact I think a lot of people go through at least one of these things in their life or even all of them, and I think this contributes to how the play has managed to stay alive throughout the years and become so popular and well loved.

Romeo and Juliet are known to be two of the greatest lovers in history, however I think it was more about lust than actual true love. They would die for each other because they apparently couldn't bear to live without each other but was that done through their love or their family's hatred?

Juliet is a 13 year old girl and she comes from the Capulet family. She is portrayed to be innocent and shy, as it mentions many times she is not 14 yet. For example, in act 1 scene III when Lady Capulet is talking to Nurse before telling Juliet she is going to marry Paris. Nurse says ‘I'll lay fourteen of my teeth, and yet, to my teen be it spoken, I have but four, she is not fourteen. How long is it now to Lammas-tide?’ However, when she meets Romeo she proves she isn’t as innocent or shy after all and kisses him. Juliet is very independent and demonstrates this by proposing marriage to him. She matures throughout the play, going from being a naïve young girl that depends on her family a lot to a woman who is willing to desert them for her true love.

Romeo comes from the Montague family who are feuding with the Capulet family. He is sad, lonely and also lovesick as his crush, Rosaline does not love him back at the beginning of the play but when he meets Juliet he devotes himself to her. Despite the fact they are forbidden to be with each other. He is mature in some ways, like when Tybalt offers him a fight he tries to be the bigger person by refusing to fight him by saying ‘I do protest, I never injured thee, but love thee better than thou canst devise, till thou shalt know the reason of my love, and so, good Capulet, which name I tender, as dearly as my own, be satisfied.’

Even though it damages his reputation and makes him seem cowardly being declining Tybalt’s invitation to fight, he still refuses. However Romeo doesn’t listen to reason and says things as if he doesn’t care about the consequences.

The nurse is more like a mother to Juliet than her biological mother is to her. She defends Juliet in a few cases and some of them are huge risks but nevertheless she stands by her. She advises Juliet to marry Paris which makes it seem like she doesn’t understand Juliet’s love but maybe this is just so Juliet doesn’t get into trouble with her father, Lord Capulet. Sometimes she makes fun of Juliet and teases her but deep down she just wants what is best for Juliet.

Lord Capulet has a split personality I personally think because he is willing to fight Montague in the streets at the start of the play but when Lord Capulet is inviting Paris to the ball we see another side. He acts very humble and even stops Tybalt and Romeo fighting at the ball. However when he arranges for Juliet to marry Paris and she refuses to commit, he goes back to being aggressive and is furious.

Lady Capulet isn’t very motherly towards Juliet and has a more formal relationship with her. There is no trust and comfort between them.  Juliet has been raised by her Nurse, who not only breastfed Juliet, but also was the one Juliet could confide in. The proof of this is evident when Juliet seeks out the Nurse for assistance and assurance in securing Romeo.

Romeo and Juliet are made for each other but they come from families who hate each other. Their hatred for each other is not private, even the townspeople are involved because the hatred between the two families breaks out into a public fight in the streets of Verona. The hatred destroys the peace of Verona and everyone was warned that the consequences of another public fight may be death. While all this is going on Romeo, ones of the Montague’s fall in love with Juliet, a Capulet.  However Lord and Lady Capulet want Juliet to marry a wealthy young man named Paris, but because Juliet falls in love with Romeo and secretly marries him she refuses. After many fights, deaths and feuds the play ends in the two lovers Romeo and Juliet dying for each other.

I have come to the conclusion that the prevailing emotion in the play is love. Romeo and Juliet both die for love and because of the tragic deaths of members of both the Capulet and Montague family, both families end the feud.

For never was a story of more woe,

Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.

Document Details

• Word Count 1584
• Page Count 4
• Subject English

Related Essays

Romeo and Juliet - Love and Hate.

Romeo and Juliet Love or Hate

Romeo and Juliet - Love and hate.

Love and Hate In Romeo and Juliet

Pardon Our Interruption

As you were browsing something about your browser made us think you were a bot. There are a few reasons this might happen:

• You've disabled JavaScript in your web browser.
• You're a power user moving through this website with super-human speed.
• You've disabled cookies in your web browser.
• A third-party browser plugin, such as Ghostery or NoScript, is preventing JavaScript from running. Additional information is available in this support article .

