Is Romeo a flawed hero?

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Amahl Khan

11 AFC

Is Romeo a Flawed Hero?

        The word hero has two meanings, firstly that a person would have to be a brave character and is someone who is courageous. Secondly a hero has to be a main person or character in a story, the “Protagonist”.

          Back in the days of when the play Romeo and Juliet was set, people would think that characters had a balance, like a set of scales. On one side passion and the other reason. A balanced person was meant to have had an equal amount of both. You can get an idea of how flawed Romeo may be by the way that his character is balanced.

          At the beginning of the play Romeo is absent this is due to him suffering from “love sickness” for Rosaline and he insists “there is no other woman for him” (a sign of immature youth).This explains the confusion that we see in his first conversation with Benvolio. His speech is full of oxymorons and contradictions as he is struggles to make sense of his problems.

[Romeo’s fit of depression brought on by his total love would have been perfectly understandable to Shakespeare’s audience, saying that love is meant to be a painful matter]

          His sadness continues as he makes his way to the ball to see Rosaline. Making him a target for Mercutio’s jokes, though he feels that something dreadful will “bitterly begin his fearful date” at the ball, something dreadful that will end with his “untimely death”.

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          His confusion immediately disappears when he sees Juliet and notices how she appears in the dance like a “snowy dove trooping with crows”. This shows a flaw in Romeo’s character as this contradicts what he said earlier in the play that there being no other woman for him but Rosaline.

          Within short time of meeting Romeo takes Juliet’s hand and their opening moments are expressed in a sonnet “Now Romeo is beloved and loves again, Alike bewitched by the charm of looks. But to his foe supposed he must complain, ...

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