Romeo’s Inability to Adapt Often in society, people tend to have personality traits that produce more harm than good. Despite the consequences that they may face, people frequently persist with these traits. As a result, conflicts and issues that occur may worsen. This is seen in the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, where Romeo is a static character because he is rash, irrational, and impulsive throughout the play. First, Romeo is a static character because he is rash in several scenes. One time where this is seen is when he does not consider the consequences of his love. When Juliet tells Romeo that he might be killed, he responds with, “With love’s light wings did I o’erperch these walls;/ For stony limits cannot hold love out,/ …show more content…
Readers can see that Romeo chooses what he wants to do over wise actions. When Romeo reaches the tomb, he decides to do an irreversible act without thinking beforehand. When Romeo sees Juliet dead, he says, “Here’s to my love! O true apothecary!/ Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die” (5.3.119-120). This reflects Romeo’s impulsivity, because instead of thinking of other possible solutions, he commits suicide immediately. If he waited more instead of being impulsive, he would have found out that she was alive. This ultimately leads to the downfall of both Romeo and Juliet because Juliet commits suicide when she sees him dead. In this scene, Romeo is again shown as static because his actions are very sudden and he does not think before committing them. Evidently, the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare includes Romeo as a static character as he is rash, irrational, and impulsive. This eventually leads to his downfall, where he kills himself. If Romeo adjusted his personality and had been more patient, the conflicts he was involved in could have been resolved, but he decided to be the same in the whole
Juliet strategizes her disastrous plan and worries, “How if, when I am laid into the tomb, I wake before the time that Romeo come to redeem me?” (Lines 30-32 of Act Four, Scene Three). Juliet is desperate to see Romeo, ergo she plans to fake her death. Her thoughts of Romeo finding her lifeless foreshadows their future. Romeo is deprived of the news of Juliet’s real state of health, therefore he says, “Well, Juliet, I will lie with thee tonight. O mischief, thou art swift to enter the thoughts of desperate men!” (Lines 34-36 of Act Five, Scene One). Once again, Romeo’s perception is only focused on Juliet. His mental instability leads him to think Paris is in the way obtaining true happiness, thus he slays him. Romeo acquires poison, stands beside Juliet, and states, “Here’s to my love! (Drinks.) O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die.” (Lines 119-120 of Act Five, Scene Three). Romeo observes Juliet’s body and determines that he should die beside her. Juliet wakes to his lifeless body, and determines she should commit suicide, as well. Romeo’s foolish decisions lead to the death of himself and
In the beginning of the play Romeo and Juliet make many rash decisions that change the course of the play. Such as, when Romeo decides to sneak into the Capulet’s garden to have a conversation with Juliet. If Romeo was spotted by any of the guards or a resident of the Capulet household, he would have been captured and killed. When Juliet asks how Romeo snuck into the garden he replies to her, “With love’s light wings did I o’erperch these walls, For stony limits cannot hold love out…” (2.2.66-67). Romeo states that he snuck in with love’s wings and that nothing can stand in the way of love. Romeo shows that his love for Juliet can lead him to make rash decisions and not to think his actions through. An example of Juliet making a rash decision
One of Romeo’s acts that shows his rashness is his marrying Juliet. After Juliet says that she does not want to marry Romeo, he persists and says that he wants “Th’ exchange of thy love’s faithful vow for mine” (2.2.134). Romeo does not consider the consequences of their marriage. He simply wants his wish fulfilled. He is rash because he wants to rush into a marriage for which he is not ready. Romeo’s rashness persists throughout the play and leads to his downfall.
How far would you go to be with the love of your life? Would you kill someone, or run away from the love of your life? Romeo did exactly that, he holds all qualities of tragic hero.romeo us fear, too early: for my mind misgives Some consequence yet hanging in the stars Shall bitterly begin his fearful date With this night's revels and expire the term Of a despised life closed in my breast By some vile forfeit of untimely death.(Shakespeare)this quote shows that romeo is the tragic hero because of his traits of loving easily and believing in fate,and he is very impulsive. Romeo was so drunk on love he didn't think about anything else and did stupid things which caused him much pain. Also, he got over his first love Rosaline very quickly when meeting Juliet which also set up his death because they were never meant to be. Juliet foreshadows his death by saying "an ill-diving soul,"(act 3 scene 5 shakespeare) she means that she feels something bad is going to happen to romeo. This foreshadows how she will see romeo for the last time.this is evidence to show how shakespeare uses tragic flaws to show that romeo is a true tragic hero who is responsible for his own demise.
