Why did the Montagues and Capulets quarrel? Will the Montagues and Capulets make peace? Political implications of the story of Romeo and Juliet

“There is no sadder story in the world than the story of Romeo and Juliet,” any schoolchild knows these words today. Shakespeare's immortal tragedy is probably the most famous work about love. The play was first staged in 1595 and was a resounding success among the audience. No one doubted that the events described in it were real...

Shakespeare's predecessors

Shakespeare's contemporary, the Italian Girolamo della Corte, sincerely believed that Romeo and Juliet was true and even wrote in his History of Verona that the young couple died in 1303. This arbitrary but very confident statement does not agree with the point of view of Shakespeare himself (or, at least, his editor), who never said that the dead lovers had real prototypes. The publication of the play in 1597 was preceded by a remark stating that this tragedy “is a brilliant example of the author’s fiction.”

Literary scholars note that “lovers born under an ill-fated star” are found back in the 2nd century AD in the writings of the Greek Xenophon. Another similar story appeared in 1476 in the “Little Novellas” of Masuccio Salernitano, and half a century later it was retold by Luigi da Porto... His “Recently Discovered Manuscript of Two Noble Lovers” contains all the most important elements of Shakespeare’s tragedy: Verona as the scene of action, two warring surnames - Montagues and Capulets - and a pair suicide at the end.

Another Italian, Matteo Bandello, published a free version of the story in his Novellas in 1554, and soon the story was translated into French and in 1559 appeared in the Tragedies of Francois de Belfort.

In 1562, this French version was in turn translated into English in poetic form. The translation was made by Arthur Brooke, who called his work Romeo and Juliet. In 1567, a prose translation by William Painter, entitled “The Halls of Desire,” appeared.

And since Brooke wrote that he had “recently seen this plot on the stage,” researchers believe that Shakespeare may simply have adapted some now lost play, although his masterpiece is almost exactly the same as Brooke’s verse translation.

The mystery of the surnames Montague and Capulet

But all this does not mean at all that the family feud described in Shakespeare’s tragedy is also a figment of the writer’s imagination. The surnames Montague and Capulet (in Shakespeare's original transcription - Montague and Capulet) were not at all an invention of Porto. “Come, careless one, just take a look: Monaldi, Filippeschi, Capelletti, Montagues - those are in tears, and those are trembling! Come, look at your nobility, at these violence that we see ...”, Dante wrote back in 1320 Alighieri in his Divine Comedy", talking about internecine clashes in Italy.

However, all attempts to find any reliable references to the real families of Montagues and Capulets were in vain. Until the American historian Olin Moore proposed a very ingenious solution to the puzzle. In his opinion, Montagues and Capulets are not family names at all, but the names of two political parties, or rather, their “local cells” that represented in Verona the main rival factions of medieval Italy - the Guelphs and the Ghibellines.

Political implications of the story of Romeo and Juliet

The Guelphs, whose name comes from the German family of Welfs, fought to transform Italy into a federal state under the rule of the pope. The Ghibellines, descendants of the German House of Hohenstaufen, supported the Holy Roman Emperor in his attempts to extend his power over the entire Italian peninsula.

This struggle continued from mid-XII century until the second half of the 13th century, and then degenerated into an ordinary internecine squabble on a local scale. One of the Ghibelline factions adopted the name Montague, after the name of the castle of Montecchio Maggiore, near Vicenza: it was there that the founding congress of the party took place.

Verona is located only forty-five kilometers west of Vicenza, and the Ghibellines managed to make their puppet the representative of the Guelph party who ruled there, whose name came from “capuletto” - a small cap that served as a distinctive sign for members of this party. That is why historical documents do not contain any mention of clashes between Montagues and Capulets. How then did it happen that two small Italian political parties turned into warring Verona families?

Probably, the early interpreters of Dante's great work are to blame for this, who considered that the poet was using proper names: they were misled by the spelling, since in the Romano-Germanic languages ​​all names are written with capital letter. And Luigi da Porto simply took advantage of this for his own convenience when he created the original version of Romeo and Juliet, which gave life to later re-covers, French and English, including the most widely known - Shakespeare's.

The world-famous story about two warring clans left no one indifferent to the fate of the teenagers in love. And numerous film adaptations collected large box office receipts, playing sad music on the frame where innocent young people died from misunderstanding and the blind anger of their parents.

What if we imagine that Romeo and Juliet did not die? What if they silently and obediently waited for the moment when they could make decisions themselves and not depend on the wishes of their parents? Will the miracle of reconciliation between the two families happen then?

No! It won't happen because they will always know that their children are "making a mistake", but they will soon understand and correct it. And even if they accept the choice of their child, they will never accept the enemy’s family! And even if dozens of years pass, parental non-reconciliation will weigh heavily on the souls of lovers. Let's say there is a wedding, but the clans will celebrate it separately from each other, barely smiling at the couple. They will not want to share the table with each other and will treat this event as the fleeting whim of a child.

