In Romeo and Juliet account for the changes that take place in the character of Romeo through the course of the play. Explore the use of language and staging in your answer.

Tybalt spots Romeo at the Capulet party ' This, by his voice, should be a Montague ' he wants to kill Romeo for intruding the party but Capulet intervenes and says 'content thee, gentle coz, let him alone ....'. Tybalt, still furious vows an oath to get his revenge upon Romeo when he says 'I will withdraw, but this intrusion shall....Now seeming sweet convert to bitter gall'. What he is saying here, is that he will calm down for now because Capulet has told him to, but he will get his revenge later.

With his love for Juliet comes maturity to Romeo. He comes out of his self-pitying state and is happy and fulfilled. Whilst it is clear that Romeo is in love with Juliet, his language is still exaggerated and fancy. However Juliet is more serious and honest when she talks about her love for Romeo. This is evident when she says 'O swear not by the Moon th' inconstant Moon, That monthly changes in her circled orb', here she wants Romeo to be honest with her. In act two scene 2 they decide to marry however events are moving to quickly and Juliet is aware of this when she says '....I have no joy of this contract to-night, It is too rash, too unadvis'd, too sudden, Too like the lightning which doth cease to be.... Here she is likening the pace of their affairs to lightning, which is light amidst the darkness but also quick and deadly. The audience would be excited at this point of the play because it is obvious that tragedy is about to occur.

It is Act 2 Scene 6 and at this point of the play it is made obvious again how Romeo is devoted to Juliet in a more authentic way then his desire for Rosaline because he is going to marry her and was willing to denounce his family name in order to be with her. At the beginning of this scene Friar Lawrence says 'So smile the heavens upon this holy act, That after hours with sorrow chide us not'. Here he is asking fate to be happy with the marriage and not punish them for it afterwards. This is a clear example of dramatic irony because tragedy will befall the two lovers. Romeo says '.... Then love-devouring death do what he dare, It is enough I may but call her mine'. Here he is personifying death as if it is a wicked human being and is also saying that because he has been able to be with Juliet, then death can do what it wants to him because she has made him so happy, another example of dramatic irony.

Friar Lawrence, soon afterwards says ' ....love moderately, long love doth so....' Which is an obvious contradiction to the speed at which the events are moving in Romeo and Juliet's relationship. Romeo and Juliet hope that if they marry, then their separate families will be able to accept their love more so then if they proclaimed their love as two silly teenagers. Friar Lawrence hopes that the marriage will bring the two feuding families to become peaceful and civilised to one another, this is evident when he says 'In one respect I'll thy assistant be; for this alliance may so happy prove, to turn your households rancour to pure love'.

It's Monday afternoon at the start of Act 3 Scene 1. You could say that this scene is pivotal in the outcome of the play as it changes Romeo and brings about his separation from Juliet, which brings about drastic measures, which conclude with drastic circumstances. The scene starts with Mercutio and Benvolio walking through a street in Verona. Benvolio wants to go back home because 'The days is hot, the Capulet's abroad' and feels that if they cross each other they shall 'not 'scape a brawl'. Meaning that the weather is making them hot and agitated so it's almost certain there will be a fight. Mercutio replies with 'by my heel I care not'. Afterwards, Tybalt enters the scene and the mood has become tense and anxious. Tybalt is looking for Romeo because he wants revenge upon Romeo for intruding on the Capulet feast. He says 'gentlemen, good den, a word with one of you' but Mercutio replies provocatively with 'make it a word and a blow'. Mercutio is looking for a fight despite Benvolio reminding him that they are not allowed to fight in public and that people are watching. However, Tybalt only has quarrel with Romeo, so when Romeo enters Tybalt say's '....here comes my man....'.

