Romeo And Juliet Characteristics

Most profound readers of Shakespeare could agree that, in Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo is an important character with a very strong personality. Romeo is a young teenage boy with characteristics that may be unique from those of others, such as idealistic, dramatic, and idiotic, among others. The other characters in this play also have their own characteristics, which will oftentimes bring out the traits of Romeo’s. Thus, his predominant character traits of kindness, idealism, dramatism, and foolishness are seen best when contrasted with the traits of other characters.
Throughout this play, the readers get to know Romeo’s character extremely well. One would say he is extremely kind, compassionate, and idealistic,

This can be seen when he is banished from Verona and believes that it is a worse punishment than death. He tells the Friar in despair, “They are freemen, but I am banishéd. / And sayest thou yet that exile is not death? Hadst thou no poison mixed, no sharp-ground knife, No sudden mean of death, though ne’er so mean, / But ‘banishéd’ to kill me- ‘banishéd’? / O friar, the damnéd use that word in hell; / Howling attends it! How hast thou the heart, / Being a divine, a ghostly confessor, / A sin-absolver, and my friend professed, / To mangle me with that word ‘banishéd’?” (Act III, scene iii, lines 42-51). Not only is he very dramatic with his language and wordplay, but he is also extremely dramatic in saying that leaving his hometown is worse than death. Romeo is also very immature and unreasonable. An example of his illogical thinking is when he kills himself because he thinks Juliet is dead, without asking or talking to anyone, such as Friar Lawrence, about it. As he drinks the poison to kill himself, he says, “Here’s to my love! Oh true apothecary! / Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die,” (Act V, scene iii, lines 119-120). The readers know that Juliet was not actually dead, so there was no reason for Romeo to kill himself; he could have easily gone to the friar before he made this foolish decision, These traits are extremely different from some

However, one of his good friends, Mercutio, is quite the opposite; Mercutio could actually be described as very chill and relaxed. He is always trying to lighten the mood, even during the darkest of situations, such as when he jokes about his death as he is dying. After he is stabbed, he says, “Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man,” (Act III, scene i, lines 94-95). He makes a pun about how he will be dead, and that shows how light-hearted he truly is. Another example of his nonchalance is when he jokes about love using sexual references. He says, “If love be rough with you, be rough with love. / Prick love for pricking, and you beat love down,” (Act II, scene iv, lines 27-28). The word “prick” typically means to puncture, however, it can also refer to an erect object. Mercutio is using the different words to slyly make a sexual joke. He is nowhere near as dramatic as Romeo; Mercutio’s relaxedness brings out how excessively dramatic Romeo