The fate of Romeo Montague is predicted in the chorus of the play. The audience is immediately informed that Romeo and his love will take their lives, and thus they are immediately aware that a great ordeal will happen at some point in the play. However they are not informed of the dramatic changes that he will undertake as the play carries out its course. Romeo seems to be a rather complex character; a character of many layers. Is he the highly romantic soul we meet in Act 1? Or perhaps his darker side that he is forced to show later on has always been a part of him. I will be considering these possibilities as I explore Shakespeares presentation of Romeo.
The opening scene of the play begins with a somewhat perverse conversation between two servants of the Capulet household. The two speak in this vulgar way of the Montagues and how they shall thrust his maids to the wall. This look into the boys conversation shows the large scale of hatred between the two families, leading up to the fight that erupts from simple teasing between the serving men. The fight is chaotic, which consequently paves the way to a charming introduction to the gentle-hearted Romeo. This young man is not a fighter; to him life is much to do with hate, but more with love. He is oppressed - but not as a consequence of the hostility that has just occurred. He is oppressed on account of the unrequited love he feels for Rosaline. In speaking of her he uses the word love several times. This is a highly strong emotion to describe a girl he doesnt really know. To him, Rosaline is perfect; she is kind, wise and attractive. The only fault he finds in her is that she does not love him back.
However Romeo proves to be a rather fickle character. Once urged by Mercutio to attend the Capulets party, Romeo looks for Rosaline, but instead shares a dance with the daughter of the Lord - Juliet. On seeing her, his thoughts for the lady he had been so besotted with previously are swiftly forgotten, and he is curious to know more about the girl with beauty too rich too use. This is a new side of Romeo; his romantic nature has been overridden by lust for Juliet, simply because she is beautiful.
This can be perceived as the first sign of thoughtlessness we see in Romeo. Although it is not intentional, the way he can now ignore the feelings that he so definitely proclaimed as love just a few hours earlier shows that his loyalties may not always last for a long time. This is shown further in his pursuit of Juliet. In knowing that this girl is daughter to the sworn enemy of his family, and even proclaiming that his life will become his foes debt, you may think it wise that he stay away from her, but Romeo chooses to go after her anyhow even though it will cause great distress to his parents. Perhaps a more thoughtful, tender young man would be more respectful and obedient to his familys wishes.
The way in which Romeo pursues Juliet is not entirely respectful either. As an audience we know that Juliet has strong romantic feelings towards Romeo, but it is important to remember that Romeo does not know this. His only encounter with her was of a kiss which was a little hesitant on Juliets part, yet he feels he has the right to climb the walls of her house, watch her from the shadows and then listen to her personal thoughts. This does seem rather irrational and rude- even for a teenager desperately in love. It is, then, very fortunate that Juliet should appear to feel this love for Romeo too and not care that he has essentially broken into her home.
Over the next few scenes Romeo is back to his romantic self, only now he is happy; scared that this is but a dream, too flattering-sweet to be substantial. However this is evidentially short lived as the first tragedy of the play occurs. The untimely murder of Mercutio leaves Romeo inevitably distraught. On seeing the spectacle his speech becomes very confused; first he remarks on the death of his very friend, but swiftly switches to how his reputation is staind with Tybalts slander, which finally leads to his concern that his love for Juliet hath made me effeminate- in other words has made him unable to defend his friend. Romeo has so much going on in his mind that he does not know which aspect of what has just happened to be most distressed about. This proves to be the breaking point of a desperate Romeo and, losing all rationality at the thought of his best friend dying in an incident that was partially his fault, he succeeds in murdering Tybalt and consequently suffering banishment from Verona.
As Romeos plans to get his life sorted start to fall apart, the audience gets an insight into the character he has become, or rather always has been. Romeo is not a villain, he is a troubled young boy filled with desperation. In truth he is the romantic soul we meet in Act 1, it is just that he has nobody to romance. His pursuit of Juliet may not be as irrational as perceived, yet neither is it as truly romantic as we may like to believe. In the way that Shakespeare presents Romeo, I get the impression that he is an unwilling loner desperate for love. He speaks of his unrequited love for Rosaline almost as a torture, begging of Benvolio,
teach me how I should forget to think. Therefore when he finds a girl whom he thinks will love him back it is instinctive to him that he should pursue her. This appears to be the only way in which he can learn to forget about his heartache.
Romeos desperation becomes clear at the end of the play. His best friend has been killed; he believes that his true love is now dead as well, and he cannot even rely on the support of his family. Thus he sees no option but suicide. This is undeniably the ultimate act of desperation, and as he prepares for it his character undertakes a few final dramatic changes: in his meeting with the apothecary he is the distraught man that has lost everything, in the murder of Paris he is the angry man that simply wants to end his suffering without disruption, and in his final words to Juliet he is the tender mourner whom wishes to change the things he believes to be unchangeable.
Although it is easy to dismiss Romeo as a character whom undertakes a dramatic change from beginning to end, exploring his actions and his thoughts proves that he in fact changes very little. Circumstance makes him act in unfamiliar ways, but he has not changed much because of it. By the end of the play he is still a tortured, romantic soul, speaking of his lost love of Juliet much like his unrequited love for Rosaline. It seems he is unaffected by all that has happened except that he will be parted from Juliet. This is proof that he has not changed; he still believes that everything will be right in the world as long as there is love, and this is the emotion that really is the essence of Romeo in Shakespeares play Romeo and Juliet.
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