The phrase "where civil blood makes civil hands unclean" is from the Prologue of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. It appears in the opening lines setting the scene in Verona, describing the violent feud between two noble families, the Capulets and the Montagues. The phrase means that the bloodshed (violence) among the citizens ("civil blood") of Verona causes the hands of those same citizens ("civil hands") to be stained or made unclean by violence and blood
. The word "civil" here carries multiple meanings: it refers to the ordinary citizens (civilians) involved in the conflict, the idea of a civil war or internal strife within the same community, and also ironically contrasts with the notion of being courteous or polite, which is absent due to the ongoing violence
. In summary, the line is from the Prologue of Romeo and Juliet , describing the destructive impact of the feud on the people of Verona.
