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The Prince has the difficult task of trying to restrain the violence of the two feuding families without becoming a tyrant. He upbraids himself at the end for being too soft on them, but in reality he is being unfair to himself. Issuing a proclamation that public brawling would be punished by death was as strong an action as he could reasonably take.

We also see the Prince struggling with the difficult question of vigilantes. In essence, this is what Romeo has done in killing Tybalt, and the argument Benvolio puts forward why Romeo should not be punished for it. Benvolio argues that Tybalt's life was forfeit already, having killed Mercutio in a street brawl. The Prince, wisely, does not accept this argument as a full justification of Romeo's actions. Had he done so, he would be licencing the feuding parties to continue their feud ad infinitum.

The Prince's main problem is that he is trying to legislate something which, while socially necessary, is unpopular. He does right by trying to get Montague and Capulet to support his initiative, but their support is faint at best. Notwithstanding the ban, Tybalt still pursues Romeo around the town for a totally imaginary slight; Mercutio is happy to step into someone else's quarrel just for the heck of it; Romeo appoints himself a vigilante to avenge Mercutio's death; and Lady Capulet is hiring murderers to get her revenge on Romeo. There is no sense that Tybalt, Mercutio, or Lady Capulet think that these actions are wrong, and Benvolio defends Romeo's. Romeo is the only one who knows that what he has done is wrong; he is

"Fortune's Fool". As the prologue states, only the deaths of Romeo and Juliet could convince the families that feuding is not just illegal, it is wrong, and they should stop doing it. The Prince could not, using the power of law, punish everyone who kept up the fighting, yet as a result of Romeo and Juliet's deaths, "all are punished".

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Q: How did Shakespeare explore the theme of law and order in Romeo and Juliet?
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Who said rebellious subject enemies to peace in Romeo and Juliet?

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