Romeo & Juliet
Character Points
Romeo Montague
• Romeo is the only son of the Montague
family. He is a serious young man inclined to
act with his heart over his head.
• In the play he falls in love with Juliet at the
ball Act1Scene5. He proclaims his love for
Juliet in the balcony scene Act2Scene2. He
marries Juliet Act2Scene6. He kills Tybalt in a
duel and is exiled Act3Scene1. He kills Paris
and dies in Juliet’s tomb Act5Scene3.
Romeo Montague
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Romeo enjoys being in love, even with the wrong
woman.
After marrying Juliet, he seeks friendship with the
Capulets.
When Tybalt kills Mercutio, his anger propels him to kill
Tybalt, an action he instantly regrets.
After hearing of Juliet’s supposed death another violent
reaction ensues, he must kill himself.
He finds poison and rushes back to Verona.
Once there, nothing can stop him.
He offers Paris the chance to escape but Paris dies, like
Tybalt before him, a victim of Romeo’s rage.
Beside Juliet’s body, Romeo swallows the poison.
Romeo Montague
Romeo Montague
Dreamer
Lover
Rash
Emotional
Poetic
Passionate
Loyal
Juliet Capulet
• Juliet is the only child of the Capulets, the rival
family to the Montagues. She is young, sensitive
and thoughtful. She is not afraid of loving Romeo
not matter what the cost.
• In the play Juliet falls in love with Romeo at the ball
Act1Scene5. She proclaims her love for Romeo in
the balcony scene Act2Scene2. She marries Romeo
Act2Scene6. She spends a first and last night with
Romeo Act3Scene5. She takes the drug the Friar
has supplied Act4Scene3. She wakes in the tomb
and kills herself Scene5Act3.
Juliet Capulet
• Juliet’s youth is a key factor in her character. She
falls helplessly in love with Romeo and, reassured
by his declarations in the balcony scene, she wants
to marry him.
• She changes from a dutiful and obedient daughter
following her parents wishes to an independent
young woman making her own decisions in her
declarations of love.
• Tybalt’s death and Romeo’s banishment leave her
desolate.
• In desperation she turns to the Friar, but to make
his plan work she need enormous courage; as her
speech in Act 4 Scene 3 demonstrates.
Juliet Capulet
Juliet Capulet
Young
Independant
Loyal
Obedient
Strong
Mature
Courageous
Lover
Theme One: Love
Romeo and Juliet has become
forever associated with love.
The play has become an iconic
story of love and passion, and
the name “Romeo” is still used
to describe young lovers.
Shakespeare’s treatment of love
in the play is complex.
He uses love in its many guises
to thread together the key
relationships in the play.
Fickle Love
Some characters fall in and out of
love very quickly in Romeo and Juliet.
For example, Romeo is in love with
Rosaline at the start of the play,
which is presented as an immature
infatuation.
Today, we might use the term
“puppy love” to describe this.
Romeo’s love for Rosaline is
shallow and nobody really believes
that it will last, including Friar
Laurence:
Fickle Love
Romeo. Thou chid'st me oft
for loving Rosaline.
Friar Laurence. For doting,
not for loving, pupil mine.
Paris and Juliet
Similarly, Paris’ love for Juliet is borne
out of tradition, not passion. He has
identified her as a good candidate for a
wife and approaches her father to
arrange the marriage.
Although this was the tradition at the
time, it also says something about
Paris’ staid attitude towards love.
He even admits to Friar Laurence that
in his haste to rush the wedding
through he hasn’t discussed it with his
bride-to-be:
Friar Laurence. On Thursday, sir? the
time is very short.
Paris. My father Capulet will have it so;
And I am nothing slow to slack his haste.
Friar Laurence. You say you do not know
the lady's mind:
Uneven is the course, I like it not.
Paris. Immoderately she weeps for Tybalt's
death,
And therefore have I little talked of love;
Romantic Love
Our classic idea of romantic
love is embodied in Romeo and
Juliet. Shakespeare presents this
as a force of nature, so strong
that it transcends societal
conventions.
This idea is established in the
play’s prologue with the line “a
pair of star-cross'd lovers take
their life.”
Romantic Love
Perhaps Romeo and Juliet's love
is fate - there love is given
cosmic significance which can
therefore overturn the social
boundaries of “fair Verona.”
Their love is disallowed by the
Capulet and Montague
households, and Juliet is to
marry Paris – Yet, they
inevitably find themselves
drawn together.
Other Types of Love
Many of the friendships in the
play are as sincere as Romeo
and Juliet’s love for one another.
The close relationships between
Juliet and her Nurse, and
between Romeo, Mercutio and
Benvolio are meaningful and
heartfelt.
They care deeply for another
and protect each others honor –
this ultimately costs Mercutio
his life.
Theme Two: Hate
The Capulet’s hate the Montagues and vice
versa.
We don’t know why though the Prince says
their grudge was the result of an “airy word”
(an insult)
 The Younger
generation of both
families continue this
feud.
 It is this hatred that
leads to tension and
conflict in the play
Tybalt’s Hate
Tybalt is unreasonably hateful.
The mere sight of Romeo at the
Capulet party angers him to the
point of murder
It is Ironic that the party which
brings the two lovers together sows
the seeds that destroy their lives.
Perhaps Shakespeare is showing
the paradoxical relationship
between the two emotions.
Just as Romeo chooses Juliet as
the object of his romantic desire,
Tybalt chooses Romeo as the object
of his murderous desire.
Does Love or Hate triumph?
Does love or hate conquer in the play?
Romeo’s love for Juliet and hopes for
happiness are destroyed by Tybalt’s hatred of
Romeo, Mercutio’s hatred of Tybalt and
Romeo’s failure to make amends through love
(Act 3 Scene 1)
The families hatred forces the two to end their
lives.
The love that prompted their rash actions
however brings an end to the families hatred.
Once again Shakespeare shows us that Love
and Hate are intertwined.
Theme Three: Fate
In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare explores the theme
of fate by allowing the audience to be party to his
characters’ destiny.
In the opening lines of the play the audience is told
what is going to happen to the lovers: “a pair of starcross'd lovers take their life.”
Throughout the story, the audience is put in an
omnipotent, god-like position from the start
encouraging them to think about fate and to what
extent our actions are free.
Because we know Romeo and Juliet’s fate from the
outset we are constantly hoping that they will take a
different course – perhaps that Romeo will arrive just
after Juliet has woken.
However, their fate is sealed and we are forced to
question our own destiny and ability to make free
choices.
Theme Three: Fate
When Mercutio shouts “a plague on both your
houses” in Act 3, Scene 1, we are reminded of the
protagonists’ fate.
This bloody scene in which characters are killed gives
us a glimpse of what fate has in store, marking the
beginning of Romeo and Juliet’s tragic downfall.
Is it fate that Friar Lawrence’s plan to inform Romeo
of Juliet’s faked death is not realized due to
unforeseen circumstances?
Is it fate that Romeo kills himself when he does?
Romeo and Juliet see omens throughout the play,
continually reminding the audience of their fate.
Their death is a catalyst for change in Verona: the
dueling families are united in their grief creating a
political shift in the city.
Perhaps Romeo and Juliet were fated to love and die
for the greater good of Verona.