Opinionated Character Analysis of Romeo and Juliet

The play Romeo and Juliet is written by Shakespeare with characters from three different families. These families are the Ruling House of Verona, the House of Montague and the House of Capulet. Characters from the House of Montague include Montague, his wife Lady Montague, their son Romeo, Benvolio their nephew and servants such as Abram and Balthasar. Characters from the House of Capulet include Capulet, his wife Lady Capulet, their daughter Juliet, their nephew Tybalt, their niece Rosaline and servants such as Peter, Sampson and Gregory. Characters from the ruling House of Verona include: Prince Escalus the ruling prince, Count Paris is a relative of Escalus who has love interest in Juliet and Mercutio who is another relative of Escalus and a friend to Romeo.

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In summary, the plot of the Romeo and Juliet story is as follows. There has been a feud between the House of Capulet and the House of Montague that even leads to a fight in the streets of Verona. As a result, both families are warned by the ruling prince, Escalus, that they must not disrupt the peace again. Romeo is initially interested in Rosaline; Juliets cousin but later falls in love with Juliet. On the other hand, Paris is interested in Juliet but Capulet tells him to wait until she is older. Later on, Romeo and his friends attend a party being held by the House of Capulet. At this party, Romeo and Juliet meet and fall in love. After the party, Capulet allows Paris to marry Juliet in three days.

Nevertheless, Juliet does not want to marry Paris. She goes to the Friar, who helps her by devising a plan whereby Juliet will take a drink to make her appear dead in order to avoid the marriage. When the wedding is pushed forward to the following day, Juliet takes the drink, and she is presumed dead. When Romeo receives the news that Juliet is dead, he obtains poison and vows to commit suicide next to Juliets lifeless body. He meets with Paris at Juliets tomb and ends up fighting with him, and Romeo kills Paris. He then drinks the poison and dies next to Juliet. When Juliet wakes and finds that Romeo has died, she kills herself with Romeos dagger. As a result, the two families, the House of Capulet and that of Montague agree to reconcile and make peace.

Romeo is the protagonist in this story and is a very passionate character. He has come to be known as literatures greatest lover from his character in Romeo and Juliet. However, he has a high temper since he slays Tybalt after he kills his friend Mercutio. He also acts on impulse and out of grief when he slays Tybalt. However, he is a very reasonable character since initially he refuses to challenge and fight Juliets cousin, Tybalt because he has secretly married Juliet and now considers him as his relative. Romeo is also very decisive and determined because he decides to take poison and die after he heard that Juliet had died.

Juliet is also a protagonist in this story. She is very witty, intelligent, decisive and determined. When she plots to take a drink so that she is presumed dead and doesnt get married to Paris, Juliet is being very witty. Her plan would have succeeded if Romeo was also aware of the plan. She is also determined because she is willing to go to great lengths to ensure that she does not get married to Paris. She is also loving. Her love for Romeo is undying, and she even kills herself when she sees that Romeo has died.

Prince Escalus is the authority in Verona, and his role is mainly conflict resolution and administration of justice. Count Paris is portrayed as a wealthy and self-absorbed man. However, Paris deeply loved Juliet since he goes to mourn her death in solitude at her tomb. Mercutio is portrayed as a free spirit though reckless. He has a mean sense of humor that leads him and his friends to a couple of fights. For instance, Mercutio wants Romeo to fight Tybalt after Tybalt threatens to kill Romeo; but Romeo has already secretly married Juliet, and he does not want to fight his kinsman. However, Mercutio is killed by Tybalt, who is a well-known swordsman. Tybalt, on the other hand, has a very high temper that leads to Mercutios death and Romeos banishment.

Lord Capulet is wealthy, commanding and a peacemaker. He is commanding and controlling in the sense that he wants his daughter to marry Paris without taking into consideration on what his daughter, Juliet wants. He believes that he knows what is best for her. He is also abusive because when Juliet refuses to marry Paris, he calls her names like a disobedient wretch, unworthy young baggage, green-sickness carrion, a curse, and many other insults. He also acts in anger and impulses because he sets the wedding date to a day earlier out of anger. However, he is peaceful because he tries to calm Tybalt when Tybalt wants to challenge Romeo to a duel at the party.

Romeo and Juliet is one of the greatest and best works of William Shakespeare. Rome and Juliet is a play that has been adapted multiple times for films, musicals, stage act and opera. His effort has had a tremendous impact on developing acting talents all across the world.