To regain access, please make sure that cookies and JavaScript are enabled before reloading the page.

Are you seeking one-on-one college counseling and/or essay support? Limited spots are now available. Click here to learn more.

Romeo and Juliet Summary (by Act & Scene)

August 29, 2024

This article will give a scene-by-scene summary of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet . Like most of you, I was supposed to read Romeo and Juliet in high school – and like many of you, I watched Baz Luhrman’s Romeo + Juliet instead. While my laziness was understandable, I’m sad that I didn’t get to experience the beauty of Shakespeare’s language. 

All my quotes come from Project Gutenberg’s searchable The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet . 

Romeo and Juliet Story Summary

Scene 1 .

Scene one begins with a street fight. Sampson and Gregory, servants to the Capulet family, provoke Abram and Balthasar, servants of the Montague family, who are passing by. When Bevolio arrives, he draws his sword and tries to break up the fight. As he’s trying to break up the fight, Tybalt arrives, sees Benvolio with his sword drawn, and enters the fray. Even Lord Capulet and Lord Montague get involved. The fight only ends because the prince arrives and tells everyone that the next person who starts a fight is going to be put to death. 

Everyone disperses except Benvolio and Lord and Lady Montague, who are wondering where their son Romeo is. Benvolio says he’s seen Romeo on pre-dawn cry-walks. Romeo approaches and his parents leave. When Bevolio asks why he’s so sad, Romeo tells him that he is in love (with Rosaline). Unfortunately for Romeo, his interest isn’t reciprocated. Benvolio advises Romeo to search out other pretty ladies, but Romeo doubts this will change his love for Rosaline.

Scene two opens with Paris asking Lord Capulet for his daughter’s hand in marriage. While Lord Capulet thinks Juliet is too young (she’s 13!), he tells Paris to come try to woo Juliet at the party he’s throwing tonight. 

Benvolio and Romeo happen to run into a servant of the Capulets, who tells them about the party. Benvolio says they should sneak in so Romeo can meet other beautiful ladies. Romeo agrees to go, but only because he knows Rosaline will be there as well. 

Lady Capulet and Juliet’s maid enter Juliet’s room. Juliet’s mother asks her if she’s given any thought to marriage – Juliet says no. Lady Capulet tells Juliet that Paris is interested in her and asks her to go to the party tonight to see if she might like him. Juliet is skeptical, but tells her mother that she’ll give Paris a chance. 

Summary of Each Act in Romeo and Juliet (Continued)

Romeo, Mercutio, and Benvolio are on their way to the party. Romeo is still super depressed about Rosaline and is having second thoughts about attending the party. When Romeo says that he had a dream, Mercutio launches into his famous Queen Mab soliloquy . By the end of this scene, Romeo is worried that something fateful is going to start with tonight’s party. Just the same, he decides to go to the party, saying, “On, lusty gentlemen!” 

Scene 5 

Lord Capulet welcomes everyone to the party. When Tybalt notices Romeo, he calls for his sword. He is stopped by Lord Capulet, who tells him to leave Romeo alone. Tybalt is furious and declares that “this intrusion shall…convert to bitter gall.”

Meanwhile, Romeo has seen Juliet and forgets all about Rosaline. They kiss and Juliet declares that Romeo kisses “by the book.” When they part, each discovers the identity of the other. Juliet declares, “My only love sprung from my only hate!”

( IMHO, Baz Luhrman’s take on this scene is the definitive version. )  

Act II 

Having left the party, Romeo climbs a wall to access the Capulet’s garden. Benvolio and Mercutio do not see where he has gone, so they call to him. When they hear no response, they give up and go home. 

In what is the most famous scene in the play (perhaps in all of Shakespeare), Romeo stands beneath Juliet’s window and declares, “But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?” Juliet appears but does not see Romeo. She declares her love and wonders why (“wherefore”) Romeo has to be a Montague. 

Romeo speaks and declares he would discard his name if it were possible. After a bit of lover’s banter, Juliet tells Romeo that if his “bent of love be honourable, / Thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow.” Juliet’s nurse calls from inside and interrupts their conversation. Juliet promises to send for Romeo the next day. 

