Romeo Montague
By Ben, Shaun, Nick J and Sam N
Character Outline
By Ben Hassall
Physical Description
Tall
 Skinny yet seemingly strong
 Handsome (apparently)
 Caucasian
 Brown hair, blue eyes
 Clean and clear and under control skin
 To summarise, a “pretty mummy’s boy”
look if you believe in stereotypes
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Personality Traits
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Lover. The most obvious trait. In a world ruled of
hate, Romeo chooses to disobey this and show
love. Love for his kinsmen, love for Juliet.
Impulsive. Another obvious trait. This is shown to
us by how Romeo time and time again goes after
what he wants, and only what he wants, in most
cases – Juliet.
Heroic. When Romeo avenges Mercutio by killing
Tybalt it can be seen as heroic. The ‘evil’ Tybalt
killing an ‘innocent’ in Mercutio and the good
Romeo avenging him.
Foolish. Romeo proves this time and time again.
He does not think about his actions, he justs acts.
It is his foolishness that helps seal his fate. Killing
Tybalt, coming back into Verona from exile – both
seemingly foolish and senseless acts.
Easily led. Romeo acts solely on his emotions,
they dictate what he does. Again, he does not think
about what he is doing – he just does it based on
how he is feeling at the time. This also helps lead
to his and Juliet’s death as he allows his rage, his
love, and his sadness to dictate his actions.
Peacemaker. Romeo tries to make peace between
the two families by not fighting Tybalt but only
succeeds in this goal when he sacrifices his life.
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Moody. Romeo changes mood every 5 minutes in
the film. He goes from being sadness at the very
beginning to happiness when he meets Juliet, and
then to rage when Mercutio dies and so on and so
on until his death.
Hurried. Similar to foolish. Romeo does not think
about what he does, he just does it! He acts as
though today is his last and there is no tomorrow.
If Romeo rationalised and thought about his actions
before making them, he and Juliet would not have
died the way they did.
Risk taker. Throughout the film Romeo takes
risks. Most of which, are seemingly stupid and
badly reasoned. Going back to the Capulet Mansion
to see Juliet, stepping down from the fight with
Tybalt, killing Tybalt and coming back into the city
after exile are just a few risks Romeo made. Funnily
enough, all mentioned were hurried, foolish and
were because of his emotions too.
Easily depressed. As mentioned, Romeo easily
changes emotions and does so frequently, however,
he is most easily depressed. When even the
slightest thing goes wrong he becomes sad ie.
when he can’t see Juliet for the shortest time.
Key Scenes and Events for Romeo
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The ball at the Capulet Mansion (first meets Juliet). This is
important because it shows Romeo and Juliet’s love and want for
each other right from the first time they exchange sights.
When Mercutio dies, and when he kills Tybalt. This is a turning point
for Romeo. He has thrown away all sense and given in to his
emotions. Now, he has no choice but to pursue them. He needs his
Juliet more than ever and it is the only thing now important to him.
When he is exiled, and doesn’t find the Priest’s letter. This is where
Romeo’s impulsiveness and hastiness means the end for him and
Juliet. By leaving without noticing the letter, Romeo seals his fate.
With
At the church, when both he and Juliet die. Of course this is an
important event and scene. This is where Romeo makes his mark.
He willingly gives it all up. He thinks he has lost his wife and he has
lost his best friend all due to his families quarrel with the Capulets.
He sacrifices himself for the families to stop their fighting and to
move on.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
Weaknesses
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Loyal to Juliet and everyone he cares
about whether it be his lover or his
kinsmen.
Coming back into Verona after being
banished to see his Juliet one last time
was courageous. Also, killing himself
to be with Juliet could be seen to
some as a courageous act.
Filled with love for Juliet and for his
kinsmen too. Will do, or sacrifice,
almost anything for them.
Has strong beliefs in his religion and
what he believes is right and wrong.
The most important of these beliefs is
that he and Juliet should be together.
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Impulsive. Must have what we wants
and he will go after it no matter what
it takes – he will even disobey the law.
