Romeo And Juliet Apothecary Essay

Sometimes someone who seems like a side character can have a deeper meaning or role. In Shakespeare’s novel Romeo and Juliet, a character with a small part, the Apothecary, has a deeper role in which he serves as a symbol of how people will bend the rules to get ahead and how the rich can leverage the poor into doing what they want them to do.

One example of how the Apothecary had a deeper role than it first seemed is when it symbolized how people are willing to break the rules to get ahead. When Romeo first asks him for the poison, he responds that “Mantua’s Law is death to any he that utters them” (5.1.69-70). He tells Romeo that a law prohibits him from selling the poison. Nonetheless, when Romeo offers a good sum of money, he decides to sell it. He decides to sell it because of his financial situation, supported when he tells Romeo that his “poverty but not my will consent[s]” (5.1.78). This remark is an homage to the idea that poor people are willing to bend the rules to get ahead. The Apothecary also sells the poison to get ahead, in this case financially. The Apothecary supports this

When Romeo is desperately trying to get the poison, he tells him that he “pays thy poverty and not thy will” (5.1.79). Romeo uses his money to convince the Apothecary that money is equal to will. He does this to convince the Apothecary to sell him the poison, and it does nudge the apothecary in Romeo's favor. He tries again when he reminds the Apothecary that “need and oppression starveth in thy cheeks” (5.1.73). This reminder is a further attempt to convince the apothecary to sell him the poison. This is successful, as he sells it to Romeo. This interaction proves that money can leverage people into doing things, thus giving the rich power. The Apothecary is used to make this point, giving him a bigger