Act 1 scene 5 sees the change in Romeo’s character, from sad, gloomy and melancholy to a new, reborn, care-free Romeo. As soon as he sets eyes on Juliet, his melancholy disappear, which makes you wonder whether Rosaline really was his true love, or whether it was simply infatuation. From lines 42 – 50, Romeo perceives Juliet as a source of light “she doth teach the torches to burn bright (line 42) ” and “So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows (line 45)”. This talk is nothing like what we have heard so far from him. Romeo then goes on to question himself about Rosaline by saying, “Did my heart love till now? … For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night”. This also makes you question whether Juliet really is his true love because he hasn’t even spoken to her yet, but already he feels she is for him. Romeo and Juliet’s first 14 lines form a conventional love sonnet, as in the first prologue. Romeo’s first words to Juliet, speak of Juliet’s hand as a “holy shrine”. Here, Romeo is comparing Juliet’s hand to a shrine that travellers would go to visit. Juliet has clearly changed Romeo completely, and within less than one day Romeo is transformed from being sad and gloomy because of Rosaline, to being head-over-heals in love with Juliet. Romeo’s references to religion during this sonnet – e.g. “Have saints not lips, and holy palmers too? (line 97)”, makes Juliet seem like something holy, and can be said to represent true love. Romeo uses a lot of emotion throughout his conversations with Juliet, for example on line 94 Romeo says, “To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.” There is also a considerable amount of wordplay throughout this sonnet, which adds depth and meaning to the vows they make. For example, Juliet on Line 98 says, “And palm to palm do holy palmers’ kiss.” Here it refers to both the palms of a hand and the holy palms people receive on Palm Sunday and again religion is used to add meaning. Both Romeo’s and Juliet’s language has developed a great deal since they first met. Juliet’s vague talk about Paris has turned to definite talk of love for Romeo, and Romeo’s depressing talk about Rosaline has turned to obsessive, devoted talk of Juliet.
In Act 2 Scene 2, Romeo and Juliet both clearly show different ideas about love. From lines 2 – 25, Romeo is hiding outside Juliet’s balcony, giving a soliloquy about Juliet, and again, perceiving her as a source of light. He says “It is the east and Juliet is the sun (line 2)” … “The brightness of her cheeks would shame those stars (line 19)” … “Her eye in heaven would…stream so bright that birds would sing and think it not night. (lines 20 – 22)”. This comparison of Juliet with light makes Juliet seem precious, innocent and pure. Romeo’s next lines, lines 27 – 32, again show Juliet as being a “bright angel”. Juliet’s declaration of love to herself (from lines 38 – 49) is used as a convenient dramatic device, and allows Romeo to step forward and announce himself. It speeds up the action and allows Romeo to declare his love immediately (lines 49 – 51). Romeo and Juliet’s ideas of love clash side by side in a number of places throughout this scene. When Romeo first declares himself, Juliet’s first concern is for Romeo’s safety “And the place death, considering who thou art, If any of my kinsmen find thee here.” Romeo’s response, like a lot of his language with Juliet, is very ornamental and unreal, “With love’s light wings did I o’erperch these walls”. He is saying that Cupids wings gave him the power to break physical boundaries, but it could also be said to mean Juliet’s sexual boundaries as well. Again, Juliet responds with very plain, down to earth language by saying “If they see thee they will murder thee.”, and again Romeo responds with very unreal ornamental language “Look thou but sweet, and I am proof against their enemy. (lines 72 – 73)”. By line 85, we can see than Juliet has had enough of Romeo’s flowery language and just wants a straight answer. “If thou dost love, pronounce it faithfully (line 94)” – Juliet wants Romeo to be truthful, and mean his answer, but she can almost predict that his answer will include swearing by something, and she says, “Yet if thou swear’st thou mayst prove false (lines 91 and 92)”, so she wants Romeo not to swear, but to simply say, yes he does love her, but she wants it to come from his heart, and not just for his sexual needs. She also says “At lovers’ perjuries, they say Jove laughs (lines 92 and 93)”. Jove was the king of the Roman Gods, so she’s saying, just be truthful and mean what you say. She has had enough of Romeo’s flowery language. Romeo then goes on to say, “Lady, by yonder blessed moon I vow, that tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops – (lines 107 and 