Risk taker. Links to impulsiveness.
Romeo is willing to risk himself for
Juliet by coming back into the city,
knowing he could die. Takes the risk of
not fighting Tybalt and also risks going
back to the Capulet Mansion after the
ball to see Juliet. He continuously
takes risks throughout the film.
Consumed by emotions easily.
Romeo allows himself to be controlled
by love, or rage or hate. For example,
when he is with Juliet love is the only
thing on his mind, but after Tybalt
killed Mercutio, hate was the only
thing that mattered to him. Mood
swings in a way.
Changes Romeo Goes Through
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Throughout the majority of the film Romeo is seen as an impulsive person that wants a lot and
will only have what he wants. Mainly, Romeo wants Juliet and always wants to be with her.
However, right at the very end this all changes. As Romeo thinks Juliet is dead inside the church,
he elects to kill himself. He does this to 1. be with his Juliet in heaven, and most importantly, 2.
to show to Verona and the two families that what their fighting has caused and that it must stop.
Romeo goes to a complete opposite. He used to want things for himself no matter what the cost,
and now he is giving something priceless to Verona and the two families in the form of peace.
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A constant change of Romeo’s is his emotions. Throughout the film Romeo is constantly changing
his feelings dramatically in the forms of complete rage, dominating love or engulfing sadness. He
hits these in extremes and switches between every 5 minutes. At the beginning, Romeo is filled
with sadness shown to us by the rain and cold dark weather the first time we meet him. Soon
enough, after being convinced to go to the Capulet Ball he is overwhelmed with happiness when
meeting Juliet. Not long after this, Mercutio dies and rage is the only thing on Romeo’s mind
resulting in him killing Tybalt. Then, he is exiled and not able to see Juliet and hearing of her
“pass away”, he is again filled with depression. Each emotion is like a different Romeo and it
seems as though every 10 minutes he changes.
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In the beginning Romeo is shown to us as a sad, lonely young boy with no real interest in
socialising and could not really care less about what was happening in the world. After meeting
Juliet and falling in love Romeo becomes happier and more involved with his friends and with
Juliet. Soon enough, Juliet and his kinsmen mean everything to him as shown to us by Romeo’s
reaction when Mercutio dies. Romeo cares for his friends and Juliet more than anything now and
would not sacrifice them for anything. He would even give his life for them, as shown.
What Romeo Helps Teach Us
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In the beginning Romeo is a sad young boy and he only really finds happiness when he meets
Juliet and falls in love. Romeo teaches us that it is necessary to have love, not necessarily a
partner but to have friends you genuinely care about and are close with even. You need to have
someone who can make you happy. Although Romeo lived a short life, in the end he did lead a
happy one. When with Juliet, Romeo was always happy even after killing Tybalt! This shows us
just how powerful having this kind of love can be. If Romeo wasn’t so impulsive, so hurried, his
and Juliet’s deaths wouldn’t of happened like they did and chances are they would be living
happily ever after with mostly trouble free lives and would be happy until their deaths. This goes
to show that people need to be happy, and people need to have someone that can make them
happy.
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One big thing Romeo teaches us is that we cannot let ourselves be controlled by our emotions
and led by how we feel. Rationalising and thinking before acting is something that would of saved
Romeo and Juliet’s lives. Bar the impulsiveness and emotional dictation, Romeo and Juliet are
good role models of genuinely good people. As it is thought, their fatal flaws being their
impulsiveness and the ease of which they are led by their emotions. We can learn from Romeo
that it is ok to feel passionately, in fact, it is good, it can make us happy and in a way, keep us
healthy, but it is not ok to give in to our emotions and let them lead us as it could be our
downfall.
Character Relationships
By Shaun Pankhurst
Romeo -- Juliet
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The relationship between Romeo and
Juliet has helped me to understand that
love at first sight can happen even if it is
not very often. I think that Romeo holds
the power in this relationship because he
is the one that makes the move on her
e.g. he grabs her hand from behind the
pillar and leads her into the elevator
where they engage in a very loveable
activity.
