Romeo and Juliet
William Shakespeare
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Character Analysis: Juliet
Juliet is the only daughter of Capulet and is around thirteen years old. Read- ers and watchers commence the play with the understanding that Juliet is a naïve young girl who is entirely dependent on her family. Very different to the woman, who within a matter of five days, is willing to desert the very same family and even end her life to be with the man that she loves.
At the beginning of the play Juliet insists that marriage is “an honour that I dream not of.” Here she is stating that at this point in her life, she has no interest in marrying or potential suitors. However, this view point is altered drastically when she encounters Romeo for the first time as she sends her Nurse out immediately to test the water and assess whether or not he is married. This is the first of many changes that the audience witness in Juliet’s char- acter and mindset throughout the play. For example, Juliet changes from stating that she could never love a Montague irrespective of his beauty or intellect, to declaring that “my love as deep. The more I give to thee the more I have, for both are infinite.” This demonstrates that Juliet is able to cast aside the prejudices held by her family as she realises that a name is just a name and it does not define in any way one’s personality or attributes. By the close of Act 3 Scene 2, Juliet has practically completed her en- tire adolescence phase, transforming from the mindset that young men are repulsive, to wanting to experience the physical delights of a mature woman in a matter of a few minutes. As the play progresses, the audience is privy to Juliet’s intellect, wit, and determination. This is evident in the famous balcony scene in Act 2 Scene 2 where it is Juliet who proposes to Romeo “if that thy bent of love be honourable, thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow.”
This proclamation of marriage is evidence of Juliet’s tenacity as she seeks that which her heart desires. Through these actions, such as arranging meet- ing times, secret messages and marriage plans, it is clear that she is also very practical, thinking of solutions and ways around problems that do not even cross Romeo’s mind.
When Juliet discovers only a few hours after she has been married that her husband Romeo has killed her cousin Tybalt, she is torn between grieving for her lost cousin and worrying about the safety of her husband. She is very quick to dismiss Tybalt from her thoughts and concentrates on finding a solution as to how to deal with Romeo’s banishment from Verona. Romeo is still able to sneak into her room, using the rope ladder provided by the Nurse, for their wedding night, but Juliet has to force him to leave in the morning, so the Watch do not find him within the city walls. Upon Romeo’s departure, Juliet is struck by a terrifying premonition of their deaths. Juliet’s family believe that her sudden grief is a result of Tybalt’s death and in an attempt to brighten her mood, they bring her wedding to County Paris forward, with the hopes of it occurring the next day.
At this point in the play, Juliet’s true strength is displayed as she stands up to her family defending her choice not to marry Paris and subsequently finds herself cut off from her parents love, support, and protection. Her last comfort and confidant, the Nurse, is also stripped from Juliet, as she betrays her, stating that she should marry Paris as Romeo is a lost cause. This sends Juliet into a spiral, and she races off to see her now only friend, Friar Lawrence, for a solution. Juliet, despite her fear, accepts the Friar’s plan of faking her death and takes the sleeping potion. When Juliet awakes to find Romeo deceased next to her, she refuses to leave with Friar Lawrence, displaying her utter devotion and strength once more, and she stabs herself before she can be forcibly removed.
It is also important to remember that Juliet’s path to and reasoning for suicide is quite different from Romeo’s. Romeo has been banished from the city of Verona, but he is still in contact and in good favour with his friends and family. Juliet, on the other hand, has been stripped of every support system that she has ever known. Thus, we are left with a prevailing question: when Juliet ends her life, does she indeed have a choice? Her father has threatened to throw her out onto the streets, her mother has all but disowned her, and even the Nurse, her confidant from birth, has betrayed her trust. Al- though throughout the play the audience have seen Juliet’s emotional maturity and independence develop dramatically, she is still a child. As far as the play indicates, she has only ever really ventured as far as Friar Lawrence’s on her own, and these few days with Romeo are her first romantic experience.
Hence Juliet is used as a vehicle to demonstrate Shakespeare’s concerns about the independence and strength of women, and while they have the ability to self-determinate, one must always remember, from an Eliz- abethan male perspective, the threat this poses to the patriarchal structure of society.
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Romeo and Juliet
Sample Essay
William Shakespeare’s tragic play Romeo and Juliet commences in the midst of a long-standing feud between two noble families, the Montagues and the Capulets, and is set in a small town in Italy alongside the Adige River in Verona. The play opens with a street brawl between the servants of the Mon- tague and Capulet as the distaste between the two warring families extends further than just the nobility. The fight is defused by Prince Escalus and he condemns both the families for their long-standing feud and their seemingly never-ending need to turn to violence. Prince Escalus warns that if anyone from either of the two families breaks the peace again, lives will be lost.
