Romeo Montague in Romeo and Juliet
Romeo Montague is a young, passionate and headstrong teenager who thinks and acts with his emotions. When the audience first meets Romeo, he declares that he is in love with Rosaline. He states that he is heartbroken because Rosaline doesn't love him back. However, his emotions are changeable, as that very night, Romeo meets Juliet and falls in love with her instantly. He vows to marry her and they marry the next day, unbeknown to their feuding families.
As the play progresses, Romeo illustrates how passionate he is by avenging his best friend Mercutio's death. He kills Juliet's cousin, Tybalt, and is forced to leave the city of Verona. Romeo thinks he cannot live without Juliet and is devastated when he hears of Juliet's 'death'. Here, he takes his own life so he can be with his one true love in heaven.
| How is Romeo like this? | Evidence | Analysis | |
| Passionate | Romeo is passionate when he meets Juliet for the first time. At the Capulet party, he declares his love for Juliet as she is so beautiful and promises they will get married in the morning. | "Henceforth I will never be Romeo." | Here, Romeo is telling Juliet he will not be Romeo Montague if it displeases her. This shows how passionate he is, as he is prepared to break away from his family and Christian name in order to be with Juliet. As the Montague family are wealthy and reputable, this would have caused great dishonour and therefore illustrates how serious Romeo believes his love is. |
| Changeable | Romeo is changeable as at the start of the play he declares his love for Rosaline, describing his heart as "heavy as lead". However, his emotions and feelings soon change when he meets Juliet. | "I have forgot that name and that name's woe." | This shows that Romeo is fickle, as he is openly stating he has 'forgotten' his past love, Rosaline. The fact that he isn't saying her name also indicates how his emotions have moved on, as he has almost forgotten that she is a real person, she is just a name to him now. |
| Headstrong | Romeo is headstrong when he avenges Mercutio's death by killing Tybalt. | "Either thou or I, or both, must go with him." | This shows that Romeo is prepared to die in order to avenge his best friend's death. This is the ultimate sacrifice and illustrates how headstrong he is but also how much he values his friendships. |
| Passionate | |
|---|---|
| How is Romeo like this? | Romeo is passionate when he meets Juliet for the first time. At the Capulet party, he declares his love for Juliet as she is so beautiful and promises they will get married in the morning. |
| Evidence | "Henceforth I will never be Romeo." |
| Analysis | Here, Romeo is telling Juliet he will not be Romeo Montague if it displeases her. This shows how passionate he is, as he is prepared to break away from his family and Christian name in order to be with Juliet. As the Montague family are wealthy and reputable, this would have caused great dishonour and therefore illustrates how serious Romeo believes his love is. |
| Changeable | |
|---|---|
| How is Romeo like this? | Romeo is changeable as at the start of the play he declares his love for Rosaline, describing his heart as "heavy as lead". However, his emotions and feelings soon change when he meets Juliet. |
| Evidence | "I have forgot that name and that name's woe." |
| Analysis | This shows that Romeo is fickle, as he is openly stating he has 'forgotten' his past love, Rosaline. The fact that he isn't saying her name also indicates how his emotions have moved on, as he has almost forgotten that she is a real person, she is just a name to him now. |
| Headstrong | |
|---|---|
| How is Romeo like this? | Romeo is headstrong when he avenges Mercutio's death by killing Tybalt. |
| Evidence | "Either thou or I, or both, must go with him." |
| Analysis | This shows that Romeo is prepared to die in order to avenge his best friend's death. This is the ultimate sacrifice and illustrates how headstrong he is but also how much he values his friendships. |
Analysing the evidence
Romeo
Good gentle youth, tempt not a desperate man.Fly hence and leave me. Think upon these gone,
Let them affright thee. I beseech thee, youth,
Put not another sin upon my head
By urging me to fury. O, be gone!
Act 5 Scene 3
Question
Looking at this quote, what does it illustrate about Romeo's personality?
ROMEO
Good gentle youth, tempt not a desperate man.
Fly hence and leave me. Think upon these gone,
Let them affright thee. I beseech thee, youth,
Put not another sin upon my head
By urging me to fury. O, be gone!
- It shows how desperate Romeo is, as he wants to be left alone with Juliet in the Capulet tomb.
- It shows how Romeo doesn't like violence - he doesn't want to harm anybody else but if pushed, he knows he will not be able to keep the 'fury' away.
- It shows Romeo is religious, as he doesn't want any more sins on his head.