How does Shakespeare guide our responses to the main characters in Romeo and Juliet?

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Dan Cox        Page         

How does Shakespeare guide our

 responses to the main characters

in Romeo and Juliet?

In a play we as the audience learn about its characters by their speech, actions, tone of voice and their stage directions. It is usually very easy to see a character’s personality in a play as the playwright usually makes it easy to understand who is “Good” and who is “bad”. It must be remembered that an Elizabethan audience would respond slightly differently to the characters as we do as nowadays people have more cynical views.  One character that the audience take immediate dislike to is Tybalt. He is obviously an evil character and consequently one the audience dislikes straight away. In Act I he is aggressive and insulting towards Benvolio, who is trying to keep the peace between the Capulets and Montagues. He says -

 “What, drawn, and talk of peace?

 I hate the word as I hate hell, all Montagues and thee.” His repetition of the word “hate” shows his aggressive nature. From this you can also conclude he is a character who loves to fight, resulting in our feelings of dislike for him.

   On the other hand one character who we feel sympathy for is Romeo, even before he is encountered in the play. Montague and Benvolio first mention him, discussing the way he is acting. We find out he has been troubled for some time, often sighted on his own, obviously upset. This makes the audience feel sympathetic towards him. When we finally encounter him we find out the cause- he is a victim of unrequited love with Rosaline. He says -

 “This love feel I, that feel no love in this.”, meaning he loves but is not loved in return. He comes across as lovesick and confused at the beginning of the play. This is shown through his poetic, exaggerated language throughout Act 1, Scene 1. One Example is his use of oxymorons when conversing with Benvolio. For example –

 “O brawling love,

 O loving hate,

 O anything of nothing first create,

 O heavy lightness, serious vanity.” This shows just how confused he really is. At this point in the play we almost feel that Romeo is pathetic and unworthy of respect, because we have a more cynical view of love but an Elizabethan audience would most likely feel different and show great sympathy for him.

   When Romeo meets Juliet he comes across as a more genuine character, using religious language to describe Juliet’s beauty. For Example –

If I profane with my unworthiest hand

 This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this:

My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand

To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.

 He is more smitten now that he realises he didn’t love Rosaline, as shown Act 1, Scene 5. He quotes –

 “Did my heart feel love till now? Forswear it, sight,

 for I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.” Although the audience still think he could be exaggerating again and his “love” may actually be physical attraction (as with Rosaline) and he may be being fickle again, as backed up by the opinion of the Friar. He Says -

 “Young men’s love then lies not truly from their hearts,

 but in their eyes”, He is less pathetic now, more pure and innocent, more blinded by Juliet’s beauty. An Elizabethan audience would be more believing of Romeo, as they strongly believed in fate.

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   The fight scene between Romeo and Tybalt is one of huge consequence and one that shows a totally different side to Romeo.

After hearing news of Tybalt killing Mercutio, Romeo is enraged and seeks out Tybalt to kill him. This shows some similarity with Tybalt, in the way that Romeo can be aggressive and thoughtless of consequence. He seeks him out and kills him in a furious state. Romeo is shocked by his own actions, blaming not himself but fate for what he has done.

 “O, I am fortune’s fool! ” he shouts in act III after killing Tybalt. This ...

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