Why was Shakespeare using opposites in his writing?

Question

I've been looking for that for a while, please help me!

Classmate: I don't really have any but my teacher said h=that there were many in the Prologue of 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 starcross'd lovers take their life
Whose misadventur'd piteous overthrows
Doth with their death bury their parent's strife
The fearfull passage of their death-mark' love
And the countinuance of their parents rage
Wich, but their children's end, naught could remove
Is now the two hours traffic of our stage
The wich if you with patients ears attend
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend

This is the prologue. Just look at it and tell me if you can find anything

Answer 1

What are some examples of the opposites you're trying to understand?

Thanks for the additional details. I'm not entirely sure what your teacher's looking for, but the big contrast in "Romeo & Juliet" is between love and hate, the love of the young couple vs. the hate between their families. I'm sure you can find many references to both those things in the lines you've quoted.

You asked why Shakespeare uses opposites (in this case love and hate). As Janniel says, drama is based on conflict. If everybody in a play has the same goals and values and everybody gets along with everybody else, there's not going to be much drama on the stage. If two people fall in love and everybody supports their love and there are no obstacles standing in their way, that's nice for them, but there's really no story to tell.

There might be something I still don't understand about the question your teacher is asking, but I hope these few ideas help a little bit.

Answer 2

Shakespeare wrote for the theatre so he wrote for dramatic effect and of course his formula of 'opposites' and conflict has been used in drama to this day on stage and in film. Good and evil. Hero and villain. Star crossed lovers.Family conflict. Male and female. Love and hate. Generosity and greed. Bravery and treachery. Fame and death. All can be found in Shakespeare's plays.
In the example you gave after your original question, just read it carefully. What emotions do you see expressed? There are 2 and if you still cannot see it after a few minutes reading and understanding that passage , e-mail me.

Answer 3

also in Act 1 Scene 1 Romeo talks about love comparing it to oxymorons E.g. sick health, loving hate, "This love feel I, that feel no love in this" meaning I feel in love but i don't feel what i'm suppose to feel when you're in love. He is in love with Rosaline but she does not love him back.