Romeo Character Analysis: Evolution Amidst Feuds in ‘Romeo and Juliet’

The Tragic Cycle of Revenge and Death

In this essay, I will be talking about how Romeo changes throughout the play. During the play, Romeo interacts with a couple of different characters. One of Romeo’s close friends gets killed by Juliet’s cousin ?Tybalt. ?In the play Romeo and Juliet, it is Tybalt’s hatred of Romeo that is the cause of all the deaths. Over time, six people who were very important in the play ended up dying. First, it was Mercutio- stabbed by Tybalt.

Then Tybalt died from being stabbed by Romeo. Romeo killed Tybalt because Tybalt killed his close friend Mercutio.

Lady Montague died from a broken heart. Paris wanted to marry Juliet, but Romeo wouldn’t let that happen, so he stabbed Paris. After Juliet’s plan, Romeo ends up poisoning himself because he thinks the love of his life has died. After Juliet saw what had happened, she decided to stab herself. Overall, many people were at fault for these killings, but they were mostly Romeo’s fault. Romeo and Juliet couldn’t be together only because of their last name. Their families didn’t like each other because of their last name. In the play, it doesn’t say if their family had a huge fight or anything like that. All we know is that they don’t like each other.

Delving into Romeo's Complex Character

Romeo was a man with a bright mind. Since his family was different from Juliet’s, they all had a different look. Romeo had brown hair. He also had hazel/brown eyes. There is a conversation between Romeo and Juliet that I really like because of the meaning of it.

Romeo: “Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged.”
Juliet: “Then have my lips the sin that they have taken.”
Romeo: ”Sin from my lips? O tres pass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again.”

It’s a touching conversation because they’re talking about their love for each other and how to take each other’s sins away just by a kiss. Friar Lawrence said, “Young men’s love lies in their eyes, not their hearts. Basically, he is saying that if a young man sees a pretty girl, he is in love! How else could Romeo be sure he loved Rosaline one day and then sure he loved Juliet the next? Romeo is ?the son and heir of Montague and Lady Montague. A young man of about sixteen, Romeo is handsome, intelligent, and sensitive. Though impulsive and immature, his idealism and passion make him an extremely likable character. He lives in the middle of a violent feud between his family and the Capulets, but he is not at all interested in violence. His only interest is love. At the beginning of the play, he is madly in love with a woman named Rosaline, but the instant he lays eyes on Juliet, he falls in love with her and forgets Rosaline.

Thus, Shakespeare gives us every reason to question how real Romeo’s new love is, but Romeo goes to extremes to prove the seriousness of his feelings. He secretly marries Juliet, the daughter of his father’s worst enemy; he happily takes abuse from Tybalt, and he would rather die than live without his beloved. Romeo is also an affectionate and devoted friend to his relatives Benvolio, Mercutio, and Friar Lawrence. ?He loves to wallow in self-pity. He does not exactly foresee the consequences of his actions, but he does know what’s going on in the world, and he’s really trying to stay out of it.

He’s a lover, not a fighter, except when pushed to extremes. He’s brave in defense of his friends, as well as having the courage to truly love. During the course of the play, Romeo matures from adolescence to adulthood as a result of his love for Juliet and his unfortunate involvement in the feud, marking his development from a comic character to a tragic figure. Romeo was willing to kill to be with Juliet.

A Critique on Familial Feuds and Shakespeare's Heartbreak Narrative

This play was a heartbreak. Many people love this play because it’s so touching, but I just do not fan. I mean, it’s a good story, but I’m just not into it. My thesis statement was:??In the play Romeo and Juliet, it is Tybalt’s hatred of Romeo that is the cause of all the deaths. Thinking of this thesis statement was a challenge, but once you look back through the story, you realize that Romeo and Juliet’s love was hard to work because their families were not okay with each other. This huge feud is only because of their last names. Juliet’s family was wealthy, and Romeos was not. Overall, this story was sad because most people died in the end, and it was just heartbreak.

References

• Shakespeare, W. (1597). Romeo and Juliet. London: Richard Field for John Smethwick.

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