The entrance of Romeo brings a less hostile mood to the scenario because he himself is in a happy mood. Tybalt insults Romeo by calling him a 'villain' and it is clear that Tybalt wants a fight. But when Romeo married Juliet he became a part of the Capulet family, he knows this and subsequently says 'Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee, Doth much excuse the appertainery rage....I see thou know'st me not'. But Tybalt doesn't understand that they are family and insists on fighting him. Tybalt says '....this shall not excuse the injuries....' Romeo insists again that he will not fight him; Mercutio misinterprets this as cowardice and exclaims 'O calm, dishonourable, vile submission'. Then Mercutio and Tybalt start shouting at each other and take out their swords. Romeo jumps between them asking Benvolio to help 'beat down their weapons....' And asks them to stop and calm down 'hold Tybalt, good Mercutio'. But Tybalt stabs Mercutio under Romeo's arm and in a panic, runs away. Mercutio blames Romeo for what happened. He felt that if Romeo hadn't got in the way then he could have been ready for the attack, this is made clear when he says '....why the devil came you between us? I was hurt under your arm.' But Romeo was only doing what he thought was right, 'I thought all for the best' he replies. In his hastiness, Mercutio wishes 'a plague a' both your houses', because he blames Romeo for standing in his way and the Capulet and Montague houses for sustaining the feud which ensured his death.

The mood becomes revengeful and enraged; Romeo feels that his love for Juliet had made him 'effeminate' and feeble in his judgement. He is so angered by Mercutio's murder that he will fight to the death with Tybalt 'Either thou or I, or both, must go with him' he says to Tybalt. They fight and Tybalt dies. Benvolio then tells Romeo that he must go because of the Prince's decree 'Romeo, away be gone....the Prince will doom thee death....' so Romeo flees.

Benvolio describes in detail what happened during the encounter in a somewhat biased way in Romeo's favour to the Prince, which meant that Romeo is not killed, but banished instead. Lady Capulet continues the feud by saying '....For blood of ours, shed blood of Montague....'. What has happened in this scene will have changed Romeo forever and will have certainly doomed his relationship with Juliet because Romeo's banishment means they will have to go to extreme measures to be together. Also, by killing Tybalt, he has ensured that he can never be accepted by the Capulet family and perhaps that Juliet might hate him for killing Tybalt. Romeo knows this and exclaims 'O I am fortunes fool'. Romeo is being guided by fate he is not in control of his own life. Mercutio, Romeo's best friend and a member of the Montague household is a dramatic device used by Shakespeare to fuel the feud, as is Tybalt, Juliet's cousin and a member of the Capulet household. Now that these two are dead, Benvolio (also a dramatic device used by Shakespeare to dampen the hostility between Mercutio and Tybalt) is no longer needed in the play.

It's Monday Afternoon at the beginning of Act 3 Scene 3. At this stage in the play Romeo Has regressed back to his juvenile and adolescent emotional state. He is hopeless, over-dramatic and petulant and his language is full of oxymorons. The Friar sees this and says '...I see that madmen have no ears. Romeo sees banishment from Verona and therefore Juliet, worse than death. But the Friar Lawrence is optimistic and tries to explain to Romeo that banishment rather than death can only be a good thing '.... this is dear mercy, and thou seest it not'. Characters in the play like Tybalt, Friar Lawrence, Nurse, Lady Capulet etc, don't understand the conu a man?' (Is he going to be a man and be sensible?), and then tells him that he should be happy because Juliet is alive, Tybalt who wanted to kill him is out the way and he has escaped death with banishment- '.... what rouse thee man, thy Juliet is alive.... Tybalt would kill thee, but thou slew'st Tybalt.... The law that threaten'd death becomes thy friend....'. Somewhat content, with Friar Lawrence's logical view on things and agreeing to his plan that now he should be with Juliet to consummate their marriage, Romeo heads off to Juliet not before the nurse has given him a ring.