The next morning, Romeo goes to Friar Lawrence to ask him to marry him to Juliet. Understandably, Friar Lawrence is surprised – what happened to the beautiful Rosaline? At the same time, he understands that a marriage between Romeo and Juliet would “turn your households’ rancour to pure love.” In other words, this marriage would end the conflict between the Montagues and Capulets. 

Romeo and Juliet Summary (Continued)

Benvolio and Mercutio have still not found Romeo. From them we find out that Tybalt has challenged Romeo to a duel. Romeo appears – he’s in a good mood after his conversation with Friar Lawrence. He jokes around with Mercutio and seems to be back to his old self. 

Juliet’s maid appears looking for Romeo. Romeo assures her that his intentions are honorable. He tells her that Juliet should meet him at Friar Lawrences’ cell to be married this very afternoon. 

Juliet waits impatiently for the return of her nurse. When she does arrive, she delays telling Juliet as long as possible. Finally, she tells Juliet to go to Friar Lawrence’s cell this evening where she will be married to Romeo. 

Romeo and Juliet meet in Friar Lawrences’ cell. As the three move off stage to get married, the friar declares that they “will make short work” of the ceremony. 

Benvolio tells Mercutio that they should get inside – it’s hot and the Capulets are out looking for a fight. Tybalt arrives, looking for Romeo. When Romeo arrives (newly married to Tybalt’s cousin), the former refuses to fight. This “vile submission” is more than Mercutio can bear – he challenges Tybalt to a duel. Romeo tries to stop the fighting but Mercutio is killed . (But not before yelling “A plague o’ both your houses”)

Romeo is bereft. When Tybalt returns, he can’t contain his anger. They fight, and Romeo kills Tybalt . Romeo flees just as the Prince arrives with the Montagues and the Capulets. After hearing the story from Benvolio, the Prices exiles Romeo from Verona. 

The nurse tells Juliet the news of Tybalt’s death and Romeo’s banishment. Understandably, Juliet is torn. She mourns the death of her cousin, but cannot bear to think bad of her new husband. The nurse tells Juliet that Romeo is hiding in Friar Lawrence’s cell. Juliet’s nurse goes to fetch Romeo and bring him to Juliet. 

Scene 3 

Romeo is hiding in Friar Lawrence’s cell when the latter arrives to tell him of his banishment. For the adolescent Romeo, this is a fate worse than death, as he’ll be separated from Juliet. When the nurse arrives, she tells Romeo that Juliet “weeps and weeps.” Romeo grabs a sword to kill himself but the friar intervenes. He tells Romeo to go to Juliet, but warns him not to stay long. He needs to be out of town by morning. 

Paris is at the Capulet house. Given the circumstances, he’s hesitant to woo Juliet. At first her father agrees – but then he changes his mind. He decides that Paris and Juliet shall marry in three days and directs his wife to “Prepare her…against this wedding day.” 

With the sun rising, Romeo bids farewell to Juliet. No sooner has he left than Juliet’s mother arrives. After telling Juliet that she’s going to try to have Romeo killed in Mantua, she informs Juliet that she is to marry Paris in three days. Juliet refuses. Her father arrives and threatens to disown her if she does not marry Paris. When they’re alone, Juliet’s nurse tells her she should marry Paris. Juliet, however, has other plans. She resolves to go to Friar Lawrence’s cell for remedy – after all, “If all else fail, myself have power to die.”

Meanwhile, Paris has gone to Friar Lawrence to arrange his marriage to Juliet. As he leaves, he sees Juliet and tries to get her to cheer up. Juliet claims to have come to Friar Lawrence for confession and asks Paris to leave. When Paris is gone, Juliet begs Friar Lawrence for help – otherwise, she says she’s going to kill herself. Seeing her desperation, Friar Lawrence hatches a plan – he will give her a potion that will make her look as if she’s dead. Thinking her dead, she will be taken to the family vault, where Romeo can come get her. Friar Lawrence will communicate the plan to Romeo in Mantua. 

Juliet returns to her family, overjoyed at the friar’s plan. When she gets home, she meets her mother and father, and begs their forgiveness, saying that, “Henceforward I am ever rul’d by you.” (Of course, she has no intention of marrying Paris.) Her father is thrilled at this change of heart and decides the marriage will take place the next day. 