108)”, so it sounds as if Romeo hasn’t really been listening to Juliet as she kept talking about him being truthful, instead he was just thinking about his new love, Juliet, and drinking in the atmosphere. He has done just what Juliet was telling Romeo not to do – swear by something and use his ornamental language, to say that the moon paints the tops of the fruit trees with silver. You can tell that Juliet is getting annoyed with Romeo because she interrupts Romeo to say “O, swear not by the moon, th’ inconstant moon, that monthly changes in her circle orb, Lest that thy love prove likewise variable (lines 109 – 111)” She is telling Romeo not to swear by the moon because it is constantly changing, and Juliet doesn’t want Romeo to be constantly changing his love for Juliet. Romeo clearly hadn’t been listening to Juliet as she was speaking earlier, because he then asks Juliet “What shall I swear by? (Line 112)” and Juliet has already said that she didn’t want Romeo to swear at all, simply to let his answer come from within him, from his heart. She goes on to back this up, by saying, “Do not swear at all. Or, if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self, which is the god of my idolatry, and I’ll believe thee. (Lines 113 – 115)”. She tries to make herself plainly understood, by telling Romeo not to swear, but that if he must swear, he should swear by his true self because that is what she adores, and then she will believe that he really does love her. Romeo is being very obstinate because he still tries to use flowery language “If my heart’s dear love – (line 116)” and Juliet interrupts him, guessing that he was going to swear by something again. She has finally had enough and says “Although I joy in thee, I have no joy of this contract tonight. It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden, too like the lightening, which doth cease to be ere one can say “It lightens.” Sweet, good night. (Lines 117 – 121)”. She thinks it is time they said goodbye for that night because their exchange of vows is too sudden and rash, and she goes on to compare their exchange of vows to lightning, that is very quick and ends before you can say “It’s lightning”. She doesn’t want their love to be like that. On line 143 she is getting ready to say goodbye and she says for one last time “If that thy bent of love be honourable…” – In other words, if your intentions as a lover are truly honourable… she then says that Romeo can marry her if he tells a messenger who will go to Romeo the next day.
When the nurse calls Juliet, she exits, re-enters again, and again exits – so she is actually exiting twice in this scene – a charming way to convey her excitement for Romeo, and the possibility of marriage. It leads nicely on to Juliet saying in line 188 – “Parting is such sweet sorrow”, which demonstrates the emotion she is feeling. In this scene, you can see the unmistakable and stark differences between Romeo and Juliet’s way of speaking about love. Romeo uses more ornamental and flowery language, whereas Juliet is more sensible and mature, and simply wants Romeo to be truthful in his language. She does not use ornate language; simply plain English so that Romeo can clearly understand what she is trying to say, even if he doesn’t always seem to want to listen to Juliet.
Romeo goes straight from seeing Juliet to Friar Lawrence (in Act 2 Scene 3), where Friar Lawrence is worried because he has come to see him so early in the morning. Romeo expresses his excitement and his answer to the Friar’s question, line 47 – “But where hast thou been, then?” is confused and jumbled. Romeo say on lines 50 and 51, “Where on a sudden one hath wounded me, that’s by me wounded”. He is saying that suddenly someone wounded me with love and I wounded them also with love. In Romeo’s excitement, the answer is very confused, and the Friar has to ask Romeo to “Be plain (line 55)”. Romeo responds in plain language and gives the Friar an outline of what has happened. He goes on to say that he and Juliet want the Friar to marry them in a private ceremony that afternoon. On lines 85 – 87, Romeo tells the Friar “I pray thee, chide not. Her I love now doth grace for grace and love for love allow. The other did not.” Here, Romeo is making it sound as if the only reason he wants to marry Juliet is because she loves him and it sounds as if it is a bit of a novelty to Romeo, something that could wear-off. However, the Friar agrees to marry the couple, because it might solve the feud between the two families. The fact that Romeo and Juliet want the marriage that same day and Romeo’s last words in that scene (Line 93 – “Oh, let us hence. I stand on sudden haste.”) also back-up the idea that the decision to marry may not be very well thought-out, possibly a snap-decision.