On Monday night at the start of Act 3 scene 5, Romeo and Juliet have consummated their marriage and the sun is coming up. Romeo says '....streaks do lace the severing cloud in yonder East....I must be gone and live, or stay and die'. But Juliet says '....stay yet, thou needs not be gone'. In this instance Romeo is being practical and Juliet is being unreasonable. She wants him to stay and so does Romeo, but he knows that if they are to see each other again then he must leave before daybreak. Here we can see the authenticity of Romeo's love for Juliet because he is thinking ahead in order for the relationship to survive. In this scene Juliet says a few things that will warn the audience that tragedy will occur and that fate is controlling the events and the speed of them. She tells Romeo about a dream she had '....thou art so low, As one dead in the bottom of a tomb, either my eyesight fails, or thou look'st pale. Here she is saying that she had a dream of Romeo dead in the bottom of a tomb. This is an example of dramatic irony because she is the one who will be found laying in a tomb. Also she says 'O fortune....I hope thou wilt not keep him long, bust send him back'. Here she is pleading with the Stars and fate to bring Romeo back to her unharmed.

Capulet and Lady Capulet have told Juliet that if she doesn't marry Paris then they will disown her '....by my soul, I'll ne'er acknowledge thee....' Says Capulet. Distraught about he idea of betraying Romeo she goes to Friar Lawrence for advice. She's so panic-stricken and frenzied that she wants to kill herself '....I long to die'. But Friar Lawrence tells her that if she has enough strength to kill herself then she will have enough strength to take this potion that will make her appear to be dead, but she'll just be in a deep sleep, 'when presently through all thy veins shall run: A cold and drowsy humour: for no pulse....No Warmth, no breath shall testify thou livest, The roses on thy lips and cheeks shall fade....appear like death....shalt continue for two and forty hours....then awake as from a pleasant sleep....' Here he is saying that when she takes the potion the blood in her veins will run slower, her body will go cold, no pulse will be detectable and her breath will go cold so that it looks as if she's dead and that the effect will last for Forty-Two hours and then she will wake up. She agrees to take the potion the day before the wedding and that he will send a letter to Romeo in Mantua so that he knows what's going on. But Romeo doesn't receive the letter because Friar John (who was assigned to transporting the note) wasn't allowed to leave Verona because he was suspected of having the Plague. Juliet has already taken the potion and her funeral has taken place, so she will be laying the Capulet tomb. It is now Act 5 Scene 1, which takes place on a Wednesday morning. Romeo is waiting in Mantua for news of the situation. He tells us of a dream he had '....I dreamt my lady came and found me dead....'. This is another example of dramatic irony because the audience/reader can easily predict from this what will happen next. Then Balthasar enters and tells Romeo (who is not aware of Friar Lawrence's plan) that Juliet is dead, 'Then she is well, and nothing cane be ill, Her body sleeps in Capels' monument....'. Romeo, who was in a happy mood at the very beginning of the scene, is now in a severely distressed mental state at the news of his love's death. He says

'Then I deny you stars' which means he isn't going to be ruled by fate, that he is going to make his own course. But Romeo doesn't realise that he doesn't have any control over his destiny, that no matter what he does, his fate is already predetermined in the stars. Romeo then decides that the world is against him and that he wants to commit suicide '....the world is not thy friend, nor the world's law, the world affords no law to make thee rich....'. Here he is doing exactly what fate wants him to do-rather than heed Balthasar's advice to wait and '....have patience....', he calls on an Apothecary to give him some drugs powerful enough to kill him, at first the Apothecary refuses to give him the drugs 'such mortal drugs I have, but Mantua's law is death to any he that utters them'. But Romeo uses the Apothecary's poverty to sway him into selling him the drugs. Romeo then makes his way to Juliet's grave in Verona where he plans to kill himself by her grave. They dont understand the concept of love; they have never felt it so they cannot understand it. Romeo says to Friar Lawrence 'thou canst not speak of that thou dost not feel'. Then Romeo behaving over-dramatic and foolish once more attempts to kill himself '....Murder'd her kinsman. Oh tell me Friar, tell me, in what vile part of this anatomy Doth my name lodge? Tell me that I may sack the hateful mansion.' Here he wants to rid himself of the evil part of him that killed Juliet's cousin Tybalt. The Nurse snatches away the dagger and the Friar asks him 'art thou a man?' (Is he going to be a man and be sensible?), and then tells him that he should be happy because Juliet is alive, Tybalt who wanted to kill him is out the way and he has escaped death with banishment- '....what rouse thee man, thy Juliet is alive....Tybalt would kill thee, but thou slew'st Tybalt....The law that threaten'd death becomes thy friend....'. Somewhat content, with Friar Lawrence's logical view on things and agreeing to his plan that now he should be with Juliet to consummate their marriage, Romeo heads off to Juliet not before the nurse has given him a ring form Juliet.

