Romeo Montague is one of the leading characters in Shakespeare’s acclaimed tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. The way in which Romeo is presented throughout the play evolves, as Shakespeare wants the audience to witness the development and changes in Romeo’s behaviour and actions, such as his ability to attain a decision. This development is demonstrated when Romeo begins to display signs of increasing maturity through the use of blank verse rather than the rhymed iambic pentameter or prose – evident in his earlier sonnets and rhyming couplets. For example, Romeo displays this advancement, in his sonnet with Juliet, standing on her balcony. Shakespeare uses an abundance of different techniques to aid the way he portrays Romeo’s character, such as the use of various imagery, oxymorons, metaphorical language and personification, which therefore makes Romeo a character that stands out due to the diverse terminology Shakespeare uses. As the play begins, Romeo seems extremely morose, yet he then begins to demonstrate signs of being gentle and amiable; this is opposed to the way in which men behaved, during the Elizabethan era. Throughout Romeo and Juliet, there is an overlaying presence of the typical roles that men and women were supposed to play due to the fact that during antiquity there was a major difference between the way men and women were expected to act; men, typically, were presumed to be masculine and powerful, to defend the honour of their house and disparage their foe, which is quite the opposite of the way in which Romeo acts towards others.
At the beginning of the play, the character of Romeo is portrayed as an infatuated adolescent boy, intensely in love with Rosaline, who scarcely acknowledges Romeo at all. For instance, Romeo announces, in a melancholic tone, “Love is a bright smoke.” This implies how complex the concept of love is for Romeo as he is such a young boy and he has no sense of what he is stating as he is so deeply immersed in a spiral of depression and love. The use of the phrase, “bright smoke” further substantiates Romeo’s confusion and perplexing emotions due to the use of the oxymorons, which Shakespeare uses. The oxymorons used, demonstrate the contrast in the meaning of love and show how different love can be for each and every one of us; this adds to Romeo’s confusion as he has not yet learned and developed the skills that are required to realise that love can be a challenging concept to grasp at such a young age. Shakespeare’s metaphoric way of demonstrating this helps us further understand whom Romeo is as a character because in antiquity, it was common for people to feel lost in the midst of love, as marriage was placed upon children at such young ages, therefore causing them to feel perturbed, which justifies Romeo’s emotions; this causes the audience to sympathise with him.
During sixteenth century Britain, religion was a paramount part of many people’s lives, therefore Shakespeare uses an abundance of religious imagery to portray a character’s authentic emotions. For instance, Shakespeare uses religious imagery to demonstrate that Romeo is quite fickle yet he starts to show traces of being sincerely in love, through the language which he uses, when he exclaims, “O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do.” This suggests multiple different aspects to how Romeo is presented, one of which is that he is quite indecisive as this scene juxtaposes with the scene where he is utterly infatuated with Rosaline yet as soon as he lays eyes upon Juliet, a veil is drawn over his emotions for Rosaline and his life is no longer an “artificial night” but on the contrary, he proclaims that Juliet “teach the torches to burn bright,” suggesting that the elation of his life is once again restored; the antithesis of light and dark imagery is a key aspect of the play. The use of religious imagery, contained in the noun, “saint,” exhibits the purity of their relationship and indicates an advancement, for Romeo, towards a more spiritual consideration of love as he progresses away from the exaggerated descriptions and the depression caused by his love for Rosaline. Shakespeare shows the suggestions of the birth of Romeo and Juliet’s love by intertwining their rhyming lines in their romantic sonnet, to demonstrate that the two characters are destined to be lovers. Through this, the audience is captured due to Shakespeare’s use of dramatic irony because the audience is aware that the two lovers are destined to die; they know that their time together is limited and it is because of this, tension is added to the atmosphere as we await the death of Romeo and Juliet.