Romeo -- Juliet Cont.
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This relationship changes when Romeo kills Juliet’s
kinsman Tybalt. Because Romeo is exiled from
Verona (“Tybalt is dead, and Romeo exiled.”)
because of this incident which means that he and
Juliet cannot continue their relationship in the way
they were. It changes from a tight knit relationship
to a long distance relationship which puts strain on
their relationship. Romeo’s actions change in this
relationship after he kills Tybalt because he is more
hurried and on the run whereas before he was more
relaxed and calm.
Romeo -- Juliet Cont.
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Juliet’s actions change after Romeo’s
incident because she is confused and
distraught at the thought that Romeo is
going to be taken away from her. This is
shown when she points the guns to her
head and starts screaming.
Techniques That Show This
Relationship
Lack of Dialogue
 Sound
 Lighting
 Dialogue
 Cutting
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Romeo -- Mercutio
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The relationship between Romeo and
Mercutio helps me to understand the hate
between the two houses because this is
what ends up killing him. Tybalt kills him
because Mercutio is fighting in place of
Romeo because Romeo doesn’t want to
fight him because of Juliet. So he dies in a
fight that wasn’t really his.
Romeo -- Mercutio Cont.
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This shows that Romeo and Mercutio are
pretty ‘tight’ because he would have to be
to be in a fight that could and does kill
him. This relationship changes just before
Mercutio dies because he curses the two
fighting family including Romeo he best
friend. Also the two fighting families is
what leads to his downfall and eventually
kills him and if these families weren’t
fighting he might have lived a bit longer.
Romeo -- Mercutio Cont.
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I think that Mercutio holds the power in
this relationship because he is the one
that steps in to fight Tybalt and he is the
one that is the drag queen and the more
outrageous of them both.
Techniques That Show This
Relationship
Music
 Dialogue
 Sound
 Lighting
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Romeo -- His Family
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I think that Romeo holds the power in this
relationship because he is the one that leaves
his family for Juliet and he spends more time
with Juliet than with his family. Also his family
isn’t directly involved in the families war where
Romeo is in the middle of it. This relationship
has helped me to understand Romeo does not
entirely rely on his family to support and that
you don’t need your family to live your life to its
fullest
Romeo -- His Family Cont.
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Also it has helped me to understand that
Romeo isn’t immature like the other
Montague boys but that he is as violent as
they are when he kills Tybalt. This
relationship changes when Romeo dies
because the family is engulfed in sadness
and they realise what the war is doing to
their family so it changes because their
attitude towards Romeo changes
Techniques That Show This
Relationship
Sound
 Music
 Cut Shots
 Dialogue
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Verbal Techniques
By Sam Nightingale
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In the ball scene, a piece of dialogue Romeo says “is love a tender
thing? It is too rough , too rude and pricks like a thorn”
Here he is saying that love does not always end happily, that love
does not always go how you want it too, and in the end will hurt
you.
This shows Romeo’s view on love, but his actions contradicts what
he says, as he falls in love with Juliet at first sight, which is “blind”
love and lust.
This, in the end leads to their fate where Juliet poisons herself, this
hurts Romeo as he thinks she is dead, so he kills himself, Juliet
wakes up, sees Romeo dying, which hurts her too and then kills
herself.
This is all for love, this shows Romeo is impulsive and foolish.
Another piece of dialogue in the ball scene Romeo says
is “I fear too early…direct my sail”
 Here he is saying that his mind is telling him there is a
consequence that will involve fate and the decisions he
makes.
 This involves an early death which he feels is linked to
the Capulet party and even though he feels this, is
willing to ignore it and go to the party anyway.
 This shows Romeo is again foolish and impulsive, but is
also willing to take risks and has a “doesn’t want to die
wondering” attitude, also he doesn’t want to think
about the future and is careless.
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After Tybalt kills Mercutio, Romeo chases after him in a
car chase, while this is happening music is playing in the
background
 The music is fast paced and loud which associates itself
with the car chase and what is happening at the time.
