What developments do you notice in the characters of Romeo and Juliet in Act 1 to Act V?

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What developments do you notice in the characters of Romeo and Juliet in Act 1 to Act V?

        

At the beginning of the play, Romeo’s love is unfocused, and his infatuation for Rosaline is unreturned. He is love-sick and moans on about his state, “Tut I have lost myself,  I am not here. This is not Romeo, he’s some other where.” He is self absorbed with his misery, and his love presents itself as being very artificial, and he compares his love to being trapped in prison, “Not mad, but bound more than a madman is; shut up in prison, kept without my food, whipped and tormented.” He strikes a Petrachan pose, and his speech is conventional and artificial, full of oxymorons, “Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health, still-waking sleep, that is not what it is!” which suggest a very confused and chaotic state of mind. We can also see that he creates himself an artificial setting for sadness, making himself an ‘artificial night’, and the way he suddenly breaks into “Where shall we dine?” in the middle of his mourning further confirm that what he has for Rosaline is merely an infatuation.

Upon meeting Juliet, he is struck by her beauty, and now often associates her with light, “So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows”, and they reflect his sincerity of getting to know her, and the genuine love which he holds for Juliet. He still remains very impulsive, climbing over the wall to see Juliet, but he now shows a certain sense of focus in what he wants and is clear about his own feelings, “My life were better ended by their hate, than death prorogued, wanting of thy love.”, willing to make sacrifices. He still remains idealistic and unrealistic however, telling Juliet that “with love’s light wings did I overperch the walls”, and he has the tendency to do things without reflecting on his deeds. He is overcome with haste and impulsiveness, “O let us hence, I stand on sudden haste” and this aspect of his character remains to the end, though he is more tempered later.

Romeo, after marrying Juliet, tries to control his temper, and refuses to be provoked by Tybalt, “But love thee better than thou canst device”. He is calm and tries to stop the fight between Mercutio and responds with peace. However, he remains loyal to his friend and in the end gives in to rude will and kills Tybalt, “And fire-eyed fury be my conduct now”. He is rather idealistic in expecting everyone else to be as morally upright, and this causes the tragic end of Mercutio, when his attempt at peacemaking to end the family feud ends tragically.

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When Romeo first hears of his sentence of banishment, he immediately becomes hysterical, telling the Friar that “banished” is “death mistermed”, and he later becomes so distressed that he starts rolling on the floor, “taking the measure of an unmade grave”, which is impulsive and immature behaviour.

Romeo’s musing of his dream in Act 5 Scene 1 is pretty short and phrased simply, “When but love’s shadows are so rich in joy”, and this shows signs of maturation, where his speech is less flowery and more meaningful.

Just before he dies, however, he is able to deal with situations ...

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