Ben Eayre
DiIanni
Honors English 9
29 March 2023
Minor Characters in Romeo and Juliet Every action has consequences, and ideally, people would always evaluate these consequences as part of their decision-making process. However, some people, especially teenagers, lack capacity to fully consider the consequences, and their hasty decision-making process increases the risk of pursuing actions with damaging consequences. In William Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, many characters convey the ramifications of ill-advised decisions as the two fated and forbidden lovers desperately try to escape their families’ feud. The author uses various minor characters to establish the plot and theme of the play; hasty and poor decisions have undesirable outcomes. Tybalt’s actions, as one of the main antagonists and a foil to Romeo, help to develop this theme, as his actions show the consequences of his own hasty decisions, as well as the irrational decisions of others. Tybalt, a member of the Capulet family, is an enemy and rival of Romeo. Shakespeare uses Tybalt’s
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On many occasions, Friar Lawrence admonishes Romeo for making poor and hasty decisions. For example, Romeo originally loved Rosaline, but hastily abandoned Rosaline upon seeing Juliet. When Romeo tells him this, the Friar expresses his disapproval in response to Romeo leaving Rosaline, highlighted when the Friar warns, “Thou and these woes were all for Rosaline. / And art thou changed? Pronounce this sentence then: / Women may fall when there’s no strength in men (Rom. 2.3.79-81). Friar Larence frowns upon Romeo’s decision to hastily change lovers. Friar Lawrence foreshadows the consequences of Romeo’s hasty decision. The Friar’s warning conveys how he believes that hasty decisions bring negative repercussions,