Romeo acts irresponsibly throughout the play refusing to accept responsibly for his own actions. This is highlighted by his reckless behaviour towards Tybalt in the street brawl and at the party which he irresponsibly attends. Romeo also persuades Juliet out of her morals and beliefs throughout the play, especially in the balcony scene where Juliet shows apprehensions but Romeo acts persuasively towards her making her forget her doubts, highlighting Romeo’s controlling and doctorial behaviour. Romeo is seemingly responsible because his actions are self centred throughout, instead of talking to Rosaline about why she has rejected him he falls in love again immediately at the party for Juliet, highlighting his selfishness and inability to have compassion for others. Romeo lacks self control because he gets hot tempered easily, especially in the street brawl were he knows he will get banished if he hurts Tybalt , but being the self centred person he refuses to care for his actions killing Tybalt. This has a chain reaction effect on Juliet because her parents wish to make her happy after the loss of Romeo and encourage her to marry Paris, but Juliet has to refuse because she is already married to Paris, upsetting her
Most importantly, Romeo’s poor choices and decisions lead to the tragedy of the drama. From the beginning of the story Romeo reveals his immaturity and ill-equipped emotions. His first mistake reveals itself when he claims to be deeply depressed. Romeo claims that he feels like “sinking ‘under love’s heavy burden’,” (Dupler). At this point Romeo has succumbed to his emotions, due to the fact that a girl named Rosaline refuses to reciprocate his love for her. Romeo’s friends Benvolio and Mercutio “urge him to stop philosophizing about his lost love and to seek another young lady as a new object of his affections” (Dupler).Romeo now demonstrates that he seems incapable of listening to his friends’ suggestions and chooses to continue in a juvenile state of depression. Romeo makes another fatal decision when he nurtures an undeniably damned relationship. Romeo admits that he still loves Juliet once her lineage appears as Capulet when he says, “Is she a Capulet? O dear account! My life is my foes debt” (1.5.115). Romeo irresponsibly supports the idea of a relationship between himself and Juliet only because “The young hero is simply shifting his attention to a more receptive subject as he responds to the erotic spurring implicit in his name” (...
Romeo continues to pursue Juliet, after learning who she is, “Now Romeo is beloved, and loves again,/ Alike bewitchèd by the charm of looks” (1.5.148-49). Although he knows that Juliet is an enemy, he is enchanted by her beauty. Having been raised in high society, he does not consider the possible consequences to his actions. He simply decides that he wants Juliet, so he must have her. Additionally, Romeo talks in riddles, causing confusion and miscommunication in tense situations. He tells Tybalt, “[...] the reason I have to love thee/ Doth much excuse appertaining rage/ to such a greeting [...]” (3.1.55-57). Romeo's words hint that there is something the other person is not aware of, intensifying the situation rather than diffusing it by speaking candidly. These feelings are supported by his arrogance, and the feeling of superiority. Ultimately Romeo's sense of entitlement causes him to thwart his own plans, which becomes evident when learning of his banishment andy he says, “Ha, banishment? Be merciful, say ‘death’:” (3.3.12). Romeo feels that he has been unjustly ruled against, without hearing the validity of the Friar's points. His feelings of entitlement lead to an obsession with Juliet, and drastically alters his interactions with the other characters and his mental state which effectively ignores a possible solution. Romeo's childhood instills a sense of
Romeo is a classic tragic hero. He's either perfect and made a mistake, ideal except for one little problem that messes him up completely, or fate is a fickle mistress who just really doesn't like him. The play, the Zeffirelli version, and the Luhrman version all have different ideas about what exactly made him and Juliet die. The original text leans more toward the latter idea, while the Zeffirelli and Luhrman versions showed hamartia and tragic flaw respectively. In all actuality, to see what causes Romeo's downfall, it's all in how you interpret Shakespeare's words. Personal experiences and thought processes will lead to different ideas. Look at Zeffirelli and Luhrman; two directors using the same text as the inspiration, and they pulled away from it understanding it in entirely different ways.
