Juliet: Lord and Lady Capulet's daughter, she meets Romeo at her father's party and falls instantly in love. She secretly marries Romeo, and, when he is exiled, agrees to the frightening plan to fake her death but is troubled when he kills her cousin Tybalt in a street fight. She later takes a sleeping potion administered by Friar Laurence in an attempt to escape the city, but wakes up to find Romeo dead beside her. She takes his sword and kills herself.
Friar Laurence: A priest, he plays a crucial role in the play by marrying Romeo and Juliet's in his cell in the hope that the feud between the Montague and the Capulet's will now end. A friend of Romeo, he initially does not take Romeo's love for Juliet seriously, remembering Romeo's obsession with Rosaline. Later he unwittingly plays a part in the two lover's deaths when he first puts Juliet to sleep with a deathlike potion which fools Romeo into thinking Juliet is dead leading to his suicide by self administered poison followed by Juliet's death after her discovery that Romeo is dead. Friar Laurence's letter to Romeo explaining that Juliet was not really dead never made it to Romeo. At the end of the play, despite his own admission of guilt for Romeo and Juliet's death, Escalus, The Prince of Verona forgives him.
Nurse to Juliet: In many ways she is like mother to Juliet, she cares deeply for Juliet's best interests, even encouraging Juliet's dangerous relationship with Romeo in the hope that it will make Juliet happy. After Tybalt's death, however, Nurse becomes less sympathetic and later when Capulet orders Juliet to marry Paris; she defends Juliet at first but later sensibly suggests that Paris would not be so bad after all, because she thinks that it would be better for Juliet.
Tybalt: Nephew to Lady Capulet, he is hateful towards all Montague’s, especially Romeo. When he sees Romeo at the Capulet party, his immediate instinct is to fight, but as Capulet warns him, to hold peace at the party, which stopped Tybalt going after Romeo at the party. Romeo in Act III, Scene I, kills Tybalt after he had killed Romeo's friend, Mercutio. Until this point, Tybalt had failed to make Romeo fight, but dies when he finally fights Romeo.
Mercutio: Kinsman to the Prince, Mercutio sometimes has a disrespectful manner, especially towards Juliet's nurse. An unlikely source of wisdom, he tells a depressed Romeo to, "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 (Act I, Scene IV, Line 28). Mercutio is killed in Act III, Scene I when he rashly draws his sword on Tybalt who had been trying unsuccessfully to make Romeo fight. He is Famous for the words, "a scratch, a scratch; marry, 'tis enough" which describe his fatal wound by Tybalt, Mercutio's death results in Tybalt's death when Romeo gets revenge because of the death of his friend (Line 98).
Benvolio: Nephew to Montague, and friend to Mercutio and Romeo, his role in the play is minor, serving mainly as a friend to Romeo. But he is the one who delivers the news about Juliet.
The Classic love story - love at first sight
The first part of the play is said to be a love story, first in the play we have the feuding families which makes it a love story because with out the feuding families there wouldn’t be a story because if it was just two people from the opposite sides of town who didn’t have a problem with each other it they wouldn’t have all the obstacles to over come and then there is Romeo who is in love Rosaline, then he falls in love with Juliet and then we have Romeo and Juliet’s wedding.
The language of lovers can sometimes be mysterious as Shakespeare shows in this play. It is an idea that love enters through the eye and Benvolio is the first to mention this by using many proverbs. He also feels that the cure to solve Romeo's love is to love another:
"Tut, man, one fire burns out another's burning" Act1 sc2 44.
When Romeo begins to speak of his love for Juliet the speech that he uses is very similar to the earlier representation of his love for Rosaline. He uses courtly love language and images,
He describes Juliet as being so radiant that she outshines the torches which is metaphor saying that Juliet is brighter that the torch:
"O she doth teach the torches to burn bright" Act1 sc5 43
But quickly his speech becomes simpler and the lines are shorter portraying that he is learning to speak of his true feelings for her.
"It is my lady. O it is my love!
O that she knew she were!" Act2 sc2 10-11
Shakespeare devotes part of the play a question of whether you can be in love at first sight. He makes reference to Romeo and Juliet as "star-crossed lovers". Which means, the two lovers are let down by fate from the very beginning. Although they are not meant to be together, they may still truly love each other. Romeo first sees Juliet during her parents' party. His reaction in Act I scene IV shows that Juliet's appearance really affects him:
O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!
