Preview

Romeo Character Analysis Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
579 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Romeo Character Analysis Essay
Romeo Character Analysis Essay In the play Romeo & Juliet, Romeo tends to blame destiny and fate for all of his problems. In reality, Romeo's character is flawed. He shows this through his actions in the play. When he loves Juliet, he only shows a superficial love for her. He then loses his temper when Mercutio dies and doesn't think before he goes and kills Tybalt. After he kills Tybalt, he whines that fortune has gotten him in trouble. Romeo is not a victim of destiny or fate, he is simply a rash teenager who has made bad decisions. The first flaw in his character is his idea of love. When he first meets Juliet, he falls in love with her because of her looks. All throughout the play, he continuously proves himself to be a teenager after superficial attraction. He says about Juliet, "Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I never saw true beauty till this night." (Act 1, Scene 5, Lines 52,53) As he is saying this, he is looking at her for the first time. By him saying that he had never seen true beauty, he was showing that the beauty of a woman was what he was looking for. This character flaw proves that he is not controlled by fate, but that he is a youth who has made poor decisions. As a rash teenager, Romeo has trouble controlling his temper and emotions. This results in Romeo not thinking before he acts and killing Tybalt because of Mercutio's death. He shows volatile anger which he could have controlled, but instead leads him to kill his cousin-in-law. As he is coming toward Tybalt, he is furious. He yells at him saying, "Away to heaven, respective lenity and fire-eyed fury be my conduct now." (Act 3, Scene 1, Lines 122,123) When Romeo says this, he is showing that he is unable to control his temper. He ends up blaming fortune for the death of Tybalt, but it really was his inability to control his actions. Even though he claims to be a victim of destiny of fate, he is just a rash youth who has made poor
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Character Analysis: Romeo And Juliet
    • 270 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Character Analysis: Romeo And Juliet

    Throughout Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare shows many examples of the main theme, forbidden love. In this story two feuding families, the Montagues and Capulets, each have a child who falls in love with the other. The young Juliet Capulet and Romeo Montague meet and fall in love at first sight. They know they cannot be together because of their names, and that is how the main theme, forbidden love, comes about.…

    • 270 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Who was to blame for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet?
    • 1441 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Who was to blame for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet?

    Many of the misfortunes that occur during the play are blamed on fate, chance, coincidence, and luck. The lovers may not have met if it was not for coincidence. An illiterate servant stumbled upon Romeo asking him to read an invitation. "What names the writing person hath here writ. . .I must to the learned" (Iii 42-43). Luckily enough it happened to be an invitation to the Capulet ball. This brought forward the quick dismissal of Rosaline, Romeo's past love interest, and the introduction of Juliet, the "rich jewel" (Iv 45). Romeo's presence at the ball brought up conflict with Tybalt, who quickly recognised him as the enemy. His pride was wounded when his uncle told him that Romeo "shall be endur'd!" (Iv 76). This provoked a duel between the two. "I hate hell, all Montagues and thee" (Ii 65). It was only by chance Mercutio was killed under Romeo's arm. Tybalt had intended to kill Romeo. Romeo didn't want to fight Tybalt as they were now cousins. "(I) love thee better than thou canst devise" (IIIi 66). Mercutio blamed Romeo for coming between them. "Why the dev'l came you between us" (IIIi 98). However Romeo blamed fate for the incidents, declaring "I am fortune's fool" (IIIi 132). Fate was held responsible for both the love and deaths that occurred in Romeo and Juliet.…

    • 1441 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Romeo And Juliet Free Will Analysis
    • 243 Words
    • 1 Page

    Romeo And Juliet Free Will Analysis

    In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Romeo and Juliet are victims of free will because their decisions lead to their ultimate death. Several times throughout the play either Romeo or Juliet’s decisions leads them farther and farther apart. Firstly, after Capulet’s ball, Tybalt fights Murcutio and Romeo decides to intervene in the fight. This leads to Tybalt stabbing Murcutio and Romeo taking revenge by killing Tybalt. After this incident, the Prince declares “Let Romeo hence in haste, / Else when he is found, that hour is his last” (3.1.204-205). This incident turns the plot of the whole story because it tears Romeo and Juliet’s dreams apart. On the other hand, after hours of grieving for Romeo, Juliet asks the Friar to clean up her…

    • 243 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Romeo And Juliet Character Analysis Essay
    • 515 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Romeo And Juliet Character Analysis Essay

    October 16th was the opening night for a Carroll production of Romeo and Juliet. Many familiar faces around Carroll are involved with the shakespearian production and everything seems to be going smoothly. On Thursday night (the 15th), a dress rehearsal was given to an open audience and was very well received with seemingly everything going according to plan. However, behind the show are some interesting characters as well.…

