"Our first impressions of Romeo are not very good. We meet him in a very melancholy mood, bewailing his futile love for Rosaline."
"*She hath forsworn to love, and in that vow"
"*Do I live dead that live to tell it now."
"His exaggerations and his self-pity about his misfortune in love prevent us from feeling very sorry for him."
" "
"However, this is not the real Romeo, as we can tell from his friends' concern for him, and even from Lord Capulet, who speaks of him as a"
"*virtuous and well-governed youth."
"More revealing of his true character is his behaviour when he first meets Juliet."
7
"Romeo's love for Juliet seems instantaneous, and having once seen her, he quickly plans how he can meet and speak with her."
"What is more, he quickly seizes the chance to ask her for a kiss, in charming and courtly language that is echoed by Juliet herself."
"These actions show Romeo's impulsive and passionate nature, characteristics that he exhibits throughout the play."
" "
"For example, he rushes Friar Lawrence to conduct the marriage, and will not stand for any delay."
"Even when he succeeds in holding his temper with Tybalt (III,i), it is not for long, as he seeks revenge for Mercutio's death with the words"
"*fire-eyed fury be my conduct now."
7
"Another side of Romeo's character is shown in Act II, scene iv, when he engages in a duel of wits with Mercutio, and emerges the winner."
"Although there have been hints of his wit and intelligence before, here we see him in sparkling form, which prompts Mercutio to exclaim,"
"*Now art thou sociable, now art thou Romeo."
" "
"He is peaceable by nature and tries to avoid quarreling with Tybalt, yet, when he feels that he must fight, he shows that he is certainly not a coward, and is a skilled swordsman."
" "
"We must remember that Romeo is very young, and at times his immaturity shows."
6
"For example, after he is banished by Prince Escalus for killing Tybalt, he hides in Friar Lawrence's cell, feeling very sorry for himself."
"When we see him in Act III, scene iii, he is raving with self-pity and even attempts to kill himself."
"This childish despair is rightly condemned by Friar Lawrence and the Nurse, and after this Romeo seems to grow into a new maturity as the play progresses."
" "
"The over-riding feature of Romeo's character, however, is the depth of his love for Juliet."
"It is this love, and the beautiful poetry in which he expresses it that makes us overlook his faults, and feel the tragedy of his fate in the final scenes."
9
"From the moment he first sees her, until the instant before his own death, Romeo's love for Juliet is unchanging."
"It sets him apart and makes him careless of the real world:"
"*there lies more peril in thine eye"
"*Than twenty of their swords. (II,ii)"
"and adds beauty to his words of love:"
"*here lies Juliet, and her beauty makes"
"*this vault a feasting presence full of light. (V,iii)"
" "
"So, despite his impetuous, sometimes childish nature, Romeo takes on the majesty of a true tragic hero, as a result of the sheer power of his love."