It is Monday night at the start of Act 3 scene 5, Romeo and Juliet have consummated their marriage and the sun is coming up. Romeo says '....streaks do lace the severing cloud in yonder East....I must be gone and live, or stay and die'. Here he is saying that the Sun is coming up and that he'd better go now or the guards will find him. But Juliet says '....stay yet, thou needs not be gone'. In this instance Romeo is being practical and Juliet is being unreasonable. She wants him to stay and so does Romeo, but he knows that if they are to see each other again then he must leave before daybreak. Here we can see the authenticity of Romeo's love for Juliet because he is thinking ahead in order for the relationship to survive. In this scene Juliet says a few things that will warn the audience that tragedy will occur and that fate is controlling the events and the speed of them. She tells Romeo about a dream she had '....thou art so low, As one dead in the bottom of a tomb, either my eyesight fails, or thou look'st pale. Here she is saying that she had a dream of Romeo dead in the bottom of a tomb. This is an example of dramatic irony because she has foreseen her lover's death. Also she says 'O fortune....I hope thou wilt not keep him long, bust send him back'. Here she is pleading with the Stars and fate to bring Romeo back to her unharmed.

Capulet and Lady Capulet have told Juliet that if she doesn't marry Paris then they will disown her '....by my soul, I'll ne'er acknowledge thee....' Says Capulet. Distraught about he idea of betraying Romeo she goes to Friar Lawrence for advice. She's so panic-stricken and frenzied that she wants to kill herself '....I long to die'. But Friar Lawrence tells her that if she has enough strength to kill herself then she will have enough strength to take this potion that will make her appear to be dead, but she'll just be in a deep sleep, 'when presently through all thy veins shall run: A cold and drowsy humour: for no pulse....No Warmth, no breath shall testify thou livest, The roses on thy lips and cheeks shall fade....appear like death....shalt continue for two and forty hours....then awake as from a pleasant sleep....' Here he is saying that when she takes the potion the blood in her veins will run slower, her body will go cold, no pulse will be detectable and her breath will go cold so that it looks as if she's dead and that the effect will last for Forty-Two hours and then she will wake up. She agrees to take the potion the day before the wedding and that he will send a letter to Romeo in Mantua so that he knows what's going on. But Romeo doesn't receive the letter because Friar John (who was assigned to transporting the note) wasn't allowed to leave Verona because he was suspected of having the Plague. Juliet has already taken the potion and her funeral has taken place, so she will be laying the Capulet tomb. It is now Act 5 Scene 1, which takes place on a Wednesday morning. Romeo is waiting in Mantua for news of the situation. He tells us of a dream he had '....I dreamt my lady came and found me dead....'. This is another example of dramatic irony because the audience/reader can easily predict from this what will happen next. Then Balthasar enters and tells Romeo (who is not aware of Friar Lawrence's plan) that Juliet is dead, 'Then she is well, and nothing cane be ill, Her body sleeps in Capels' monument....'. Romeo, who was in a happy mood at the very beginning of the scene, is now in a severely distressed mental state at the news of his love's death. He says 'Then I deny you stars' which means he isn't going to be ruled by fate, that he is going to make his own course. But Romeo doesn't realise that he doesn't have any control over his destiny, that no matter what he does, his fate is already predetermined in the stars. Romeo then decides that the world is against him and that he wants to commit suicide '....the world is not thy friend, nor the world's law, the world affords no law to make thee rich....'. Here he is doing exactly what fate wants him to do-rather than heed Balthasar's advice to wait and '....have patience....', he calls on an Apothecary to give him some drugs powerful enough to kill him, at first the Apothecary refuses to give him the drugs 'such mortal drugs I have, but Mantua's law is death to any he that utters them'. But Romeo uses the Apothecary's poverty to sway him into selling him the drugs. Romeo then makes his way to Juliet's grave in Verona where he plans to kill himself by her grave. Throughout the play there were several points where the tragedy, which would inevitably occur, could have been avoided. I could say maybe if Juliet had told her father that she was already married and in love with Romeo when he tried to force her into marrying Paris, or perhaps if Romeo had stopped playing with his words and just told Tybalt that he had married Juliet or maybe if Friar Lawrence had prepared another means of contacting Romeo before going through with the plan or possibly if Romeo and Juliet had stopped being so hasty and thought about their actions and their consequences better. I could say well why didn't Juliet just run away to Mantua herself, or not marry Paris- she'd offered to deprecate her family name earlier anyway, '....i'll no longer be a Capulet.'. But we already know at the beginning of the play in the chorus that tragedy is fated to occur and that no matter what they did, their fate was already predetermined in the stars. It is Thursday night at the beginning of Act 5 Scene 3. Romeo gets down to Juliet's coffin in the Capulet tomb. At this point in the play Romeo is emotionally distraught, upset and distressed if you were critical you could say that he was behaving hysterically and that, if he just calmed down and thought things through then the tragedy that would occur, could have been avoided.