This contrasts slow music in other scenes where there is
usually not much action happening.
 This music represents the mood he is in at the time. It
shows us that he is filled with hate and rage and wants
revenge. This contrasts his “other” side which is shown
when he first meets Juliet
 It also shows how deeply he was connected to Mercutio
and how he wanted to punish Tybalt for what he did.
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In the scene where Romeo and Juliet first meet the
music playing relates to religion, purity and heaven and
is slow.
The music in this scene contrasts the music in earlier
scenes, which is angry and fast.
This shows two sides to Romeo and completely contrasts
with his violent side which we later see in the film.
This ‘other’ side also contrasts the people he associates
himself with.
This shows us that Romeo can adapt himself to the
situation he is in easily, and as well as all the violence he
and his friends are connected to, Romeo also knows how
to love.
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In the final scene where Romeo sees Juliet dead in the
church, the eerie silence that fills the room shows that
he has given up and realised that there is no longer a
point in living without her.
Furthermore, this shows that love has possessed him
and without Juliet, he is nothing.
Also that he is a weak person in the way he handles the
situation.
Romeo is usually associated with some sort of music
when he is on screen, this is contrasted by the silence in
the final scene and shows that his life has changed
forever.
Near the end of the film, when Romeo is running away
from the cops, to the church to kill himself, he takes a
guy hostage so he doesn’t get shot and says “do not
tempt a desperate man”
 This shows us that because Romeo killed Tybalt, he
knows that he has also killed Juliet’s kinsman and thinks
that Juliet will not forgive him.
 This shows us that even though Romeo is continuously
involved with violence, he does not want to kill, and this
is enforced when Romeo does not want to fight Tybalt,
so instead Mercutio does.
 This also show us that he feels he deserves to die
because of the anguish he caused Juliet and he doesn’t
want to see her suffer.
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Visual Techniques
By Nick Johnston
The Ball
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Costume
At the Capulet ball Romeo is dressed as a knight
in shining armour. This enforces the idea of a
fairy tale story of love and how he is going to be
a saviour to Verona and the two families. His
costume shows that he is protecting himself in
some way from the Capulet family and moreover
protecting himself from the violent city that he
lives in. and this contrasts to Tybalt’s costume
which is a devil costume to Romeo’s costume, a
knight in shining armour, which is usually
associated with good and pureness.
The Ball
Lighting
 At the Capulet Ball Romeo grabs Juliet and takes
her into the elevator. The lighting behind them is
a bright white light and consumes them. Juliet is
dressed as an angel so it enforces the idea of
religion in the film and its relevance in the
society of Verona. The light that surrounds them
represents pureness and ‘light’ the two give of
into a dark, violent city.
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The Car Chase
Camera
 The camera work in the car chase helps to show
us the emotions that consume Romeo after
Tybalt has just killed Mercutio. There is a close
up on his face allows the audience to see that
he is possessed with rage, hate and a desire to
seek revenge for his friend Mercutio. The
camera work is hectic, it is spinning around and
the picture is blurry. This shows us that Romeo
doesn’t have control over his actions and that he
is ‘spinning out of control’.
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Colour
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Colour
The Montague's (Romeo’s family) and Capulet’s (Juliet’s family) have
there own colour that symbolises them and separates them from the
rest of the people in the city, this shows us that the two families are
very powerful and influential in Verona. The Capulet colour is blue
and the Montague colour is yellow. These two colours are on
opposite sides of the colour wheel to each other, this shows us there
differences. Romeo meets Juliet for the first time when they are in
the bathroom at the ball. The fish tank that separates them is filled
with bright yellow and blue fish which is a symbol for the two
families getting along in peace but this cannot happen until Romeo
and Juliet are together. The young men in the two families drive
cars that are blue and yellow, this shows us that the rivalry between
the two houses is carried down throughout the entire family.
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slideshow!
Ben Hassall
Character Outline
IT Expert
Shaun Pankhurst
Character Relationships
Teacher Contact
Sam Nightingale
Verbal Techniques
Team Leader
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