Romeo and Juliet Coursework
Romeo and Juliet Coursework
The play "Romeo and Juliet", which was written by William Shakespeare conveys many different ways in which the character of Romeo changes during the tragic play of Romeo and Juliet as well as the ways this contributes to the tragedy. It is very clear that the character of Romeo changes for many different reasons, the main reasons being the way he speaks, they way in which the characters speak to him, the way he speaks with other characters, what others do to him and how this contributes to the tragedy along with any other factors that should be considered. In my conclusion, I will be talking about all the different range of ways he has changed and whether other characters contribute to the tragedy of "Romeo and Juliet".
In the opening scene, we are introduced to Romeo who expresses his feelings about Rosaline, who we understand does not return Romeo's lust. It is highly significant that she doesn't return his desire for her, because it shows Romeo bad-tempered that he isn't having sexual intercourse with her. The motive for this is because she has sworn a Vow of Chastity, meaning she can't have sex before marriage. We clearly see that Romeo's love is just artificial, "Out of her favour, where I am in love." The way in which Romeo speaks is highly relevant, as he uses oxymoron to describe his emotions, "O Brawling Love, O Loving Hate." Our first impressions of Romeo are depressed and confused, which could mean he doesn't love Rosaline but lusts her. When we are introduced to Romeo, he is upset because he can't have sex with Rosaline and he lusts her.
Romeo then meets Juliet at the Capulet party, where he turns up uninvited. When he sees her, he is struck by her beauty. They approach each other and begin to speak. Romeo's actions are exceptionally romantic, as he speaks in a sonnet, which is a fourteen line poem which usually has a rhyming scheme. He woos her and they fall in love. Romeo's character has changes incredibly quickly starting from how he felt about Rosaline, who he lusts and how he feels about Juliet, who he loves. We can tell this is love by the way he speaks. ...
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Romeo then meets Juliet at the Capulet party, where he turns up uninvited. When he sees her, he is struck by her beauty. They approach each other and begin to speak. Romeo's actions are exceptionally romantic, as he speaks in a sonnet, which is a fourteen line poem which usually has a rhyming scheme. He woos her and they fall in love. Romeo's character has changes incredibly quickly starting from how he felt about Rosaline, who he lusts and how he feels about Juliet, who he loves. We can tell this is love by the way he speaks. Romeo meeting Juliet makes Romeo forget about Rosaline and move on to his love for Juliet.
The extent of Romeo's love for Juliet is revealed in Act 2 Scene 2. Romeo decided to risk his life and climb into Juliet's garden so he can speak to her. The balcony scene is very important because it underlines Romeo's love for Juliet and hoe romantic he can be, "O speak again, bright angel..." and, "It is my lady, O it is my love." Romeo is starting to understand how it feels to actually love someone and not just want to have sex with her. We really start to see Romeo in love and it is clear, he would do almost anything for Juliet.
After Romeo and Juliet are married, Juliet's cousin Tybalt challenges Romeo to a battle. Tybalt insults him, tying to get him to fight back, "Thou art a villain." Tybalt then kills Mercutio and Romeo kills Tybalt. The reason that Tybalt kills Mercutio instead of Romeo is because Romeo refuses to fight him,. This is because Romeo knows he is his brother-in-law. Tybalt does not know this because Romeo and Juliet got married in secret. Romeo didn't want to fight him, "I do protest I never injured thee." and, "Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee Doth much excuse the appertaining rage. To such a greeting..." Romeo killing Tybalt was a pivotal scene in the play and it leads to the death of Romeo and Juliet. It is ironic that Romeo tries to prevent fighting and that is the reason which leads to his downfall. He then regrets killing Tybalt by saying, "O, I am fortune's fool!" Later Romeo is banished from Verona, "Let Romeo hence in haste, else, when he is found, that hour is his last." This shows that Romeo's actions change from when he is very romantic to Juliet, as to when he murders her cousin. This shows that Romeo's actions did play a major part to the death of himself and Juliet as he doesn't think before he acts.
When Romeo doesn't wait and think, he makes mistakes. In Act 5 Scene 1, Romeo finds out about the death of Juliet from the Balthasar, however she is not actually dead. The Friar actually gave Juliet a potion so it could look like she was dead. Romeo rushes to her aid, even though he had been banished from Verona. If Romeo had waited for a letter from the Friar, which undoubtedly would come, he would probably of saved his and Juliet's life. However, as Romeo was at the beginning of the play about his lust for Rosaline, is impatient, "Leave me, and do the thing I bid thee do." He is starting to become childish, like when he locked himself in his room at the beginning of the play. This shows, again that Romeo is playing a major part to his and Juliet's death as he is impatient.
Some characters speak very kindly to Romeo like Benvolio at the beginning as he tries to convince Romeo to find a new lover, "Examine other beauties." This shows that Romeo is very popular with his families, however that can't be said about the Capulet family, as Tybalt wants to fight Romeo. He didn't even know he was married to Juliet. Juliet, even though she is a Capulet, has mixed views about Romeo after the death of her cousin. She speaks critically to begin, "Beautiful tyrant, fiend angelical! Dove feathered raven, wolvish-ravening lamb." She then changes her mind and praises him, "For such a wish! He was born not to shame." Tybalt knows that Romeo has a short fuse so when Romeo refuses a battle, he insults him, "Romeo, the love I bear thee can afford no better term then this: thou art a villain." This shows that Romeo may not be the only cause of the tragedy however, it could be because others know how to irritate him.
Romeo's change in character does contribute to the tragedy, however, there are other factors that should be considered such as the death of Benvolio. It was ironic that he wanted to stop a fight, and that led him to kill Tybalt, Juliet's cousin. Romeo missing the letter was partly his fault because if he had thought it over, then he should of known that the Friar would have known and sent a letter. He believed he was doing the right thing when he went to Verona, which was a reason that he and Juliet died. Another factor, through no fault of his own was the families that they were rivals and from the moment they met, it was destined that they would not be together. They were "Star-crossed lovers." The couple were desperate to get together. Romeo's impatience, which led him to go to Verona was another key factor. The history of the families, was however the main reason that they weren't together. It was destiny. When Romeo killed Tybalt, it showed that he didn't think about the future for him and his wife, Juliet.
Romeo was the main reason for the tragedy. He had many aspects leading to his downfall and if he had been more patient and thought before he actually did something, the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet would of probably never occurred. In my opinion Romeo and Juliet were never going to be together. They were "star-crossed lovers" and came from two rival families.
