directory
home contact

Shakespeare's Characters: Romeo (Romeo and Juliet)

Romeo, the hero of Romeo and Juliet, is in love with Rosaline at the beginning of the play. He soon falls in love with and marries Juliet (2.6). The Prince banishes him from Verona for killing Tybalt (3.1), and he flees to Mantua (3.3) where he slays Paris and dies along side Juliet (5.3).

No one has summarized Romeo’s character better than the 19th-century scholar, Dr. Maginn:
Lightning, flame, shot, explosion, are the favourite parallels to the conduct and career of Romeo. Swift are his loves; as swift to enter his thought, the mischief which ends them forever. Rapid have been all the pulsations of his life; as rapid, the determination which decides that they shall beat no more.

A gentleman he was in heart and soul. All his habitual companions love him: Benvolio and Mercutio, who represent the young gentlemen of his house, are ready to peril their lives, and to strain all their energies, serious or gay, in his service. His father is filled with an anxiety on his account so delicate, that he will not venture to interfere with his son’s private sorrows while he desires to discover their source, and if possible to relieve them. The heart of his mother bursts in his calamity; the head of the rival house bestows upon him the warmest panegyrics; the tutor of his youth sacrifices everything to gratify his wishes; his servant, though no man is a hero to his valet de chambre, dares not remonstrate with him on his intentions, even when they are avowed to be savage-wild,

More fierce, and more inexorable far,
Than empty tigers or the roaring sea


but with an eager solicitude he breaks his commands by remaining as close as he can venture, to watch over his safety. Kind he is to all. He wins the heart of the romantic Juliet by his tender gallantry: the worldly-minded nurse praises him for being as gentle as a lamb.

When it is necessary or natural that the Prince or Lady Montague should speak harshly of him, it is done in his absence. No words of anger or reproach are addressed to his ears save by Tybalt; and from him they are in some sort a compliment, as signifying that the self-chosen prize fighter of the opposing party deems Romeo the worthiest antagonist of his blade (from The Shakespeare Papers, quoted in Bentley's Miscellany, 66).

The Shakespeare Papers by Dr. Maginn are available for download on Google books.

How to cite this article:
Mabillard, Amanda. Romeo. Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug. 2000. (date when you accessed the information) < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/romeoandjuliet/romeocharacter.html >.




______________

More Resources

 Daily Life in Shakespeare's London
 Life in Stratford (structures and guilds)
 Life in Stratford (trades, laws, furniture, hygiene)
 Stratford School Days: What Did Shakespeare Read?

 Games in Shakespeare's England [A-L]
 Games in Shakespeare's England [M-Z]
 An Elizabethan Christmas
 Clothing in Elizabethan England

 Queen Elizabeth: Shakespeare's Patron
 King James I of England: Shakespeare's Patron
 The Earl of Southampton: Shakespeare's Patron
 Going to a Play in Elizabethan London

 Ben Jonson and the Decline of the Drama
 Publishing in Elizabethan England
 Shakespeare's Audience
 Religion in Shakespeare's England

 Alchemy and Astrology in Shakespeare's Day
 Entertainment in Elizabethan England
 London's First Public Playhouse
 Shakespeare Hits the Big Time

Research Your Topic

 Romeo and Juliet: Complete Text with Explanatory Notes and Guide
 Romeo and Juliet: Examination Questions and Answers
 Romeo, Rosaline, and Juliet
 The Importance of Romeo and Rosaline

 What Is Accomplished in Act I?
 The Purpose of Romeo's witticisms in 2.1.
 Friar Laurence's First Soliloquy
 The Dramatic Function of Mercutio's Queen Mab Speech

 Mercutio's Death and its Role in the Play
 Costume Design for a Production of Romeo and Juliet
 Themes in Romeo and Juliet
 Shakespeare on Fate

 The Five Stages of Plot Development in Romeo and Juliet
 Annotated Balcony Scene, Act 2
 Blank Verse and Rhyme in Romeo and Juliet

 Sources for Romeo and Juliet
 Romeo and Juliet Plot Summary (Acts 1 and 2)
 Romeo and Juliet Plot Summary (Acts 3, 4 and 5)

 Romeo and Juliet and the Rules of Dramatic Tragedy
 Romeo and Juliet: Teacher's Notes and Classroom Discussion

 How to Pronounce the Names in Romeo and Juliet
 Introduction to Juliet

 Introduction to Mercutio
 Introduction to Friar Laurence
 Introduction to The Nurse

 Introduction to Paris
 Introduction to The Montagues and the Capulets
 Famous Quotations from Romeo and Juliet

 Stage History of Romeo and Juliet
 All About Queen Mab
 Why Shakespeare is so Important

 Shakespeare's Language
 Shakespeare's Boss: The Master of Revels
 What is Tragic Irony?
 Seneca's Tragedies and the Elizabethan Drama
 Characteristics of Elizabethan Drama