In essence, most of the tragic things that happened in the play were because Romeo didn’t sit down and think calmly and thoroughly what consequences would his actions lead to. This impulsive behaviour led him to problematic and poorly made decisions, which conclude to this tragic ending
Romeo decided, at the spur of the moment, that his only solution to deal with Juliet’s death was to kill himself. Romeo’s impulsiveness caused his preventable death, but he is not the only one who was impulsive and hasty in the play.
Romeo and Juliet had many incidents where they did not think of their actions’ consequences on themselves or the people around them. “The sweetest honey Is loathsome in his own deliciousness And in the taste confounds the appetite.” (Rom.II.vi.11-13) Friar Lawrence makes a reference that loving too fast compares to the sweetest honey and justifies that if you love too fast things will turn out dissatisfactory. Friar Lawrence is interpreting that too much honey is delicious but gives you a stomach ache. He attempts to explain that marrying Juliet hurriedly is like too much flavorful honey and that if they slow down their marriage it will work out more agreeable. Romeo and Juliet rush into their love faster than they can handle, and they do not think of the consequences. “Mercutio’s soul Is but a little way above our heads, Staying for thine to keep him company.” (Rom.III.i.89-90) Romeo’s emotions towards Mercutio’s death drove him to kill Tybalt. Romeo let his emotions take over his common sense. Romeo did not think of these consequences as he killed Tybalt, but he loved Mercutio. The anger caused him to act quickly without thinking. This unwise choice caused Romeo to be banished, and made it harder for him to see Juliet. “Here’s to my love! (drinks the poison) O true apothecary, Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die.” (Rom.V.iii.129-131) Romeo kills himself because he thinks Juliet died, but the readers know that she is not dead and will wake up in due time. The dramatic effect of him seeing Juliet dead caused him to act suddenly and kill himself. What is ironic though, is that the readers know that Juliet is not actually dead and if he had been patient, they could have lived happy together. Romeo should have thought before his suicide over a fairly new relationship. Romeo could have
Immediately after Romeo hears of Juliet’s death, he makes the major decision of killing himself in a very short amount of time. Once he makes his choice, he does not spend enough time considering what he should do, and so he is not thinking clearly about what exactly he is doing and how it affects not only him, but the people around him. After Romeo kills himself, Juliet awakens to find him dead, which leads her to kill herself. By choosing to die, Romeo not only kills himself, but also Juliet because he did not use his time to think about his actions.
Romeo’s numerous rash decisions demonstrates his great impulsiveness. Romeo at first grieves over his unreciprocated love for Rosaline, but after he sees Juliet; he forgets about Rosaline entirely. His hastiness leads him to make decisions that are not intelligent or to his benefit. Shortly after meeting Juliet, he asks her to “exchange [her] faithful vow” for his ( 2.2.132). Romeo’s recklessness is evident that he does not think before he makes important decisions; prompting him to propose to Juliet just hours after their first meeting. Yet the morning before, Romeo was suffering from depression because he could never have his Rosaline. After what seems like a lifetime of loving Rosaline and promising to never love anyone but her, Romeo sees Juliet and instantaneously all his thoughts of Rosaline vanish. Romeo becomes infatuated with Juliet, with whom he exchanges less then fifty words before “falling in love.” The next morning he begs Friar L...
Romeo and Juliet’s young love reflects their abruptness, rashness, and lack of maturity which leads to them getting suicide impulses throughout the story and causing Romeo and Juliet to ultimately suicide at the end of the story. Their love causes them to act very rashly and make unwise decisions, such as getting married and killing themselves. They are also too young to love because they are not mature enough. Their lack of maturity influences their decisions, leading to them finding abrupt solutions, such as suicide. After Balthasar told Romeo that Juliet died, he proclaimed, “I do beseech you, sir, have patience/Your looks are pale and wild do import/ Some misadventure” (5.1.27-29). Once Balthasar delivers the tragic news of Juliet’s death to Romeo, Romeo makes a rash decision of going back to Verona, not thinking about the consequences of his act, which would lead to more complications, such as him being...
The average person doesn’t meet someone, profess their love for them, and ask her hand in marriage all in one night… but Romeo does. In Shakespeare’s calamity of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo is the idiot that does all of this. I blame Romeo for the death of these star-crossed lovers, along with the other four characters. If it wasn’t for his impetuous nature, none of this would have happened. Romeo’s relationship with Juliet could be more thought out and more planned. Although the play ended with his death included, without him Juliet and others would have kept their lives.