The Fatal Flaw of Romeo in “romeo and Juliet”

The Fatal Flaw of Romeo in “Romeo and Juliet”

"Romeo and Juliet” revolves around two lovers whose love is destined for tragedy. In the Play “Romeo and Juliet”, Act 2 Scene 3, Shakespeare demonstrates Romeo’s impetuous, shallow and stubborn nature. These character flaws eventually lead to his tragic death and to the death of his love, Juliet. This can by shown in the passage of the Friar rebuking Romeo for his shallowness, and in the passage of the Friar ridiculing Romeo for his impulsive and stubborn act of desiring to wed Juliet, while knowing that their families will not permit their marriage.

Romeo of Montague, the son of a wealthy family, doesn't seem to be an ordinary young man in the beginning of the play. From the first scene of the play, we see Romeo in a dilemma, because of his unreciprocated love for Rosaline. Rosaline is a member of the Capulets, a very old enemy of the Montagues. However, Romeo's impetuousness is revealed when his deep love for Rosaline vanishes upon his first sighting of Juliet, the daughter of Lord Capulet. In Act 1 Scene 5, Romeo first sees Juliet and falls in love with her. (Romeo and Juliet 1.5). "Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night" (Shakespeare, 60). These words spoken by Romeo show us that his heart had never loved before and he is taking back his words of love for Rosaline. His deep love for Rosaline, which even put him into a dilemma, suddenly changes to love for Juliet. This reveals a less admirable quality of Romeo, his impetuousness.

Romeo is not only impetuous he is also shallow because he loves with his eyes and not with his heart. Friar Lawrence scolds Romeo because he observes that Romeo is only concerned for the looks of Juliet and not with her personality. The Friar is so angry that Romeo is so shallow that he forgets his first love, Rosaline with just a glimpse of another, the Friar tells Romeo: “Hath wash’d thy shallow cheeks for Rosaline.” The Friar is asserting that Romeo is superficial and that if he had cleared his mind then he might have been able to perceive that his love for Rosaline was not true and that it was only his lust for her beauty. Romeo is seen as a shallow character throughout the play because he always loves with his eyes and not with his heart. This eventually leads to his marriage to Juliet and, later, his tragic death would be caused by this quality.

While Romeo is romantic at heart, his major character flaw is his impetuous nature. From the onset of the play to its conclusion, Romeo acts without thinking of his consequences. Romeo meets with Juliet after the party and they immediately decide to get married, without reminding themselves that they are enemies. When Romeo departs to the Friar to plead to be married to Juliet, the Friar ridicules Romeo by saying “thy love did read by rote but could not spell.” (Rom 2.3.91). The Friar meant Romeo just loves to love, without really knowing how, because you can’t write correctly without knowing how to spell. Romeo acts on impulse rather than thought. He knows that the love of his life is his family’s enemy and regardless of that