    • 515 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Flaws In Romeo And Juliet
    • 923 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Flaws In Romeo And Juliet

    Romeo kills Tybalt in revenge for the death of his friend, Mercutio. The Prince then utters a decree, banishing Romeo from Verona. Romeo doesn't know what decree the Prince has made. In Act 3 Scene 3, Romeo hears the news of his banishment from the Friar. He says that exile is far worse than death because he has to live without Juliet (Romeo and Juliet 3.3). " Ha, banishment? Be merciful, say "death" For exile is hath more terror in his look, much more than death. Do not say banishment" (Shakespeare 156). Romeo says he would rather die than be banished and tries to kill himself. Romeo's stubbornness is shown when he doesn't listen to the wise Friar's advice on how thankful he should be for not being sentenced to death. He is also stubborn for deciding that killing himself will solve the hardships and problems he faces now. He fails to realize how blessed he is for staying alive. He doesn't consider alternatives, such as: he would be able to meet Juliet again somehow and if he had, had more patience, he would have known of the plan of Friar Laurence and Romeo and Juliet could have been together. However, Romeo's stubbornness made him unable to endure the momentary suffering of being separated from Juliet and concluded that killing himself would solve the problem. He didn't realize what his death would mean to other characters like Juliet. He was being too self-centered. Another of Romeo's…

    • 923 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Romeo's Flaws Essay
    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Romeo's Flaws Essay

    i. 81-110). Romeo, knowing that Tybalt was Juliet's cousin, lets his anger take over and fights him. Romeo eventually kills Tybalt, and then becomes aware of the scene he caused. He was careless as he did not think about the consequences that would come after his actions. He also acted impulsively and carelessly when he found out Rosaline was invited to the Capulet party. Being fully aware that he was a Montague and the party was hosted by Capulets, he still decides to attend, in hopes of catching a glimpse of Rosaline (I. ii. 88-101). When deciding, he was not thinking of the consequences that could arise if he and his friends were to get caught. When Romeo incorrectly finds out that Juliet is dead, he impulsively goes to the apothecary looking for a way to “follow his love” to the doors of death ( V. i. 80-86) . He did not give any thought about how is suicide would affect those around him, and acted carelessly. Romeo’s strong impulse and careless mind caused many things to go not as…

    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Flaws In Romeo And Juliet
    • 793 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Flaws In Romeo And Juliet

    Driven by these traits, he acts upon his emotions not logic. At the start of the play he pursues Juliet even though she is the daughter of his family’s enemy; putting his feelings before sense. This impulsiveness is in the middle of the play once he kills Tybalt acting upon his emotions in a passion of hate. ‘Alive in triumph—and Mercutio slain!, Away to heaven, respective lenity, and fire-eyed fury be my conduct now. Now, Tybalt, take the villain back again, that late thou gavest me’ .Reason would have told Romeo that Tybalt would have been slayed in the justice of the law. This impulsiveness then puts him at the end of the play; he banished and Juliet faking death. Once Balthasar reveals Juliet’s death, Romeo immediately thinks upon his emotions once again and is determined to kill himself so that he and Juliet could be together. ‘Well, Juliet, I will lie with thee tonight’ – (Romeo. . Throughout the course of the play his impulsiveness still remains the same and this in turn prevents him from developing as a character. His obsession with love also prevent him from changing. His love for Mercutio that made him fight Tybalt, his love for Juliet that made him want to kill himself. Together the two traits, impulsiveness and obsession with love, tie in together to prevent Romeo from changing as a character and maturing as a…

    • 793 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Fate Regulate Characters In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet
    • 338 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Fate Regulate Characters In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

    Romeo, even when provoked by a serious insult, will take extra measures to avoid violence. On this occasion, ignoring Tybalt’s provocation could make Romeo seem dishonorable, yet he refuses to fight back. This hesitancy to fight is in direct contrast with Romeo’s later actions in this scene. After Romeo has killed Tybalt in a fit of rage, he exclaims, “O, I am Fortune’s fool!” (3.1.142) By saying that he is “Fortune’s fool”, Romeo is stating that Fortune or Fate is controlling him like a puppet, and making him do foolish things. This statement reveals that not even Romeo believes that he was in control of this event, or his own actions. Romeo previously wished to avoid violence, even when doing so would make him seem dishonorable and mark him as a coward. Now, he has killed one who he previously stated that he had “reason to love”, showing that some other force has driven him to the violent action of killing Tybalt, in this case, fate. Fate has shown itself as able to manipulate characters and their behavior, making it capable of pulling the strings behind the major events of this…

    • 338 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Romeo and Juliet Essay
    • 362 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Romeo and Juliet Essay