Shakespeare’s England was a highly patriarchal society and a time of rampant and profound social inequity; Shakespeare substantiates the fact that they live in a patriarchal society through Romeo calling himself “effeminate” which would not be acceptable in the modern era. The play is set during the High Middle Ages, during which time was made up of several warring families, especially those whom enjoyed luxury and refinement. Shakespeare showed us what he meant in the prologue, “Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean,” by exhibiting – what we as the audience believe to be barbaric behaviour – the fight between Romeo and Tybalt. Through Shakespeare demonstrating to the audience the fight scene, we believe Romeo to be presented as easily provoked and impetuous. For instance, once Romeo discovers that Mercutio was slain by the hand of Tybalt, he shouts, “And fire-eyed fury be my conduct now!” Through saying this phrase Romeo implies that his rage shall now control his actions. This suggests that Romeo is overcome by his abhorrence and grief, therefore he is unable to control his emotions and decides to seek vengeance through slaughtering Tybalt. During the brawl between these two foes, Romeo demonstrates that his violence is hysterical and unstoppable. The use of the word “fire-eyed” shows that Shakespeare is using this to personify the “fury” of Romeo’s emotions. Moreover, the use of the fricatives in “fire-eyed” and “fury” further demonstrates Romeo’s anger. Romeo’s violence in this scene is what would be expected of men in the Elizabethan era because men of noble standing were taught that it was their duty to defend the honour of their house against their foe; this, however, was unlike Romeo as he was often tormented, by Mercutio, for being too sentimental.
During antiquity, many people supposed that fate and luck established one’s future and they often believed that their destiny was written in the stars because many people in the Elizabethan era became fascinated by astrology, therefore Shakespeare incorporates many images of astrology in his writing. For instance, he writes, “star-cross’d lovers” and often uses the stars to compare Juliet’s beauty with. The use of fate is used to present Romeo as a compassionate character. This is shown when Romeo states, “One writ with me in sour misfortune’s book. I’ll bury thee in a triumphant grave.” This demonstrates Romeo’s benevolence towards others as he fulfils Paris’ dying wish – to be laid in the tomb near Juliet. Through this, we establish that Romeo pities Paris as he had experienced an unrequited love from Juliet, similar to Romeo’s unacknowledged love for Rosaline; this fills Romeo with sympathy because Paris will never be able to experience the love which he and Juliet shared. The use of the elaborate metaphor, “sour misfortune’s book” shows that Romeo believes that he and Paris were both the victims of fate. This causes the audience to feel deplored because they are aware of the agonizing fate which lies ahead of the “two star-cross’d lovers” – Romeo and Juliet. Romeo’s considerate actions contradict his actions in Act 3, Scene 1, where he murders Tybalt, which suggests that Romeo did not behave in the way society expected of a man, during this era.
Romeo’s character is presented in many different ways throughout the play but as the play progresses, his maturity blossoms and he asserts his independence through making decisions himself instead of allowing others to establish his future. He is no longer the confused, melancholic character of Act 1 but instead he is transformed into a romantic, impulsive young man, who cast aside his melodramatic woes in order to be with Juliet. Unfortunately, his adamant decisions lead him to make ruthless choices which ultimately lead him to end his life. Through the character of Romeo, Shakespeare aims to convey the message that not all men, in sixteenth century Britain, were crude and boisterous, in fact many were poetic and expressed their emotions in an elaborate and eloquent manner.
How is Romeo presented in the play?
omeo‘s character changes significantly throughout the course of the play. We first meet Romeo in Act One, Scene One in which he comes across as an immature and sulky individual – “Ay me, sad hours seem long”. This also gives the impression that he is self-absorbed, and the fact that he appears to fall in love easily suggests that he is also unpredictable. Additionally, he is easily swept into his emotions.
During Act 1, he is persuaded into attending the Capulet’s party, however he was not originally destined to go. This suggests that Romeo is not good at making his own decisions and his actions are influenced by his friends. this further solidifies his immaturity. Despite this immaturity, even Old Capulet, who is an enemy of the Montague family, knows Romeo as a “virtuous and well governed youth”, which suggests Romeo is different from other young boys of the time.
The first change of Romeo’s character is during Scene Five of Act One during the party at the Capulets’ Mansion. Romeo changes from a sulking, moping character to an impulsive and romantic one. Shakespeare shows Romeo as a romantic character by using to impress Juliet – “O she doth teach the torches to burn bright. It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night”. Romeo also shows his loving side – “my hearts dear love”. He has quickly moved on from Rosaline and fallen in love at first sight.
Romeo is challenged to a duel by Tybalt of the Capulet family in Act 1 Scene 3. When he declines, Tybalt kills Mercutio, and we see Romeo enraged and seeking revenge on Tybalt. He attacks him and kills him. This proves that his love for the Capulet family name is not as strong as the loyalty towards his close friend Mercutio. Romeo is then sentenced to banishment from Verona.
At the end of the play, we see Romeo change character once again as the message that Juliet faked her death arrives too late. Romeo hears the news that Juliet is dead, and he returns to the shell of his past self. He comes to visit the Capulet tomb, and commits suicide, which suggests that Romeo longs to live for love or die for it ; he cannot live without Juliet.
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