Meanwhile the Capulet family plans a feast to introduce their almost fourteen-year-old daughter, Juliet, to a potential suitor named Count Paris. Romeo, a Montague and his friends Benvolio and Mercutio, learn of the party through the mistake of the illiterate servant, Peter. After hearing this Romeo decides to attend the party, disguised, as it is a masquerade ball, hoping to see who he believes is his true love, Rosaline. However, before he can begin his courtship of Rosaline he sees Juliet and it is love at first sight. Initially Juliet is unaware that the person she has just fallen in love with is Romeo, a forbidden Montague, and they share a kiss with one another. However, his identity is soon discovered, and Juliet is saddened. Just as this occurs, Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt recognises the Montagues under their masks and forces them to leave the party. Romeo however, lingers on the property, determined to see Juliet again, after being removed from her company so suddenly. Romeo is granted the opportunity to speak with Juliet when she appears on the balcony outside her room, where they express their love for one another.
Romeo, now intent on marrying Juliet, rushes to see his long-time friend and confidant Friar Lawrence, who agrees to carry out the marriage. He does so as he sees the union a chance to mend the relationship between the two families. The following day, both Romeo and Juliet meet Friar Lawrence and they are married in secret. Juliet’s nurse, also privy to the secret, ar- ranges for a ladder to be placed near Juliet’s balcony so that Romeo can see her on their wedding night.
The following day there is an encounter between Benvolio, Mercutio and Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin. Tybalt who is still furious about the gate crashing of the party and challenges Romeo to a dual. Romeo, tries to delay the fight as he is now a kinsman of Tybalt due to his marriage to Juliet, however, Mercutio is not pleased with Romeo’s call for peace and begins to fight Tybalt himself.
A battle ensures, and Romeo jumps in between the fighting pair to defuse the battle, only to have Tybalt make contact with Mercutio, ending his life. Romeo in an utter rage retaliates and kills Tybalt. However, Romeo immediately flees the scene and the Prince soon declares that Romeo has effectively been banished from Verona for the rest of his life, as payment for his crimes.
Meanwhile Juliet is in her room and awaiting the arrival of her new husband. The Nurse enters and after a moment of confusion it is revealed that Romeo is the individual responsible for Tybalt’s death. Juliet is initially distraught as she now finds herself married to someone who had murdered one of her kinsmen, but she quickly overcomes this distress and realises that her loyalty lies with her husband Romeo.
Shortly after, Romeo sneaks into Juliet’s room, and their marriage is finally consummated. Morning comes, and the lovers are forced to leave each other, and they have no idea when or whether they will see each other again. Juliet discovers that due to the recent family turmoil she is to be married to Count Paris in less than three days. Confused as to what to do, she asks her Nurse for advice, where she is told that her best option is to pretend that Romeo is dead and marry Paris. Disgusted with her nurse’s disloyalty, Juliet sources out Friar Lawrence and together they devise a plan to have Romeo and Juliet reunited in Mantua, a town near Verona.
The night before Juliet is to marry Paris, she is to consume a poisonous substance that will make it appear as though she has died. The plan then consists of her body being delivered to the family crypt, where she will be reunited with Romeo and they will both be free to escape and live life in the company of each other without the prejudices of their warring families impeding upon their lives.
Juliet returns home after having devised this plan, only to discover that her wedding has been pushed forward one day. As such that night Juliet drinks the poison and is found supposedly deceased by her nurse in the morning, and the plan is set in motion with the grieving Capulet’s sending her body to the family tomb. Unfortunately, the message of the plan never reaches Romeo, the messenger Friar John is confined to a quarantine house and Romeo hears only that Juliet has died.
Absolutely distraught by this news, Romeo heads to an apothecary where he is sold a vile of poison. He then proceeds to travel back to Verona, insistent on taking his life at Juliet’s tomb. When Romeo arrives at the Capulet family tomb, he sees Paris scattering flowers and a fight ensures and Romeo kills Paris, before ingesting the poison and dying next to Juliet after having seen her lifeless body.
Almost immediately after, Friar Lawrence arrives to see that Romeo has killed both himself and Paris. Juliet then regains consciousness and realising that Romeo has died, she kisses his poisoned lips, and when this is not sufficient to end her life she drives his dagger into her heart and falls, dead, on top of his body.
The watch soon arrives, followed by the Prince and both the Capulets and Montagues. It is announced that lady Montague has died from the stress of learning of Romeo’s banishment. Both the Montagues and the Capulets, seeing their children’s bodies agree to end the long-standing feud and to have a gold statue erected of their children side by side in the square. Peace is once again restored in Verona.
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