The main quarrel or conflict in the play is between the two houses of Capulet and Montague, a quarrel that started long before the first events of the play itself. The conflict is introduced in the Prologue, which describes the feud as follows:
Two households, both alike in dignity, ...
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny ...
The first example of this enmity occurs when Sampson and Gregory, two servants of the house of Capulet, deliberately offer provocation to Abraham and Balthasar, two members of the Montague household. Sampson bites his thumb at the Montague household, a rude gesture comparable to a raised middle finger in contemporary North America, to start a fight, and after a brief verbal exchange, the two pairs begin to brawl. Tybalt and Benvolio, two nobles, walk by and are drawn into the fight, which in short order becomes a full-blown riot, eventually stopped by the Prince, who expresses frustration with how the feud has affected the city of Verona.
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