"Prick love for pricking, and you beat love down,"
meaning Romeo should be rough with love if it is rough with him, and to regain his enthusiasm for love. Therefore Mercutio helps me understand character development in Romeo and of the theme of love.
Juliet’s father Lord Capulet is a caring father at first, referring to her as his,
“only beloved child,”
and he thinks he knows what is best for her and what she wants. He starts off being considerate of Juliet;s feelings when talking about her possibly marrying Paris,
“but woo, gentle Paris, get her heart,
My will to her consent is but a part.”
However, when Juliet is grieving over Tybalt, he completly forgets about her feelings and forces her to marry. When she refuses to marry Paris, he becomes angry, threatening to turn her out on the street and to disinherit her. Capulet’s behaviour allows me to further understand to theme of intergenerational conflict and of the character of Juliet, showing her confident, stronger side that dares to stand up to her controlling father.
The nurse in “Romeo and Juliet” is in many ways a substitute mother to Juliet, as she cares deeply for her and even encouraged Romeo and Juliet’s relationship in the hope that it will make Juliet happy. After Tybalt's death, however, the nurse becomes less sympathetic and encourages Juliet to consider marrying Paris,
“O, he’s a lovely gentleman!
Romeo’s a dishclout to him, an eagle madam!”
The fact that Juliet could tell the nurse of her feelings towards Romeo but not her parents shows the distance between Juliet and her parents. Again strengthening the theme of intergenerational conflict.
Another character close to Juliet is Tybalt, Lady Capulet’s nephew and thuggish, aggressive man who stirs up trouble. He really hates the Montagues and makes this clear when he says,
“I hate the word, as I hate all hell,
All Montagues and thee,”
Immediately it is clear to me that Tybalt is aggressive when he joins in a fight between to peasants of the two houses and proceeds to insult Benvolio. He makes the feud between the Capulets and the Montagues clearer and emphasises the extent to which the two families do not get on. This makes the idea of Romeo and Juliet’s love even more unexpected and shows how difficult the families make it for them. This allows me to understand why the two young lovers do not tell their parents, instead marry in secret and tell who they can trust.
The character that comes across to me as being the one that Romeo can trust and talk to most is Friar Lawrence. He acts as an advisor to Romeo and really helps the plot develop. The tragedy is completed when he leaves the tomb and Juliet commits suicide. He marries Romeo and Juliet in the hope that it would end the feud between the two families, shocked that Romeo has forgotten about Rosaline so quickly.
In conclusion, through the use of minor characters such as Montague, Tybalt and Mercutio, Shakespeare has developed the plot, themes of love, death, fate and intergenerational conflict and the characters in “Romeo and Juliet”. I think that Shakespeare had done this successfully, developing each character to increase my understanding of different aspects of the play.