    Shakespeare portrayed many views on love in the romantic tragedy play Romeo & Juliet. Shakespeare presents this idea as a force of nature, so strong that it transcends social conventions. Many of the friendships in the play are as sincere as Romeo and Juliet’s love for each other. Close relationships were formed between Juliet and her nurse, Romeo and Mercutio and Mercutio and Benvolio.…

    • 362 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Romeo and Juliet Essay
    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Romeo and Juliet Essay

    Why are the young characters of The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet interesting? Every young character has a different set of characteristics which makes him/her interesting. Shakespeare portrays many important qualities of his young characters.…

    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    fate or free will romeo and juliet
    • 937 Words
    • 4 Pages

    fate or free will romeo and juliet

    Romeo always blames his own reckless actions on fate. Romeo is warned not to go to the masquerade party but tells fate to “steerage of [his] course” and “direct [his] sail” and goes anyway. Romeo knows himself that he will die if he goes but still chooses to go. Romeo decides that whatever happens is up to fate and it’s completely out of his control. Also, after killing Tybalt, he calls himself “Fortune’s fool” and realizes he will be punished severely (Rom 3.1.142). Romeo is basically says he is a subject to the whims of fate. He thinks fate is playing around with him and not taking responsibility for what he himself did. However when he hears of Juliet’s “death” Romeo tries to “defy the stars” and kills himself (5.1.25). Romeo is taking responsibility for his actions by trying to defy his “fate” and finally taking thing into his own hands. This doesn’t work, since he didn’t bother to check if Juliet was still alive and just kills himself in his attempt to be together with her, even if it’s in death. Romeo uses fate to justify his actions and say that a power outside of his control fueled his action, but instead everything was just his impulsive choices.…

    • 937 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Free Will In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet
    • 589 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Free Will In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

    As Romeo quoted, “I fear too early…of untimely death” (I. iv. 106-111). Romeo just predicted the end of his life, and even though Romeo predicted his own death, he kept on going to the Capulet party. “I am fortunes fool” (III. i. 119). Now Romeo is blaming fate for killing Tybalt. Although Tybalt killed Romeo’s dearest friend Mercutio, both of them could have just walked away instead of this bloody mess. For all the bad things that happened to Romeo and Juliet, it is possible that fate did step in, but it is more likely that their actions were uncontrollable due to this love affair. All these events that happened to Romeo and Juliet are clearly their fault. If they walked away, their lives would have been a lot better, yet they did…

    • 589 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Romeo Essay
    • 696 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Romeo Essay

    Friar Lawrence may think that he is helping Romeo and Juliet more than anyone, but in reality he is irresponsible, and later, even mentally corrupt. To begin, when Romeo arrives at the Friar’s house to ask to marry to his newfound love, Juliet, the Friar realizes that Romeo doesn’t know love because it was only yesterday when he was in love with Rosaline. He lectures Romeo, saying, “But come, young waverer, come, go with me./ In one respect I’ll thy assistant be,” (2.3.96-7). The Friar understands that Romeo is impetuous, but he still decides to marry him to Juliet, which ultimately makes matters extremely worse. He thinks he is helping the families, but his irresponsible action ends up tearing the families apart, making him mentally corrupt. It is also the Friar’s responsibility to provide ethical solutions to people’s problems, but, instead, he encourages Juliet to fake her death. He guides Juliet, “Take thou vile, being then in bed/ And this distilling liquor drink thou off;/ When presently through all thy veins shall run/ A cold and drowsy humor; for no pulse” (4.1.95-8). The Friar knows that he can only get away with this…

    • 696 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Vital Moment in Romeo and Juliet
    • 560 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Vital Moment in Romeo and Juliet

    Up to the moment where Romeo hears of Juliet’s passing, it seemed like there might have been a happy future for the couple. But as soon as the news comes through that Juliet is dead many unfortunate events start to tumble into the plot. As soon as Romeo hears the news of his youthful rashness comes out “Is it e’en so? Then I defy you, stars!”, we learn that Romeo is looking to defy fate and kill himself so he can be with Juliet. However, his determination to kill himself only succeeds in bringing his and Juliet’s real death, a fate we learn of at the start of the play. So the consequences of human rashness and the inevitability of fate are the two themes that cause everything to go wrong from this moment onwards.…

    • 560 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Romeo and Juliet
    • 860 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Romeo and Juliet

    First, Romeo was responsible for his own death because he used his eyes not his heart to find love. The friar said “Young men’s love then lies/Not truly in their hearts but in their eyes. (II,iii,67-68). Romeo saw Juliet’s face and loved her from that moment on and didn’t know anything about her at all, and that caused grief to everyone around him in the end. Another reason is that the Prince said “If you ever disturb our streets again/Your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace” (I,I,94-95) If Romeo was not impulsive, Romeo’s decision to kill Tybalt for Mercutio is what causes his death. If he didn’t do this, he would not have been banished from Verona.…

    • 860 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics