Analysis of Major Characters in Romeo and Juliet

Analysis of Major Characters in The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

Romeo - The name Romeo, in popular culture, the name Romeo has become

nearly synonymous with "lover." Romeo, in Romeo and Juliet, does

indeed experience a love of such purity and passion that he kills

himself when he believes that the object of his love, Juliet, has

died. The power of Romeo's love, however, often obscures a clear

vision of Romeo's character, which is far more complex.

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In fact, even Romeo's relation to love is not so simple. At the

beginning of the play, Romeo pines for Rosaline, proclaiming her the

paragon of women and despairing at her indifference toward him. Taken

together, Romeo's Rosaline-induced histrionics seem rather juvenile.

Romeo is a great reader of love poetry, and the portrayal of his love

for Rosaline suggests he is trying to recreate the feelings that he

has read about. After first kissing Juliet, she tells him "you kiss by

th' book," meaning that he kisses according to the rules, and implying

that while proficient, his kissing lacks originality (I.v.107). In

reference to Rosaline, it seems, Romeo loves by the book. Rosaline, of

course, slips from Romeo's mind at first sight of Juliet. But Juliet

is no mere replacement. The love she shares with Romeo is far deeper,

more authentic and unique than the clichйd puppy love Romeo felt for

Rosaline. Romeo's love matures over the course of the play, from the

shallow desire to be in love, to a profound and intense passion. One

must ascribe Romeo's development at least in part to Juliet; her

level-headed observations, such as the one about Romeo's kissing, seem

just the thing to snap Romeo from his superficial idea of love, and to

inspire him to begin to speak some of the most beautiful and intense

love poetry ever written.

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Yet Romeo's deep capacity for love is merely a part of his larger

capacity for intense feeling of all kinds. Put another way, it is

possible to describe Romeo as lacking the capacity for moderation.

Love compels him to sneak into the garden of his enemy's daughter,

risking death simply to catch a glimpse of her; anger compels him to

kill his wife's cousin in a reckless duel to avenge the death of his

friend; despair compels him to suicide upon hearing of Juliet's death.

Such extreme behavior dominates Romeo's character throughout the play,

and contributes to the ultimate tragedy that befalls the lovers. Had

Romeo restrained himself from killing Tybalt, or waited even one day

before killing himself after hearing the news of Juliet's death,

matters might have ended happily. Of course, though, had Romeo not

such depths of feeling, the love he shared with Juliet would never

have existed in the first place.

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Among his friends, especially while bantering with Mercutio, Romeo

shows glimpses of his social persona. He is intelligent, quick-witted,

fond of verbal jousting (particularly about sex), loyal, and unafraid

of danger.

Juliet - Though Juliet is of an age that stands on the border between