Why did the Montagues and Capulets start fighting?
Category:
family and relationships
bereavement
At the beginning of Romeo and Juliet the Chorus says that two families in Verona (Montagues & Capulets) are constantly fighting. The start of their feud is left to the imagination. Lord Capulet and Lord Montague were both obsessed with owning large amounts of land.
In this regard, why are the Capulets and Montagues fighting?
The Prologue merely refers to the feud between the Montagues and Capulets as an "ancient grudge" with no further explanation as to why the two families hate each other. One of Shakespeare's points is that the violence and feuding that ends with the death of Romeo and Juliet is senseless.
Similarly, did the Montagues and Capulets stop fighting?
The feud between the Capulet and the Montague did not end. The two lovers did kill themselves and it says that the feud will end in the prologue.
The scene opens with a brawl on the streets of Verona between servants from the affluent Montague and Capulet households. While attempting to stop the fight, Benvolio (Romeo's cousin) is drawn into the fray by Tybalt, kinsman of the Capulets.