It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night
As a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear-
Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear! (Act I, scene IV, 45-48)
He says to himself, "Did my heart love til now?"(Act I, scene IV, 53) Romeo quickly decides that he is in love with Juliet even though he has not yet spoken to her. But Juliet is more sensible, She refuses his advances at first, but later allows him to kiss her. At this point, the feelings of both characters appear to be at a same level. However, fate tests their affection to each other by revealing their identities. Juliet is found to be a Capulet, and Romeo a Montague; a discovery upsetting them both very much. However, they do not question their love. This leads the audience to believe their love is real. By presenting opposing views of their love, Shakespeare leaves room for the audience to question Romeo and Juliet’s love without completely destroying it.
In showing his audience “love at first sight” between Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare produces a thread through his play, which tempts his audience to believe that it is possible that all will be ok despite the barriers, which are placed in their way.
In act 2 scenes 2 we see Romeo spying on Juliet though her bedroom window and he is talking about her beauty, then coincidently see utters his name. As Romeo is talking about Juliet to himself his language is gentle and kind:
“but soft what light from yonder window breaks”(act2 scene2 2-3)
Shakespeare uses blank verse in this scene, this makes what Romeo is saying sound affectionate and gentle this is to show Romeos admiration for Juliet. Romeo is constantly talking about Juliet’s beauty even though he know that she is a Capulet, it doesn’t seen to bother him he is just so love struck he doesn’t care that she is a Capulet, Shakespeare shows this by constantly using gentle, kind and complementary words:
O speak again, bright angel, for thou art
as glorious to this night, bringing o’er my head,
as is a winged messenger of heaven (act 2 scene2 ll 26-27)
As we can see Romeo is comparing Juliet to an angel, Romeo feels like Juliet is so precious she is like an angel from heaven. Romeo uses language like this all though the scene.
To make the scene more romantic and more like a love story Shakespeare has the two main characters on their own they are talking one on one with no one else there to say that they shouldn’t.
As Shakespeare uses all of the gentle language it make us think that every thing will be ok and that they are made for each other and will love each other for ever.
In act 2 scene 6 we see the wedding of Romeo and Juliet, first of all the frier Lawrence warns Romeo about the suddenness and violence of his passion and then Juliet turns up to get married.
Shakespeare uses dramatic irony this is where the audience know something or are going to find it out later, the something that the audience know the character that is involved doesn’t know.
So smile the heavens upon this holy act
That after-hours with sorrow chide us not. (Act 2 scene 6 ll1-2)
This is the frier Lawrence warning Romeo about what may happen he is say that sorrow may come with what he is about to do and that if there is sadness not to blame anyone, Shakespeare uses the dramatic irony because he know that what frier Lawrence is saying is right as do the audience, Shakespeare use this irony again in line 7-8 when it is Romeo is talking to frier Lawrence:
Then love-devouring death do what he dare;
It is enough I may but call her mine (act 2 scene 6 ll7-8)
Romeo is saying that if his and Juliet’s love is going to cause their death then they will let death do his worst because their love is very strong and what ever may happen he will still love her and he is going to marry her, this is irony because the audience know that their love will cause them and the people they love to die.
Later on in the scene Romeo and Juliet express their love for each other and the frier Lawrence guides them to be married:
Come come and we will make short work;
For, by your leaves you shall not stay alone
Till holy church incorporate two in one.
Here the frier Lawrence is saying that he will marry Romeo and Juliet quickly in church with their permission there will become one together.
In this scene Shakespeare always uses blank verse and towards the end all the language is gentle and kind both frier Lawrence and Romeos words
The tragic love story
Although Shakespeare writes a classic love story, which gives the appearance of true love overcoming the barriers, which are placed in its way, he also writes a tragedy. The tragic feature is that the audience have an understanding right from the beginning of the play that things are going to go wrong. References already made to the Chorus’ comments in the Prologue as to “star-cross’d lovers” and “death-mark’d love” let the audience in on what the main characters do not know. That is, that the end of their love must be tragic death.