After the wedding, the newlyweds will wander from parent to parent until they find their own home. When children are born, they will also nurse them separately, believing that other grandparents do not look after the child well, and they taught him strong words. They still believe that all this will pass, and their daughter/son will still meet their equal and bring real happiness to their parents.

When they meet on the street, the Montagues say hello through clenched teeth, and the Capulets answer in the same way. No general celebrations, because there are always reasons not to go. There are also no common interests, and never have been, because they are “enemies”! Even though the lovers have been happy for a long time, they are still oppressed by a huge burden of misunderstanding, just as when they were ready to die for their love. Then, when they stood on the tenth floor balcony, insulted and humiliated! Like when they decided to live, no matter what, in order to prove to everyone that no one could ever break them!

Shakespeare's Montagues and Capulets have quite real prototypes, and they are just as stubborn and blind. There are a lot of people like that on earth, and they don’t want to change, because they are always right in everything. It is impossible to fight them, except to get used to it and find compromises that at least slightly hide such a negative attitude.

The Montagues and Capulets always know that they are right, sometimes condescending to the personal interests of their children, but never trying on their own skin their lives and feelings. They consider their enemies alien and unworthy of attention or even the most petty sympathy. They pretend to accept it, but for the rest of their lives they will speak with pretense and some degree of malice. And they don’t care about the tears of their own children, because they understand life much more, and therefore they know that everything will pass.

Maybe someday they will realize their mistake?! I would like to believe in such a miracle, but the Montagues and Capulets will only be able to understand after the tragedy what they were wrong about. But is it worth dying just to prove the sincerity of your feelings?! Life will show them better than death, and whoever does not consider them is simply blind!

/ / / What is the reason for the enmity between the Montagues and the Capulets?

William Shakespeare is a brilliant master of tragedy, whose name is known to readers all over the world. His “” is an enthusiastic and “saddest in the world” play that impresses people who know how to sincerely love. The plot was not invented by Shakespeare, but borrowed from an Italian legend about two lovers. But it was his images of Romeo and Juliet that became eternal.

What is the play about? A young man and a girl meet by chance at a ball, and a great sincere feeling arises between them. This story could be completely ordinary. But Romeo and Juliet are children of warring families. Therefore, the love between them turned out to be forbidden. They understand that it is unlikely that the parents will reconcile after learning about their sympathy; most likely, this will only aggravate the centuries-old conflict.

Why do they quarrel? The author does not give a direct answer. Their hatred appeared a long time ago, and hardly anyone remembers the reason for it. But looking at these families, you can try to guess the reason for their enmity. The most objective reason seems to be their position in society. The Montagues and Capulets are the two most noble and influential families in Verona. Therefore, there was undoubtedly competition between them, a struggle for absolute power.

There is also a motive for blood feud. Once upon a time, one of their ancestors started a bloody chain. And now they are at enmity and what is happening is not just revenge, but simply revenge in the name of revenge itself. At the beginning of the play, the conflict between the servants of the Montagues and the Capulets is shown. This means that the enmity affected absolutely everyone.

And - they are not directly related to the conflict. They are representatives of the new morality of humanism. The heroes are still young, but managed to understand how absurd the enmity of their families is.

Juliet is younger than Romeo, so at first he hesitates, afraid of what awaits her if she does not give up her forbidden love. The girl asks many questions to which she finds answers herself. Romeo is the son of the enemy, he is a Montague! But what does the name mean? The essence of a person is important, not the name. Whatever the name of her beloved, he will remain the same for her.

William Shakespeare deliberately does not indicate the reasons for the family feud in order to exaggerate the absurdity of human hatred. Members of the clans became enemies from the cradle, without any reason. The author shows that none of them tried to understand the conflict. This is exactly how a ossified society was formed, full of stupid prejudices and restrictions. Romeo and Juliet not only secretly loved, but also asked themselves questions, tried to understand the reason for their hatred. Children turn out to be much wiser and more humane than older family members.

In the play there is a man who tries to resolve the conflict between the Montagues and the Capulets. This is the Duke, a prudent and shrewd man. It is he who, at the end of the play, pronounces a kind of verdict on the families: “What a lesson for haters, that heaven kills you with love!”

Thanks to their unfortunate children, the Montagues and Capulets learn a bitter lesson and make peace. They want to erect monuments made of gold in honor of Romeo and Juliet. Thus, love defeated enmity at the cost of the sacrifice of two lovers.

