Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet- Character guide, study each characters role and motivation in this play Essay Escalus: The Prince of Verona, his continued annoyance with the ongoing feud between the Capulet and Montague families leads him to warn both families that further fighting between the two will be punished by death. Escalus is also responsible for banishing Romeo from Verona after Romeo killed Tybalt, an act of mercy on the Princes part. At the end of the play when both Romeo and Juliet are dead, Escalus tells the two grieving families they are largely to blame for this tragedy in addition to his own lack of intervention to stop the Capulet / Montague feud Lines 281-295 Paris: A young nobleman, Kinsman to the Prince. Introduced to us in Act I, Scene II, it is Capulets desire that the young Paris marry his daughter Juliet. Juliet later reveals her reluctance to be married so early in life rather than a dislike of Paris personally. When Juliet falls in love with Romeo, Paris is increasingly ignored by Juliet but remains polite, perhaps ignorant that Juliet does not want to marry him nor that she does not love him. At the end of the play Act V, Scene III, he is killed by Romeo, but has his death wish of being placed near Juliet whom he loved, granted by Romeo. Lines 73 74 Montague and Capulet: The heads of two houses opposed to each other. Their feud has been going on for some time, described in the Prologue as an ancient grudge Line 3. We never learn the cause of it, only that it continues to this day. Montagues son is Romeo, Capulets daughter is Juliet. The two heads of their respective households never fight, only it appears do their servants, nephews and children. At the end of the play each man loses their beloved child. Montagues role in the play appears to be limited to concern for his son, and his last act in the play in Act V, Scene III is to raise a gold statue of his former enemys daughter Juliet. Capulets role, however is much greater. First we see him as the wise and charismatic, charming man who prevents Tybalt fighting Romeo at his party and graciously talks with various guests, then later as the firm, ruthless father who would see his daughter marry against her will rather than have his rule questioned Romeo: The son of Montague, Romeo is first introduced to us as a sad, melancholic, apathetic youth. His reason for sadness is universal; Rosaline his love will not return his affections. Not initially daring, it is his friends Mercutio and Benvolio who suggest he gatecrash or arrive uninvited at the Capulet party to see Rosaline. There he meets Juliet falling instantly in love. From this point on, Romeo no longer is melancholic, but dynamic and courageous, risking his life at the Capulets house to be near Juliet and later breaking a banishment order which threatens death for him, to see his Juliet again. Well regarded even by Capulet, his enemy, Romeo is a thoughtful man, unwilling to provoke fighting unlike the hot-blooded, adversarial Tybalt, whom he kills. Romeo also kills Paris but in both encounters sought to avoid fighting, winning only to defend his life. At the end of the play, he commits suicide, rather than live without Juliet, the ultimate display of loyalty for his love Juliet since his life obviously no longer had meaning without her Mercutio: Kinsman to the Prince, Mercutio displays a fine if disrespectful tongue, especially towards Juliets nurse. An unlikely source of wisdom, he tells a depressed Romeo to, Prick love for pricking, and you beat love down meaning Romeo should be rough with love if it is rough with him, and to regain his enthusiasm for love Act I, Scene IV, Line 28 . Funny or dramatic EssayNow that Juliet has just told her mother, she tells her to sort it out with her father who is also coming to know what she has to say about the marriage. When the sun sets, the earth doth drizzle dew . . .. Line 137 Here Lard Capulet uses a lot of similes as well as metaphors, when he says; In one little body Thou counterfeits a bark, a sea, a wind. he also compares Juliets tears to the sea. He has also used a lot of other things in this speech, and then he becomes angry and says to her that he is going to turn into a storm. This now shows the different tone of language that is used by him, and on the other hand, how he changes so suddenly when he is angry, although Capulet is not in front of us, we can imagine quite well what kind of tone of voice is likely to be used. Lady Capulet has been given a two choices, they are, whether she wants to go on her daughters side or go on her husbands side, she chooses to go on to her husbands side, by saying: Ay, sir- but she will none, she gives you thanks. I would the fool were married to her grave! Lady Capulet curses Juliet, instead of taming her husbands anger; she is provoking Capulet and creating more of an uproar. We also learn how Juliet changes the entire atmosphere with refuting to marry Paris and how Lord Capulet changes the atmosphere also, by saying what he says. Lines 140-144 In Capulets angry lines he uses rhetorical questions and repetition, Juliet then cries in annoyance to him and answers him back, this make Lord Capulet much angrier, cursing her, calling her a, green sickness carrion, and other hurtful words like that which makes Lady Capulet come in between them telling them to calm down, this makes Juliet asking for forgiveness and then with some last few curses he then starts telling the nurse off for interrupting, cursing her also calling her an, Utterbowl, which means that save your serious words for when you having a drink with your women-friends. Lines 175-195 These are the last words he says to her, Juliet who is in a state of devastation. In the space of a few minutes, her whole life has turned upside down, her husband has killed her cousin, her mother has turned against her, and her father threatens to disown her. Her only hope is the nurse, the nurse as she is her rock; who has been there for her all her life. She means more to her than her own mother does. If the nurse were to disown her, her whole life would come crashing down, and she would reach the lowest of the low. Shakespeare does the unthinkable he turns the nurse against Juliet which will destroy her. Now that Capulet has just left Juliet turns to the Nurse for help and guidance through this shattering part of her life, at first the nurse tries to defend Juliet, but when Lord Capulet replies to her in utter disgust, she realises that her job could be in jeopardy, if she was to go on defending Juliet-at once evaluates her position and decides against helping Juliet. This plays a large impact on Juliet mentally, as she realises that no-one is there for her anymore. Even the nurse has gone against her, and this causes Juliet to being in a vulnerable position she finds herself in. At the end of the scene Juliet talks to herself, this is known as soliloquy as this has a very good effect on the audience. Juliet has just been betrayed and let down, she is angry as well as very lonely. This is the last and final stage when Juliet becomes suicidal, and she comes up with a solution, she believes now that the friar can only help, this is because the friar is the only one who, can be trusted and maybe, can come up with a solution. For never was a story of more woe than Juliet and her Romeo. Now I will conclude my essay by telling you how Juliets state o mind has changed through out the entire play, first of all she is an innocent young girl, then she sees Romeo who she falls in love with and then she is abandoned by her parents and then her closest family nurse has now gone against her. From start to finish she has gone through ups and downs, now she is in a position of utter devastation.