Character Analysis: Romeo And Juliet

Romeo and Juliet Essay – Year 9 English

The play Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, is a love story about two star crossed lovers from two different households, who fall in love and end up taking their lives. Juliet is a Capulet, Romeo is a Montague, their parents hate each other and they are forbidden to love each other. There has been a strong and everlasting feud between the two families. Romeo is banished from Verona as he killed Tybalt and Juliet wants to fake her death so she could escape to Mantua to be with Romeo. Juliet drinks fake poison so that she will appear dead for a few days. Romeo does not know of this plan and believes Juliet is really dead. He decides he cannot live without Juliet and takes real poison and dies. As he takes the poison Juliet wakes up but it is too late. Juliet cannot live without Romeo so she ends her life by stabbing herself. Many other lives were lost because of the feud but it is only after they lose their loved ones that they end their feud. Romeo and Juliet have to hide their love from almost everyone because if anyone knew about their secret they would be banned from seeing each other ever again. Romeo tells Friar Lawrence about his secret relationship with Juliet and breaks the church law by marrying them in secret, hoping that this could end the fighting between the two families. The feud between the Montagues and Capulets is to blame for the events that took place in Romeo and Juliet. …show more content…
In Verona in the 16th century it was forbidden for a Montague and Capulet to love each other. If the animosity between the two families did not exist in the first place then Romeo and Juliet would not have been afraid to confront their parents about their love. Likewise, if there was no feud, Friar Lawrence would not of had to create a plan to help Romeo and Juliet escape. Eventually the families end their feud but only after loosing Romeo, Juliet, Tybalt, Mercutio and Paris. If the feud did not exist Romeo and Juliet would just have been two teenagers that fell in love and could love how they chose not how the feud determined them too. Friar Lawrence and the Nurse are the only people who knew about Romeo and Juliet being together. One of the tragic events that took place in the play is when Mercutio and Tybalt meet out in the street and fight. Tybalt is from the Capulet faction and Mercutio does not like Tybalt. Mercutio was encouraging Tybalt to fight him as they both hate each other. Mercutio is insulting Tybalt and calling him a musician which, in the 16th century was offensive as musicians were seen as low and not important. Romeo is so in love with Juliet he wants the feud between their families to end. He is desperately trying to stop Tybalt and Mercutio from fighting. Tybalt stabs Mercutio and he dies, Romeo tried to stop this fight but they still went on. Romeo is furious and revenges the death of Mercutio and kills Tybalt, as Mercutio was a close friend of Romeos. The fight between Tybalt, Romeo and Mercutio would never have happened if there was no dispute between the two houses. After the Prince banishes Romeo from Verona, Juliet’s father forces her to marry the County Paris. Juliet cannot tell her parents about her being married to Romeo because he is a Montague and Juliet’s parents would be furious …show more content…
Romeo and Juliet’s death made the families realise that all the fighting and arguing is not worth it if it means they will lose the people they love. If there was no feud in the first place there would not have been any secrecy between people. Romeo and Juliet would not of had to hide their love, Friar Lawrence would not of had to marry them in secret and the Nurse would not of had to keep what she knew to herself. Throughout the play there are other characters that could have been blamed for different things but in the end it all comes back to the feud between the Montagues and the