Even though a lot of the characters in Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare are very complex, I think that the
most interesting one is Romeo, especially where it concerns his love for
Juliet. He can sometimes be very rash and doesn’t really think about his choices,
but most of the time it is out of love. He makes decisions very quickly,
sometimes too quickly for his own good.
One thing he says that makes me think that he is being too
rash is when, in 3.3, Romeo attempts to commit suicide because Nurse tells him
that Juliet is devastated. We know that by the end of the book, he kills
himself because he thinks that Juliet is dead, which is pretty extreme, but
killing himself because she’s sad?? He does this because he thinks he loves
her, but if he really loved her, he would realize what killing himself would do
to her. He doesn’t think about how him dying would affect anyone else, and he
is quick to make this decision. I think that even though I wouldn’t have done
it, committing suicide when he thinks she is dead is a lot more reasonable, because she is the only one he cared about and
he loved her. If the only one he loved was thought dead, he has a better reason
for committing suicide.
He sometimes makes decisions based on his love for her,
though. For example, he said that
‘Unfold the imagined happiness that both receive in either by this dear
encounter’ of him and Juliet getting married (2.6 lines 28-9). He knows that
they will both be happier if they get married, and can’t imagine how happy he
will be. This is a sign of true love, and isn’t really a rash decision. People get
married when they are older because they know they will be happier, and Romeo
and Juliet are doing the same.
Romeo is an interesting character with many opinions and he
changes a lot. Sometimes he is undoubtedly in love with Juliet, and sometimes
he makes quick decisions that will only create bigger problems for him later. What
do you think? COMMENT!
