Romeo and Juliet
William Shakespeare
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Character Analysis: Minor characters
Abram:
is one of the Montague’s servants. During the play he and a companion are insulted by two of the Capulet men in a public space. He queries their actions but insists that he has no interests at all in quarrelling. He does, however, refuse to admit that Capulet is a better man than Montague, and this unwillingness provides the incentive the men need to commence a brawl.
Peter:
is a serving man of the Capulets and is the individual who accompanies the Nurse when she leaves the house. He partly serves as her protection whilst also carrying her fan. Upon Juliet’s death, he begs the musicians to play some merry music and he taunts the musicians when they refuse to do so because of the circumstances.
Rosaline:
is the gorgeous and aloof woman that Romeo pines over in the beginning of the play. Although she has no speaking role and is never seen in the play, it is clear that she does not return Romeo’s affections. Rosaline is soon forgotten about, when at the Capulet feast, he lays eyes on Juliet.
Petruchio:
is one of Tybalt’s friends. He is present at the Capulets’ party and he accompanies Tybalt when he goes and chases Romeo to begin a duel. It is Petruchio who hurries Tybalt away after Mercutio’s death at Tybalt’s hands.
The Chorus:
introduces each of the first two acts. These characters play an important role in establishing the theme and style of the play, and speak in the form of sonnets.
Paris’ Page:
accompanies his master to Juliet’s grave. Despite his fear of graveyards at night, he remains there due to his loyalty to Paris. However, he races to fetch the watch when he sees Paris engaging in hand-to-hand combat with an unknown man who the audience knows to be Romeo.
The Citizens of Verona:
comprise of the remainder of the population that are not di- rectly tied to either the Capulet or Montague families. These individuals are thoroughly fed up with the never-ending conflict and head to the streets (armed, of course!) to intimate them in the hopes that the two families will cease fighting.
The First Servingman:
is a superior servant in the Capulet household and is one of very few people who has permission to address Lady Capulet directly. He is bossy in nature and orders the other serving staff around as food is served to those in atten- dance at the feast.
The Second Servingman:
is illiterate and is the individual that Capulet chooses, de- spite his inability to read, to send out into the town to deliver invitations to the evenings feast. He asks the first educated person that he comes across to help him read the invitations and as a consequence informs Romeo and Benvolio of the feast and Rosaline’s presence at it.
Anthony:
is a servant of the Capulet family and is one of the many who are over- worked on the night of the feast. He is also utilised later in the play as he is sent out to invite guests to Juliet’s wedding.
Potpan:
is a servant of the Capulet family who is overworked on the night of the feast.
The First Musician:
is hired by the Capulet family to play for Juliet wedding. When Juliet is found dead in her chambers the musicians remain and the First Musician re- fused to play a merry song for the servant Peter; partly because of the circumstances and partly because Peter cannot pay. His preferred instrument is the flute or a plucked string instrument.
The Second Musician:
plays the Rebec. Like the first musician he will not play at Peter’s request without pay, and he convinces Peter to put his dagger away when he becomes agitated. He is also the individual who convinces the other musicians that they should stay, even though the wedding is off, to benefit from the food that has already been prepared.
The Third Musician:
is a singer and he is unsure as how to react to Peter and his request.
The First Watchman:
is brought to the Capulet monument/tomb by Paris’ Page. Upon seeing the various corpses, he sends for everyone who has been involved in this tragedy. Despite this stand, he is still unable to theorise what has occurred. He holds Balthasar and Friar Lawrence until the Prince arrives at the scene.
The Second Watchman:
arrives at the Capulet tomb with the First Watchman. He is sent to search for anyone involved that may be still lingering in the area. In his search he finds Balthazar.
The Third Watchman:
also arrives at the Capulet tomb with the First Watchman. He too is sent to find anyone who may still be lingering at the scene, and he finds Friar Lawrence as a result of his search.
Mercutio’s Page:
has a mute role in the play, however, he runs to fetch a doctor when his master is fatally wounded duelling with Tybalt.
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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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