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In Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare portrays Romeo as an impulsive and immature character who is ruled by his emotions. He is presented as a Petrarchan lover and his language at the start of the play characterizes him as an inexperienced lover, however, as the play progresses he has an increased maturity as a lover which is marked in his language. He is central to the plot through his relationship with Juliet, the heroine, and many of Romeo’s choices govern the action in the play.
Romeo is portrayed as a heartbroken character who hates the situation he is always in because of love. Before Romeo met Juliet he was lamenting his love and he exclaimed “O brawling love, O loving hate.” The oxymoron indicates Romeo's complex views of love and how he doesn’t understand it. The oxymoron “loving hate” portrays that Romeo “hates” the situation he finds himself in but he is still “loving” towards Rosaline. He is unable to overcome his obsession with Rosaline, and Romeo has an emotional outburst. He feels his love for Rosaline is “brawling” because it is a personal battle for him as he has strong feelings for Rosaline but she doesn’t love him back making him a Petrarchan lover. In the Elizabethan Era, men weren’t meant to have multiple relationships as they were meant to get married once, therefore Romeo is a counter stereotype as he has had multiple relationships. Also when he spoke to Rosaline, he spoke in iambic pentameter which suggests that he never really had true feelings for her, however when he spoke to Juliet his language improved which suggests that he loves Juliet.
As the play continues Romeo is portrayed as an immature character. His love for Rosaline is quickly forgotten when he meets Juliet, even though he says “Farewell, that canst not teach me to forget.” This implies that Romeo's short-lived courtly obsessions with Rosaline were quickly forgotten. When he first met Juliet his “heart love till now?… For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.” The use of the rhetorical question implies that when Romeo sees Juliet at the Capulet’s party he realizes that what he felt for Rosaline wasn’t love until now because he has never seen such a truly exquisitely beautiful woman as Juliet. The imagery Romeo uses to describe Juliet gives an important insight into their relationship. He feels that no one can compare to Juliet and Shakespeare’s use of hyperbole to comment on Juliet’s beauty highlights that Romeo is immature. In the Elizabethan Era women in Juliet’s echelon were expected to look attractive to men because they were meant to look pretty to find a future husband. Romeo’s descriptive imagery about Juliet would be true as many people with a high social status did look pretty as they had the money to do so.
Shakespeare uses references to ‘light’ to describe Juliet's beauty, showing the audience that Romeo sees her as more of a celestial being rather than a real person and that his love for her is extraordinary. When Romeo first sees Juliet, his response presents him as lovestruck, and it highlights to the audience how beautiful Juliet is. He says that 'she doth teach the torches to turn bright.' The use of hyperbole implies that Juliet stands out against the darkness and she is extremely beautiful. It also indicates that she outshines the other women, and she can shape the light. She makes all the torches look dull and Romeo is drawn to Juliet's light. The verb “teach” indicates that Romeo is saying that the poor, dim torches could learn something from Juliet about how to shine brightly. In the play, Romeo is shocked whilst saying 'Oh, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!', because of how gorgeous Juliet is and he is surprised at how precious she is. Shakespeare may have referenced light to create irony as their relationship will only end in death and darkness. In the Elizabethan Era people in Juliet's echelon were one-dimensional. This meant they had a basic personality and had no depth in themselves. This was expected of women in that era as they were meant to sit there looking pretty for their husbands. Therefore, Romeo calling Juliet incredibly beautiful was expected in the Elizabethan Era.
As we continue to read the play it is seen that Romeo is a childish character when Tybalt kills Mercutio in a duel. Romeo blames “Sweet Juliet, thy beauty hath made me effeminate.” This quote highlights that Romeo blames Juliet’s beauty for softening his heart, causing him to become more sensitive. The adjective “effeminate” suggests that Romeo has become unmanly as he tries to talk to Tybalt rather than kill him. Shakespeare may have given Romeo female characteristics as women in the Elizabethan Era were seen to be peacekeepers and weren’t physically strong.
The audience sees Romeo as a vengeful character because when Tybalt kills Mercutio, Romeo says “Either you, I or both must go with him.” Immediately after Tybalt kills Mercutio, Romeo loses control of his emotions and attacks Tybalt in revenge. This shows Romeo acting in haste and not thinking about what he is doing. The use of the tripling suggests how he wants revenge and he doesn’t care if his life is on the line. This highlights Romeo's personality dramatically changing in an instant. Romeo is portrayed as a character who acts in haste and without a second thought which is shown when he kills Tybalt. However, he then realizes he has behaved stupidly which supports the idea that never thinks about what he is about to do. He feels he is under the control of destiny and he thinks his life is fated. He says he is a “fortune's fool.” The use of the alliteration implies that Romeo is saying that he is at the mercy of fate and it is controlling his actions. In the Elizabethan Era, Italy was a catholic country therefore murder would be a sin if people believed you were going against God. The Elizabethan audience as well as the contemporary audience would be shocked by Romeo’s actions as he was a loving man at the start but his character has made a sudden change.
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