- (foreign language) two hostile parties, families. Explanation In the tragedy, Romeo and Julia, the characters Romeo and Julia belong to these two parties. Wed. Shakesp. Romeo and Juliet... Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)

Book Disapproved About two warring families, parties. /i>

CAPULET AND MONTAUGH are two warring families in Shakespeare's drama Romeo and Julia. They became a proverb and became a household name. names. A complete dictionary of foreign words that have come into use in the Russian language. Popov M., 1907. MONTECHS AND CAPULETTS IN... ...

AND MONTECHS are two warring surnames in Shakespeare's drama Romeo and Julia. They became a proverb and became a household name. names. A complete dictionary of foreign words that have come into use in the Russian language. Popov M., 1907. MONTECHS AND CAPULETTS IN Shakespeare’s... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

And Capulets. Book Disapproved About two warring families, parties. /i> Goes back to W. Shakespeare’s drama “Romeo and Juliet” (1595). BMS 1998, 387 ... Big dictionary Russian sayings

Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet edition 1599 Genre: Tragedy

Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet edition 1599 Genre: Tragedy

- (Italian: Romeo Montecchi) main character William Shakespeare's tragedy "Romeo and Juliet". The name Romeo became a household name for a young man in love, as well as a symbol of unhappy love. Contents 1 Origins of the image ... Wikipedia

Books

• , Glinka Mikhail Ivanovich. Reprint sheet music edition by Glinka, Mikhail`Variations on a Theme from Bellini`s Opera`I Capuletti ed i Montecchi``. Genres: Variations; For piano; Scores featuring the piano; For 1 player. We…
• , Glinka Mikhail Ivanovich. This book will be produced in accordance with your order using Print-on-Demand technology. Reprint sheet music edition of Glinka, Mikhail "Variations on a Theme from Bellini"s Opera"I Capuletti ed…

In modern Verona, there are and carefully preserved places reminiscent of the story of Shakespeare's lovers. Among the medieval buildings, two buildings were identified that probably belonged in the 13th century to the famous Verona families Monticoli (Montecca) and Dal Cappello (Capulets). On Via Arca Scaligere there is a somewhat dilapidated ancient palace, which has long been considered Romeo's House - "Casa di Romeo". It can only be viewed from the outside. Inside, this building, which was previously more extended, has a beautiful courtyard with an arched gallery. The outer battlement suggests that the house was also used as a fortress. In the 12th and 13th centuries in Verona, many influential families had similar fortified possessions, as internecine clashes broke out in the city every now and then due to the struggle between Guelph and Ghibelline factions. The Monticoli family was one of the most powerful in Verona, until changing circumstances forced representatives of the family to leave the city in 1324 and settle in Udine.
In the 14th century, the palace belonged to the noble Nogarola family, and was later confiscated by the ruler of Cangrande Della Scala. Subsequently, this complex was sold and divided between several owners. Unfortunately, the Romeo House is not a museum, since all attempts by the City Administration to buy this building were categorically rejected by its owners.

The house is decorated with battlements in the shape of swallowtails, which means that the owners belong to the Ghibelline party (the party that supported the interests of the German emperors in Italy), and using logic. that the opponents of the Ghibellines were the Guelphs, i.e. supporters of the popes, the Cappelio family (or in Shakespeare's Capulets) belonged to the Guelphs.

The enmity of the Verona noble families flared up the more intensely, the more the power of the Scaligerians went into decline. Luigi da Porto wrote about this in the book “The History of Noble Lovers” - he was the first to name the names of Romeo and Juliet and gave them surnames borrowed from Dante. The plot passed from one author to another, Girolamo della Corta in scientific work"The History of Verona" passed off the story as a true incident. Lope de Vega turned to the plot, then the Englishman Brooke. It was from him that Shakespeare borrowed the plot, enriching it immensely.

But Juliet's House - "Casa di Giulietta" - has been restored and is open to the public. This palace is marked above the entrance with an ancient marble statue in the shape of a hat - the coat of arms of the Dal Cappello family (cappello is a hat in Italian). According to archival documents, in 1667 the Cappellos sold part of the building with the now defunct tower to the Rizzardi family. Since then, the building has had many owners. There is also evidence that the building was used for some time as an inn. This is how the English writer Charles Dickens saw the legendary Juliet's House when he visited Verona in 1844: “I went to inspect the ancient Capulet palace. Now it is a miserable tavern. The yard was full of dilapidated carriages, carts, geese and pigs. The garden was fenced off with a wall, and in its place were built home. Nothing here reminds of its former inhabitants, and the kitchen door was decorated by a very unsentimental lady. But the legends about the enmity of the two families are still alive ... "

The whole story of Romeo and Juliet is most likely Shakespeare's fiction. In fact, it originated as an old Sienese legend, which was retold in the 15th century by the writer Masuccio of Salernitana, and then turned into a tragedy by Shakespeare.