Romeo’s newfound love for Juliet has changed him. For the first time Romeo is able to joke with his friends. His first lines in this scene express his sense of excitement, and joy “Good morrow to you both”. The first time we see Romeo speak with one of his friends (Benvolio), his entrance wasn’t quite so enthusiastic – Act 1 Scene 1, line 152 “Is the day so young?”. This shows the different in Romeo already. He then says, “Pardon, good Mercutio, my business was great, and in such a case as mine a man may strain courtesy.” Here, Romeo is more or less ‘dishing the dirt’ on what happened the previous night. Line 21, Romeo suggests Mercutio has a feminine side by saying, “Pink for flower.” We can tell Romeo is in a good mood because he plays along with the joke and says “Why, then is my pump well flowered?”. From lines 75 – 79, Mercutio comments on Romeo’s changed character. He says “Why, is not this better than groaning for love? Now thou art sociable. Now thou art Romeo. … for this driveling love is like a great natural that runs lolling up and down to hide his bauble in a hole.” He is saying Romeo is back to the way he used to be. He also suggests that he was after Rosaline, because of her beauty, only to have sex with her. The nurse then enters with Peter, a Capulet servant. When the nurse asks if any of them know where Romeo is, he also jokes. From lines 103 – 104 he says, “I can tell you, but young Romeo will be older when you have found him than he was when you sought him.” Again, this shows an almost new Romeo. Before Juliet, he couldn’t even joke with his friends, let alone with someone he doesn’t even know. However, when Romeo gets a chance to speak to the nurse alone, he quickly becomes serious. “What wilt thou tell her (Juliet), Nurse? Thou dost not mark me.” He is making sure the nurse is paying attention to him, instead of being cross about Mercutio and Benvolio’s rude comments.
Act two scene six sees Romeo and Juliet meeting in Friar Lawrence’s cell, ready to be whisked away by the Friar for a hurried wedding ceremony. When Romeo first sets eyes on Juliet in this scene, they quickly exchange vows of love once again. Romeo speaks from lines 24 – 29 “Juliet, if the measure of thy joy be heaped like mine … unfold the imagined happiness that both receive in either by this dear encounter.” He is asking her to tell him about the happiness she imagines they will have in their marriage. Juliet answers by saying “Conceit, more rich in matter than in words, … They are but beggars that can count their worth. But my true love is grown to such excess I cannot sum up sum of half my wealth.” She is saying that her love cannot be expressed in words, and only beggars can express their love in words. She cannot even speak of half her wealth. Here again, you can see the contrast between Romeo’s and Juliet’s comments on love. Romeo is more or less saying, if you are as happy as I am, which makes it seem as if he can measure his happiness, this makes you question whether Romeo is marrying for love or for Juliet’s beauty. Juliet, on the other hand, seems to be marrying for pure love because she says that she cannot express how happy she is. The last fourteen lines of that scene amount to an exchange of vows, and are only lacking the rhyming scheme of a sonnet, although the last couplet is given to the Friar as he whisks them away to get married.
To conclude, I believe Romeo is affected greatly by love in Act One and Act Two. He changes from being very miserable and suffering from Petrarchan love for Rosaline, to obsessive love for Juliet. Romeo expresses his love with very ornamental language throughout the play, and it could be said he is making rash, immature decisions. Juliet, however, expresses her love for Romeo in a far more sensible, down to earth way. I believe Romeo’s idea of love is more airy-fairy compared with Juliet’s sensible, more mature ideas.