As the marriage has been moved to the next day, Juliet has to take the friar’s potion that night. She begins to have doubts – what if the friar has actually given her poison to cover up his role in her marriage to Romeo? What if she wakes up before Romeo arrives? She wonders if she’ll go mad, surrounded by the bodies of her dead family members. All the same, she’s desperate to see Romeo and drinks the vial, saying, “Romeo, here’s drink! I drink to thee.” 

Scene 4 

The Capulets cook and prepare for the wedding. 

When the nurse arrives to wake Juliet for the wedding, she finds her “dead.” Next, Lord and Lady Capulet enter and are bereft at their daughter’s death. Paris comes in and is shocked to find his bride dead. Friar Lawrence plays the part, telling the assembled to weep not, for Juliet is now in heaven. The wedding preparations are now turned to mourning. 

Meanwhile, in Mantua, Romeo muses on a dream he had of Juliet. His friend Balthasar arrives and tells him that Juliet is dead. As Friar Lawrence’s letter has not arrived, Romeo is unaware of the plan. Romeo prepares to return to Verona to visit Juliet’s body. At the end of the scene, Romeo visits an apothecary to buy some poison so that he can kill himself in Juliet’s tomb. 

Friar Lawrence finds out from Friar John that his letter to Romeo was not delivered. He fears the consequences of this miscommunication. Meanwhile, he knows that Juliet is going to wake within the next few hours and goes to the Capulet crypt. 

Paris has gone to the Capulet crypt to place flowers on Juliet’s tomb. He hears Romeo approach and thinks that he has come “to do some villainous shame / To the dead bodies.” Outraged, he confronts Romeo and they fight. Romeo doesn’t realize who Paris is and hills him. Gazing on the body of his wife and the body of his cousin (by marriage), Romeo takes the poison and dies. 

Friar Lawrence arrives and sees the bodies of Romeo and Paris. As Juliet wakes, Friar Lawrence begs her to come with him before the watch comes. Juliet, seeing the body of her husband, refuses to leave. When Friar Lawrence leaves, Juliet kisses Romeo and then stabs herself. (“O happy dagger. / This is thy sheath.”) ( Here’s the Royal Shakespeare Company’s minimalist take on this scene .) 

Meanwhile, the watch has summoned the Prince. When Lord Montague arrives, we find out that Lady Montague has died of grief. They questioned Friar Lawrence, who gives a full account of what happened. Seeing the consequences of their enmity, Lord Montague and Lord Capulet shake hands and bury the hatchet. 

Romeo and Juliet Summary – Wrapping Up

I’ll admit, it can be hard to get on board with the adolescent drama of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet . However, considering its cultural importance, it’s crucial to be familiar with the plot of this iconic play. (This article calls Romeo and Juliet the “beating heart of pop culture” – I don’t disagree.) 

If you’ve found this article useful or interesting, you can also check out my summaries and analyses of 1984 , Frankenstein , The Great Gatsby , Hamlet , The Crucible , Beloved, Brave New World , The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , Macbeth , Jane Eyre , and Of Mice and Men . 

• High School Success

Devon Wootten

Devon holds a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing & International Relations, an MFA in Poetry, and a PhD in Comparative Literature. For nearly a decade, he served as an assistant professor in the First-Year Seminar Program at Whitman College. Devon is a former Fulbright Scholar as well as a Writing & Composition Instructor of Record at the University of Iowa and Poetry Instructor of Record at the University of Montana. Most recently, Devon’s work has been published in Fugue , Bennington Review , and TYPO , among others. 

• 2-Year Colleges
• ADHD/LD/Autism/Executive Functioning
• Application Strategies
• Best Colleges by Major
• Best Colleges by State
• Big Picture
• Career & Personality Assessment
• College Essay
• College Search/Knowledge
• College Success
• Costs & Financial Aid
• Data Visualizations
• Dental School Admissions
• Extracurricular Activities
• Graduate School Admissions
• High Schools
• Homeschool Resources
• Law School Admissions
• Medical School Admissions
• Navigating the Admissions Process
• Online Learning
• Outdoor Adventure
• Private High School Spotlight
• Research Programs
• Summer Program Spotlight
• Summer Programs
• Teacher Tools
• Test Prep Provider Spotlight

“Innovative and invaluable…use this book as your college lifeline.”

— Lynn O'Shaughnessy

Nationally Recognized College Expert

College Planning in Your Inbox

Join our information-packed monthly newsletter.