Romeo And Juliet Characters edexcel 1-Shakespeare

Characters

It is useful to consider each character as representing a function in the play. Understanding Shakespeare’s purpose for each character will help produce a sophisticated analysis. Interpreting the play’s ideas by considering how each character may represent an idea, and how characters oppose each other or react to each other, is crucial.

Below you will find character profiles of:

• Romeo

• Juliet

• Tybalt

• Benvolio

• Mercutio

• Friar Laurence

Romeo Montague

• The eponymous protagonist , an heir to the Montagues, is the tragic hero. This means:

  • He displays heroic characteristics

  • He has a fatal character flaw (hamartia): his impulsiveness

  • Despite his hamartia, the audience does feel sympathy for him

  • He is doomed to die at the end of the play

• At the beginning of the play, Romeo is presented as:

  • Introvert: he is alone and uninterested in the family battles

  • Brooding : Romeo considers the links between love and hate

  • Sensitive: Romeo ponders the complex feelings unrequited love brings

  • Obsessive: Shakespeare shows his obsession with a superficial courtly love

• For Romeo, there is tension between the heroic and tragic aspects of his character. He lurches from love to obsessive love and from one reckless action to another

• In the Rising action of the play, Romeo’s fatal flaw is exposed at the Capulet ball

  • Romeo is fateful and impulsive, telling fate to, “Direct my sails”

  • He is shown to be reckless about danger: “Stony limits cannot hold love out”

  • Romeo is admonished for being impulsive and obsessive: swearing his undying love to Juliet so “rash, so sudden”

• Despite his hamartia, the audience feels sympathy for him:

  • He shares a romantic, religious sonnet with Juliet, suggesting purity in their love

  • He prefers peace to violence, endearing him to a war-weary Elizabethan audience

  • He is presented as autonomous  in his relationships with friends and family

• By the climax, Romeo acknowledges his fatalistic {Error #829843: Missing popover abc123} attitude: “I am fortune’s fool!”

  • He is forced to fight for family honour, despite his protests about loving the Capulets

  • His impulsive actions, murdering Tybalt in revenge, lead to his downfall

•  At the end of the play, Romeo takes his fate into his own hands and defies the stars

  • Romeo is shown as desperate, implying his isolation due to his impulsive actions

  • Romeo is presented as obsessed with love, even in death: “Thus with a kiss, I die”

  • His fatal flaw results in Juliet’s death as well as his own

Juliet Capulet

• The eponymous character, daughter of Lord and Lady Capulet could be seen as a second tragic hero

  • One of Juliet’s fatal character flaws (hamartia) is her defiance of family duty

  • Her tragic death, however, is presented as an act of desperation and powerlessness, challenging audience perceptions of gender roles and traditions

•  Juliet is presented as autonomous , willing to defy her family duties

  • She tells her mother marriage is an honour she “dreams not of”

  • She tells Romeo she will no longer be a Capulet if he swears his love for her

• Juliet is presented as sensible and cautious about the dangers of the feud

  • Juliet advises Romeo to be more constant and less rash

  • She warns him of the dangers associated with their love

  • She understands her love for Romeo is a love “sprung from hate”

• By the climax of the play, Juliet is presented as desperate and powerless due to societal norms

  • Her nurse forsakes her and she is isolated from her family, showing the impact of family conflict

  • Juliet’s anguish and will to avoid marriage to Paris is made clear: “if all else fail, myself have power to die”, suggesting her need for autonomy

  • She welcomes her fated, tragic suicide (“Happy dagger”) as her best choice

• Shakespeare presents her as a character who subverts the typical attributes of women of that time:

  • She is not dutiful: she does not do what her father tells her and is not loyal to her family

  • She is not submissive: she asks Romeo to be sure of his promises

  • She is strong: she refuses to resist the mounting pressures 

  • She is autonomous: she chooses her own fate

Tybalt Capulet

• Tybalt acts as a contrast to the character of Romeo. In literature, this is known as being a foil:

  • A foil (Tybalt) is used to contrast with the characteristics of a protagonist (Romeo)

  • A foil, therefore, highlights character traits that are very particular to the protagonist, that an author wants to explore

• Tybalt is shown as having typical masculine traits 

  • His attitudes contrast Romeo’s 

  • He is a passionate fighter for his family’s honour, unlike Romeo

  • In the first scene, he is eager to kill Benvolio and all Montagues, while Romeo is absent

  • Unlike Romeo, Tybalt is often the instigator of battles, seeking it out repeatedly 

  • Unlike Romeo, he is not interested in love, preferring the company of males

• Tybalt represents societal norms, challenging audience perceptions of masculinity

  • Tybalt’s hatred of Romeo is presented as meaningless, and based on a desire for aggression

  • He does not understand Romeo’s submissive nature

  • He tells audiences Romeo creates the “bitterest gall” in him

  • His desire for revenge is shown as obsessive and violent

  • His death is a catalyst for Romeo’s downfall and Mercutio’s curse

  • Shakespeare punishes his hatred when Romeo murders him in revenge 

• Shakespeare shows through Tybalt the violence and hatred inherent in the family feud

• Shakespeare uses his character, Tybalt, to address the conflicts in the Elizabethan religious war

Benvolio Montague

• In the play, Benvolio acts as Romeo’s confidante and ally, representing male friendship and support 

  • He is Romeo’s friend and cousin

  • Lord Capulet relies on him to console Romeo

  • He represents, through his name, goodness and benevolence 

  • He advises Romeo away from his unrequited love

  • He hurries Romeo into the Capulet ball and away from deep thought

• Shakespeare’s function for Benvolio is to act as a contrast to the more aggressive male characters

  • He highlights contrasts between aggression and peace

  • In the first scene, he is a peaceful character, the foil to Tybalt: “I do but keep the peace”

  • Instead of revenge, Benvolio prefers forgiveness: “Father forgive them; for they know not what they do”

• Benvolio is presented as a level-headed and sensible young man, questioning the feud

  • He identifies that the quarrel is “between our masters”, presenting the young males as innocent victims

  • He warns Mercutio of the “mad blood stirring” before the fight leading to Mercutio’s death