Even though Romeo Montague is older than Juliet, Romeo is not yet mature or independent. He relies heavily on his name, Benvolio and Mercutio and Friar Lawrence.

Traits

Impulsive

Immature

Romantic

Passionate

Spontaneous

Sensitive

“Wilt thou provoke me? Then have at thee, boy!” Romeo is impulsive, young, immature and easily provoked. Throughout the play he kills Tybalt and Paris, for vengeance and to get to Juliet. At the start of the play, Romeo is infatuated over Rosaline. He pines for her and falls into a stupor when she doesn't like him back.

• “Tut, I have lost myself. This is not Romeo, he is some other where.”

• “Out of her favour, where I am in love.”

A few hours later, he quickly falls in love with Juliet and kisses her; merely because of her beauty. This shows that he is impulsive with his emotions and spontaneous. “Did my heart love till now? Forswear it sight, for I’ve ne’er saw true beauty till this night.” We also see this impulsiveness in his initial dealings with Juliet, for example when he risks death to catch a glimpse of her at the balcony. He even agrees to marry her the next day, even though they had just met. Towards the end of the play, when Romeo heard about Juliet’s death, he visits the apothecary to purchase a potion to kill him, as he believes that life without Juliet is meaningless.

Romeo: a surprising character

Romeo matures over the course of the play, which does not seem highly likely, given his immaturity earlier in the play.

• Romeo matures over the course of the play, which does not seem highly likely, given his immaturity earlier in the play

• His love for Juliet seems like an adult love, far stronger than his crush on Rosaline - which changes his behavior and life. We see this when he refuses to fight Tybalt since he is now Tybalt’s kinsman.

• “O sweet Juliet, thy beauty hath made me effeminate, and in my temper soften’d valour’s steel!”

• He also goes to great extremes to be with Juliet despite his banishment, culminating in Juliet’s staged death and their suicides

• By the end of the play, Romeo is no longer a lovesick boy, but a married man who dies to be with his wife.

• “I will lie with thee tonight.”

• This change is a surprising about-face from the boyish, lovelorn Romeo at the beginning of the play

Challenges

Romeo faces many challenges through the play because of he falls in love quickly, easily provoked and is impulsive in serious decisions.

• “Did my heart love till now?”

Romeo faces the challenge of falling in love with Juliet. Throughout the play, he is banished to Mantua, his best friend is killed and he kills both Tybalt and Paris. This is because of his love and passion for Juliet. Over the course of the play, he is forced to mature when he has to make certain serious choices.

• “A plague o’ both your houses!”

Romeo is forced to deal with the feud between his Juliet’s family's feud. Mercutio is killed by Tybalt, which Romeo could've stopped but he refused because Tybalt had just become his cousin by law and he didn't want to upset his new wife, Juliet. This shows development of maturity in his character.

Relationships

• “Couple it with something, make it a word and a blow.”

• Mercutio is an honourable friend to Romeo. When Tybalt arrives at the scene wanting to talk to a Romeo, Mercutio knows better and assumes he wants to fight him. He fights with Tybalt for Romeo as they are close friends and he would do anything for him.

• “We’ll draw thee from the mire.”

• Mercutio is calling Romeo a stick in the mud. This shows that the friends are close as they themse and make fun of each other. Mercutio also encourages him to go to the Capulet Feast as he knows that this would cheer him up.

• (see quotes above)

• Juliet helps Romeo mature throughout the play, whilst also doing reckless things out of his love and infatuation over her. (risks life to see her at the balcony.) He is willing to kill himself when he finds out that she is dead.