On seeing Juliet for the first time, Romeo says:
“Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight!
For never I saw true beauty till this night.”
(Act 1.5 51-52)
Romeo has gone from being infatuated with Rosaline, to completely forgetting he had ever loved her so much.
Romeo uses lots of religious imagery and language when trying too woo Juliet.
“My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.”
(Act 1.5 94-95)
Romeo is now infatuated with Juliet. He has gone from being incurably depressed, to being totally in love.
The first signs of change in Romeo’s character are apparent in act 2. He is no longer depressed, but now playful and happy.
Romeo thinks that Juliet is his dream girl and can’t believe that it’s not all a dream.
“O blessèd blessèd night! I am afeard,
Being in night, all this is but a dream
Too-flattering sweet to be substantial.”
(Act 2.2 139-141)
Romeo takes a mature step forward when he speaks to the friar about marrying Juliet even though he is a bit child-likely excited about the marriage.
“Oh let us hence, I stand on sudden haste.”
(Act 2.3 93)
Romeo is a scheming character. He has a plot ready so that it is possible for him and Juliet to marry at Friar Lawrence’s.
“Bid her devise
Some means to come to shrift this afternoon,
And there she shall at Friar Lawrence’s cell
Be shrived and married.”
(Act 2.4 148-150)
Even Romeo’s kinsmen remark on such a big change in Romeo’s mood when he becomes playful and makes jokes.
“Swits and spurs, swits and spurs, or I’ll cry a match.”
(Act 2.4 58)
Mercutio implies that this was Romeo’s manner before he became dispirited over Rosaline.
“Now art thou sociable, now art thou Romeo.”
By act three, after Romeo has been married to Juliet, Romeo has matured a lot. This is particularly apparent in his peacemaking ways.
Romeo tries to make peace with Tybalt as he is now family, Tybalt being Juliet’s cousin. Romeo tries to explain to Tybalt that he cannot fight him, as he loves him, as he is a Capulet, a name that he holds close to him in Juliet.
“But love thee better than thoust canst devise,
Till thou shalt know the reason of my love;
And so, good Capulet, which name I tender
As dearly as mine own, be satisfied.
(Act 3.1 61-65)
The reason for this change, according to Romeo, is Juliet.
“O sweet Juliet, thy beauty hath made me effeminate
And in my temper softened valour’s steel!”
(Act 3.1 104-106)
So according to Romeo, Juliet had changed him to become soft and submissive compared to the fighter he used to be with Mercutio and Benvolio.
Romeo is prophetic of events to come, knowing that trouble lies ahead for him.
“This day’s black fate on moe days doth depend,
This but begins the woe others must end.”
(Act 3.1 110-111)
Romeo’s serene mood snaps after Tybalt kills Mercutio and returns for more. Romeo has got so angry at Tybalt’s actions, he becomes vengeful and agrees to fight Tybalt because:
“ Either thou or I, or both, must go with him [Mercutio]”
(Act 3.1 120)
As Romeo slay Tybalt, he must face the consequences. Death would have been the usual penalty, but as Tybalt slay Mercutio beforehand, the prince is more lenient and exiles Romeo. Still, to a Romeo who has taken a step backwards in his maturity due to the news, it is still death to him, as he cannot see his Juliet.
He goes to Friar Lawrence’s Cell, becomes suicidal and irrational to the point of over reaction.
“And world’s exile is death, then ‘banishèd’
Is death mistermed. Calling death ‘banishèd’,”
(Act 3.3 20-21)
“Hast thou no poison mixed, no sharp-ground knife,”
(Act 3.3 44)
Then suddenly, Romeo’s mood swings as the nurse gives him a ring that Juliet had sent to him.
“How well my comfort is revived by this.”
(Act 3.3 165)
After losing all his confidence with his news of being banished from Verona, he regains it somewhat and plays with the idea of being caught and killed with Juliet.
“Let me be tane, let me be put to death,
I am content, so thou wilt have it so.”
(Act 3.5 18-19)
We do not see Romeo in act four as this is when he is exiled to Mantua, yet when he is re-introduced in act five a more prominent change is visible in Romeo.
He is even more prophetic than act 3, claiming he had a dream about his Juliet.
“I dreamt my lady came and found me dead.”
(Act 5.1 6)
Romeo now is more thoughtful, asking about his family and how life is in Verona. Being alone in Mantua meant that Romeo had no one but himself to depend upon, therefore he had to grow up fast.
On hearing the news of Juliet’s supposed death, Romeo doesn’t immediately breakdown in despair, like he would have done in the past, but he thinks logically and devises a plan quickly.
“Get me ink and paper.”
(Act 5.1 25)
Romeo decides to return to Verona to die with his love, all that remains is how he will kill him self. He remembers an apothecary he had encountered once and goes there to buy poison from the man there. Romeo is grateful to the man as he is so low and feels the need to die along with Juliet.
Romeo’s desperation to be with Juliet causes him to be aggressive and determined to the point of desperation. He threatens Balthasar with his life unless he goes and leaves Romeo to do what he must do.
“By heaven I shall tear thee joint by joint.”
(Act 5.3 35)
Romeo is desperate to die; he admits it to Paris before he kills him out of desperation.
“Tempt not a desperate man.”
(Act 5.3 59)
Paris thinks that Romeo has come to deface the Capulet family vault, as he knows not of Romeo and Juliet’s true love and marriage. Paris arrests Romeo for breaking into and damaging the vault. Romeo is determined to end his life with Juliet so much so, that he kills Paris, just so that he can proceed with his mission.
It is at this point, when Romeo beholds Juliet’s body, that we realise that Romeo is far from the fickle boy we met at the start of the play: he is know a mature mane who is in love. His love for Juliet is everlasting.
“Death that hath sucked the honey of thy breath,
Hath no power yet upon thy beauty.”
(Act 5.3 92-93)
Thus, Romeo dies a totally different character from the lovesick teenager he is in act one. The ending is even more sad as, the fact of the matter is, Romeo won’t have the chance to prove to the world what a responsible, loving character he has grown into over such a short period of time and noone will ever understand his true self.
