Alas that love, so gentle in his view, should be so tyrannous and rough in proof (I,i, Ll 163-164)
This quotation explains that, although Romeo’s love for Rosaline is pure in his eyes, it is in fact impure in practice. This is because Rosaline rejects his attempts, claiming that she will remain a virgin furthermore.
She’ll not be hit with Cupid’s arrow. She hath Dian’s wit, and in strong proof of chastity well armed (I,i, Ll 202-203)
In Act I, Scene 5, we see Romeo meet Juliet at the Capulet ball. In this scene, we see the first signs of courtly love between these two main characters.
Did my heart love till now? Forswear it sight, for I ne’er saw true beauty till this night (I,v, Ll 49-50)
This quotation shows signs of things to come in the play, highlighting that this love shown by Romeo is also returned by Juliet, which is unlike the Petrarchan love shown by Rosaline towards Romeo.
You kiss by th’ book (I,v, l 106)
In spite of this, this shows how fickle Romeo is as he has almost instantly forgotten about Rosaline. Romeo himself is extremely concerned when he learns that Juliet is a Capulet, but this does not drastically change anything as his feelings for Juliet are still pure and true.
Is she a Capulet? O dear account, my life is a foe’s debt (I,v,Ll 114-115)
This explains that he is willing to give everything to Juliet.
During Act II scenes ii and iii, we see Romeo in love. He has forgotten about Rosaline, and is acting in a fickle, rebellious way. He is besotted with Juliet, and describes her in terms of light.
Juliet is the sun (II,ii, l 3)
He could be describing Juliet in this manner for a number of reasons. Firstly, this could be referring to her being the light that is drawing him out of his dark depression. Also, light could be portraying her as an angel, a source of light, in a religious way. This religious reference is a recurring theme throughout the play.
The audience reacts to Romeo trespassing in the Capulet orchard with shock at the audacity of his actions, with some admiration for what he is doing, but mostly with compassion at the fact that he would attempt such a brave act just to declare his love for Juliet.
Romeo’s character at the end of II,ii is one of illustrious, fickle admiration for Juliet while he seems to have forgotten about Rosaline completely. He has progressed from an unsociable loner to an outgoing, illustrious individual.
Whilst in Friar Lawrence’s cell, Romeo is given a description of the two forms of love experienced by him, given by the Friar. The Friar describes how Romeo’s love for Rosaline was ‘shallow’ as he has forgotten her so easily.
Is Rosaline, whom thou didst love so dear, so soon forsaken? (II,iii, ll 66-67)
He says this as he believes that Romeo was not actually in love with Rosaline. I would agree with this statement as it could not be love if he gave it up that easily, it can be described as lust, not love.
During II, iv, we see Romeo’s ‘new’ personality that has changed so drastically due to Juliet, and how he is now reverted to his old, sociable self. We see him joking about and playing with his friends.
Why then is my pump well flowered?
With this statement, and during his general conversation, he is using puns, double entendres and sexual innuendo.
This change is definitely due to his love for Juliet, as she has brightened up his life, making him revert to his former cheerful, and sociable, enjoyable self.
In III, I, we see Tybalt provoke Romeo with remarks about him being a ‘villain’, and other various challenging comments. Romeo responds to these with a dismissive manner as he does not want to hear them. Tybalt then kills Mercutio, thus leading to Romeo murdering Tybalt. He responds in this way as Tybalt is making false remarks about him, which are infuriating him, drawing him out of his happiness, and bringing him back into depression. This scene is full of hatred, which becomes a recurring theme throughout the remainder of the play, and in fact a theme since the prologue. By the conclusion of this scene, there is a dramatic change in Romeo’s character, from calm, happy and in love, to vengeful, guilty and angry. Shakespeare highlights this excellently by varying Romeo’s language and vocabulary to incorporate words such as “fortune’s fool”. He blames fate for Tybalt’s death, which is, in effect, blaming something else for his actions, and not accepting them himself. He also sees himself as a victim of fate.
In III,iii, Romeo is distraught and devastated over the death of Mercutio, and his uncontrollable urge that led to the murder of Tybalt. In this scene, Romeo is behaving like an impulsive child, and this shocks the audience because Romeo has been seen acting in this way only once before, when he climbs into the Capulet orchard. The Friar responds to this by trying to calm Romeo down, and tries to make him think laterally again.
Thy Juliet is alive, for whose dear sake thou was but lately dead, There art thou happy?
In III,v, we see a reversal in the roles of Romeo and Juliet, with Romeo acting sensibly and more maturely, whereas Juliet is acting like a child, being impulsive, fickle and immature. This contrasts to their behaviour during the rest of the play. This scene is important as it is the last time Romeo and Juliet see each other alive. I think this is important as it is a memorable part of the play.
In V, I, we see Romeo beginning the scene happy, due to the fact that he had a dream in which Juliet’s love has helped him overcome death. He then appears excited when Balthazar arrives, expecting good news, “News from Verona. How now Balthazar”, but his mood soon changes when he hears of Juliet’s death. He is preparing to go to see her that night, “I will hence tonight”. He then visits the apothecary to buy poison, “An’ if a man did need a poison now, whose sale is present death in Mantua, her lives a cailiff wretch would sell it him”. He then leaves Mantua with the poison, planning to kill himself at the tomb containing Juliet, “To Juliet’s grave, for I must use thee”. Poison is seen as a cowardly ending, for it is quick and virtually painless.
In V, iii, we see the death of the two characters, ultimately making the story a tragedy, and playing out the prologue. Romeo’s weaker death is frowned upon in the Patriarchal society of the day, being the weaker death. This is the weaker death as it is an easy death, compared to Juliet’s method. The initial source of conflict in this play is resolved, even though these characters died for this. Romeo describes the tomb using metaphors of mouth and stomach, along with morbid words associated with death. This is seen as evil and consuming. He will not be stopped in his course; he is stubborn and determined to kill himself. “And do not interrupt me in my course”
He feels guilty and regretful just before death, and he asks Tybalt’s forgiveness.
At the climax of the play, we have a tragic ending. We see the death of the two main characters, as predicted in the prologue. This would have been highly irregular at the time, as Elizabethan society was one where religion would have been at the forefront of society, and the tragic ending would not have coincided with the religious perspective. The play was written during the Renaissance era, where science was appearing as an explanation, but religion was also extremely important. There are also a number of key scenes in the play that helped Shakespeare to portray Romeo’s character. One of the most influential scenes was the marriage scene, Act II, Scene iii, as it is one of the only scenes where we see the two main characters happy. The whole play has a Patriarchal theme to it, where Juliet has no free will, saying she will “deny her name”. In my opinion, Romeo is a tragic hero as he has one fatal flaw that ultimately brings about his downfall-his infatuation with Juliet. This is his fatal flaw and this is the cause of his death.