Therefore the feud between the Montague’s and Capulets is a main theme of the play. The world that Shakespeare has chosen to show is violent and hate-filled from the very beginning. The prologue shows the audience exactly how the feud will play a major role throughout the production. The Chorus states:
The fearful passage of their death-marked love,
And the continuance of their parents' rage
Which, but their children's end, naught could remove,
Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage…(prologue, 9-12)
This shows that everything in the play relates to the progress of Romeo and Juliet's love, and the ongoing family feud. We are always aware of the tension between the two sides because of this conflict. The violence is minor at first, but intensifies throughout the play. In the first scene, Benvolio of the Montague household fights Tybalt of the Capulet household. However, this is a mere scuffle in the street. No one is seriously harmed.
Shakespeare writes Romeo and Juliet in verse using iambic pentameter, he did this to show the class differences. He uses iambic pentameter, which is the grammatical language for a line of verse that has ten syllables in it. Iambic means the stress is on the second syllable and Pentameter shows us that a line has five "feet" or clusters of two syllables adding up to ten syllables in a line.
This is a part in the play where Capulet is telling Paris to marry his daughter and to love her:
But woo| her gen | tle par | is get | her heart
My will | to her | consent | is but part
An she| agrees | within | her scope | of choice
lies my | consent |and fair | accord | ing voice
This show that Juliet’s father is superior to the other people he is talking too shakespheare only uses iambic pentameter when the person that is speaking in that verse is powerful and angerfilled. This verse is hardly ever used in the love scenes because the language in the love scenes is soft and gentle but iambic pentameter is strong and powerful.
In act 3 scene 1 this is the start of the fights between Mercutio and Tybalt and then Romeo and Tybalt. First of all in the scene Benvolio is anxious about walking the streets of Verona when the Capulets are likely to be around, Mercutio be a jokey character is just mocking Benvolio saying that he is being a quarreller himself:
I pray thee, good Mercutio, lets retire:
The day is hot, the capels are abroad,
The language that Benvolio uses shows that he is quite sensible and doesn’t really want to fight. What Benvolio is trying to say is that he thinks him and Mercutio should go because the Capulets are out and about, but all that Mercutio can do is mock him, which show that Mercutio isn't as level headed as Benvolio.
Then a little bit later Tybalt arrives, Mercutio starts to provoke Tybalt, but what Mercutio doesn’t realise is that Tybalt’s interest are not in Mercutio they are in Romeo who soon presents itself. As we can see the main character is dropped into a tragic scene, in the tragic scenes the main characters are dropped in to chaos but in the love scene the main characters are one on one.
When Tybalt starts to insult Romeo, Romeo try’s to make peace with him because he doesn’t want to quarrel with Juliet’s family because he can see if he does he will never have a chance with Juliet.
Boy, this shall not excuse the injuries
That thou hast done me; therefore turn and draw
Here Tybalt is challenging Romeo to a fight but because Romeo doesn’t want to fight with him he answers with something polite - trying to regain peace with Tybalt.
I do protest I never injured thee,
but I do love thee better than thou can'st devise
thill thou shall know the reason of my love.
and though so, good capulet, whitch name i tender
as dearly as my own, be satified.
This speech that Romeo give is actually really true because he does respect and the love the name because he is married to a Capulet. As Romeo says this Mercutio disapproves witch causes him and Tybalt to fight, the fight results in Mercutio being killed. As Mercutio is dying his language becomes very short and tight, it is his death speech that become very short:
A plague o' both your houses!
They have made worms' meat of me .I have it,
and soundly too. Your houses. (Act III, scene 1, 90)
This is where he dies. Which cause the tragedy of Romeo killing Tybalt, which is a big tragedy because this cause Romeo to be banished which means that he can no longer see his love.
Possible examination of Act 3 scene 1 Introduction of 1 main character - Romeo
Into tragic scene Romeo is trying hard not to quarrel with Juliet’s relatives NB - The way in which Mercutio’s language becomes very short and tight in his death speech.
In Act 5 scene 3 we see the Romeo and Juliet’s death scene. Shakespeare uses dramatic tension by letting the audience in on the secrets that the main characters do not know like the secret of Juliet’s death pot6ion is any a potion to send her to sleep and the fact that Romeo’s letter dint arrive this is what makes the love story a tragedy because death is certain.
Conclusion
The two strands of the classic and tragic love stories are closely woven together so that the audience has to pay attention to the changes in the characters attitudes to each other and to their families
