RoMeO & JuLiEt


BrAvE Or DeSpErAtE? For a girl in her early teens, Juliet arguably acts with great courage at times in the play. Her determination not to marry Paris leaves her little option except to bravely drink a potion given to her by Friar Laurence. Juliet has serious fears about the effects of the potion and wonders if Friar Laurence has craftily given her poison so that he may avoid getting in trouble. She also worries that she may awaken alone in the Capulet tomb only to be suffocated by the unwholesome air or even go mad trapped in an enclosed space with so many corpses: ‘if I wake, shall I not be distraught, Environed with all these hideous fears? And madly play with my forefather’s joints? And pluck the mangled Tybalt from his shroud? And, in this rage, with some great kinsman’s bone, As with a club, dash out my desperate brains?’


Despite these fears and spurred on by her love for Romeo, Juliet bravely drinks the potion. However, it could be argued that Juliet’s actions are not the result of bravery but rather desperation. Her threat to take her own life, her decision to drink the potion and her eventual suicide are arguably the actions of a desperate and distraught child who cannot see any other options for herself.


PaSsIoNaTe Juliet, like Romeo, is a passionate individual. Her love for Romeo is total and uncompromising. This is evident shortly after she first meets Romeo at the masked ball. When Juliet enquires of the Nurse who Romeo is, she states, ‘If he be married. My grave is like to be my wedding bed’. Juliet either means that if Romeo is married she will die or she will never marry as long as she lives; either way her impassioned language testifies to the overwhelming strength of her love. In the Balcony Scene Juliet passionately declares her love for Romeo: ‘My bounty is as boundless as the sea, / My love as deep. The more I give to thee, / The more I have, for both are infinite’ and repeats this just before she is married: ‘my true love is grown to such excess / I cannot sum up sum of half my wealth.’ Her devotion to him is absolute and expressed without reservation. However, Juliet’s passion can be dangerous and violent. She threatens Friar Laurence with


her suicide if he cannot prevent her marriage to Paris. In the final scene of the play, overcome by grief at the sight of Romeo’s body, she takes her own life.


A TrAgIc FiGuRe? A tragic figure is a character who is brought to disaster by his/her own flaws. It could be argued that, like Romeo, Juliet is a tragic figure who brings about her own death by an excess of passion and her overly hasty actions. However, some critics disagree with this, arguing that fate (see Themes section) plays


such a large part in Juliet’s story, that she cannot truly be considered a typical tragic heroine. Children are not usually seen as tragic figures, particularly if their ‘flaw’ is inexperience and youthful passion.


JuLiEt


✓ Dutiful and obedient (at the start) ✓ Rebellious (after meeting Romeo)


✓ Brave or desperate? ✓ Passionate ✓ A tragic figure?


206


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160  |  Page 161  |  Page 162  |  Page 163  |  Page 164  |  Page 165  |  Page 166  |  Page 167  |  Page 168  |  Page 169  |  Page 170  |  Page 171  |  Page 172  |  Page 173  |  Page 174  |  Page 175  |  Page 176  |  Page 177  |  Page 178  |  Page 179  |  Page 180  |  Page 181  |  Page 182  |  Page 183  |  Page 184  |  Page 185  |  Page 186  |  Page 187  |  Page 188  |  Page 189  |  Page 190  |  Page 191  |  Page 192  |  Page 193  |  Page 194  |  Page 195  |  Page 196  |  Page 197  |  Page 198  |  Page 199  |  Page 200  |  Page 201  |  Page 202  |  Page 203  |  Page 204  |  Page 205  |  Page 206  |  Page 207  |  Page 208  |  Page 209  |  Page 210  |  Page 211  |  Page 212  |  Page 213  |  Page 214  |  Page 215  |  Page 216  |  Page 217  |  Page 218  |  Page 219  |  Page 220  |  Page 221  |  Page 222  |  Page 223  |  Page 224