On his way to the tomb he comes across Paris who is mourning the death of Juliet by bringing her flowers and sweet water. When Romeo comes in with a crowbar, mattock and torch, Paris thinks that Romeo is there to vandalise Juliets' grave, they fight and Paris is killed. With his dying breath Paris asks Romeo to bury him with Juliet 'if thou be merciful, open the tomb, lay me with Juliet'. This is similar to the love Romeo felt for Rosaline, it is superficial and external only; it isn't real because he never got to know Juliet at all during the play. Also the fact that Romeo killed Paris and threatened to kill Balthasar is he didn't leave the churchyard, further portrays the emotional pain, anguish and suffering that Romeo would be feeling. It is because of this that Romeo kills Paris (Romeo is not an intentional murdered, his character is too soft and flowery), Paris didn't understand that Romeo just needed to be there and grieve for his wife.

In Romeo's final speech he says 'O my love, my wife, Death upon that hath suck'd the honey of thy breath, Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty'. Here he is saying that although she is dead (or so he supposes) she is still beautiful. He also says 'Tybalt....forgive me cousin'. He is obviously asking Tybalt to forgive him so that he has a clear conscience before killing himself and being judged by God. And more significantly he says 'thou desperate pilot , now at once run on the clashing rocks, thy sea-sick weary bark....'. Here he is likening his life to a sinking ship and himself to a captain who is in an impossible position. From this we can determine that Romeo recognises that fate is controlling his life and his destiny. At this point in the play Romeo would be feeling extreme emotional distress. To be critical you could say that he was behaving irrationally, hysterically and petulantly. However, these maybe the side-effects of the feelings he has for Juliet which are so strong that he is willing to kill himself so he can be with her in heaven.

At the beginning of the play, we see a dejected, miserable and despondent Romeo. This is due to his superficial, unrequited and shallow love for a woman named Rosaline. By the end of the play ( a mere 5 days later), Romeo has matured and become more adult-like due to the love he experienced for Juliet. However, he is still hasty, rushed and frantic in his actions, he does not think things through or resolve to be patient at many points in the play, which, conclude in his eventual death. I thoroughly enjoyed studying the play, it was an excellent example of Shakespeare's talent with regards to designing an incredible plot and keeping the reader/audience interested and excited throughout, despite making the next phase of the play inevitable at times.

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