How does Romeo character change during the pLAY Romeo and Juliet?

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Deborah Marquardt        

English coursework

Does Romeo change throughout the play Romeo and Juliet? If so, how and why does he change?

Romeo and Juliet is one of the finest-cherished romances ever written globally. The play was written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young “star-cross’d lovers” whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. Romeo and Juliet belong to a tradition of tragic romances stretching back to antiquity. Its plot is based on real Italian families in the 3rd century (The Cappelletti and Monttecchi). This is one of the oldest plays that has lived with us and continue for generation to come.

Shakespeare creates dramatic effect by switching a lot from one event to another. The switches tend to involve two things: a change in the place, from one group of characters to another and a switch in the mood, such as from humour to violence, or violence to love. The play ascribes different poetic forms to different characters, sometimes changing the form as the character develops. Romeo, for example, grows more adept at the sonnet over the course of the play.

Romeo is an emotional, adolescent boy; he thrives upon complexity of love and predicament of romance. As this story is a romantic tragedy, Romeo love must fall. The passion and emotion that lurks in Romeo, inevitably is responsible for the tragedy which soon surfaces. Romeo is in love with the idea of being in love. His actions and relations are under great scrutiny from the tension and suspense of the feuding Montague's and Capulet's, as his love and affection for Juliet develops so does his impetuous character

At the beginning of the play, the audience sees Romeo as a troubled and dismal lad. This makes us think to what had caused the sadness in Romeo. His depressing, miserable language “Ay me! Sad hours seen long, Was that my Father that went hence so fast?” shows that Romeo is so dejected and lifeless, he finds time as an enemy as it runs so slow. Here we are baffled as we don’t understand the cause of such misery. He also seems to be so anxious he can’t distinguish his own dad by asking ‘Was that my Father that went hence so fast?’ This attitude of Romeo becomes rather concerning as we don’t know the source of the situation.

Once we are told that Romeo pines for Rosaline, proclaiming her the paragon of women and despairing at her indifference toward him. Taken together, Romeo's and Rosaline emotional behaviour seems rather juvenile. Romeo is a great reader of love poetry, and the portrayal of his love for Rosaline suggests he is trying to recreate the feelings that he has read about. However, Rosaline refuse to open her legs to the sides of gold, turns her back at him and refuses his love. There is love at first sight but not as such in Romeo’s luck. Romeo not winning the love of Rosaline causes him sleepless nights and unmanful behavior.

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Then we get expressions of Romeo as a sadden and heartbroken lad with his life at the moment filled with darkness. Romeo’s outlook is very touching because he is gutted as love has not fulfill its task to him causing him to turn to the bleakest and isolated region of his spirit. This state that Romeo is in has muddled his mind and has resulted to changes in his thoughts. At this point in the play, Romeo verbalizes in a way we think he is mad as his words don’t make any sense. Perplexed as we are, we figure out ...

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