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Majority Complete |
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Complete |
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Complete with the exception of the following minor characters: Petruchio; Capulet's cousin, Peter, Paris' page, Citizens, Musicians, Watchmen, Chorus, Attendants, Maskers, Torchbearers, a Boy with a drum, Gentlemen, Gentlewomen, Tybalt's page. |
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Partial |
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Author: |
William Shakespeare | |
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Shakespeare's principal source for the plot was The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet (1562), a long narrative poem by the English poet Arthur Broke or Brooke (d. 1563). Broke had based his poem on a French translation of a tale by an Italian writer, Matteo Bandello (1485-1561) (Merriam Webster 964). ANALYSIS SOURCES: Bevington, David. Introduction. Romeo and Juliet. By William Shakespeare. Ed. David Bevington. New York: Bantam, 1988. xi-xxv. Bryant, J .A., Jr. Introduction. Romeo and Juliet. By William Shakespeare. Ed. J. A. Bryant, Jr. New York: Penguin, 1998. lxiii-lxxviii. Charlton, H. B. Essay. Romeo and Juliet. By William Shakespeare. Ed. J. A. Bryant, Jr. New York: Penguin, 1998. 144-159. Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. Essay. Romeo and Juliet. By William Shakespeare. Ed. J. A. Bryant, Jr. New York: Penguin, 1998. 133-143. Drabble, M., ed. The Oxford Companion to English Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. Gibbons, Brian. Introduction. Romeo and Juliet. By William Shakespeare. Ed. Brian Gibbons. York: Methuen, 1980. 1-77. Johnson, Samuel. Essay. Romeo and Juliet. By William Shakespeare. Ed. J. A. Bryant, Jr. New York: Penguin, 1998. 131-32. Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature. Springfield, Mass: Merriam Webster, 1995. Paster, Gail Kern. Essay. "Romeo and Juliet: A Modern Perspective." Romeo and Juliet. By William Shakespeare. Eds. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square Press, 1992. Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. Eds. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square Press, 1992. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Ed. G. Carey. Lincoln: Cliffs Notes, 1979. Snyder,
Susan. Essay. Romeo and Juliet. By William Shakespeare. Ed.
J. A. Bryant, Jr. New York: Penguin, 1998. 171-186. |
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Genre: |
Romance--"Though a tragedy, Romeo and Juliet is in some ways more closely comparable to Shakespeare's romantic comedies . . . . it revels in punning, metaphor, and wit combat" (Bevington ix). | |
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Setting: |
(In fair Verona, where we lay our scene)--Verona, Italy | |
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Period: |
Late 1500's--told over the course of four or five days. | |
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Analysis by: |
Katharine E. Monahan Huntley |
INFORMATION ABOUT THIS ANALYSIS:
The text used for this analysis is The Folger Shakespeare Library edition of Romeo and Juliet--second quarto, for the most part.
Comments:
Coleridge's commentary about Shakespeare (although completely unintentional), relates to how Dramatica works so well with the Bard:
"Shakespeare has this advantage over all other dramatists--that he has availed himself of his psychological genius to develop all the minutiae of the human heart: showing us the thing that, to common observers, he seems solely intent upon, he makes visible what we should not otherwise have seen: just as, after looking at distant objects through a telescope, when we behold them subsequently with the naked eye, we see them with greater distinctness, and in more detail, than we should otherwise have done." (136-137) The "minutiae" of "Romeo and Juliet's" characters and their actions is accounted for in this Dramatica storyform, and explicated in its analysis.
Brief Synopsis:
Two households, both alike in dignity
(In fair Verona, where we lay our scene),
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life;
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Doth with their death bury their parents' strife. (Partial Prologue)
Overall Character Mini-Synopsis:
According to Bryant:
Apart from the two protagonists, the people of Verona, or rather those that Shakespeare has presented to us, may be arranged in two groups. The first of these, by far the larger, includes all the supernumeraries, such minor characters as Peter and the Apothecary, and a few relatively important figures like Tybalt, the Capulets, and the Nurse, Paris, and Benvolio. These are the static or "flat" characters, who are "by nature" what they are; and their functions are to present the limited range of values they embody and to make the plot go. . . . The second group consists of three characters who give a doubly strong impression of life because they include among their qualities some degree of perception or understanding. Prince Escalus, slight as he is, is one of these, and Friar Lawrence another. . . . Mercutio . . . is the third member of this more perceptive group. . . . Mercutio, in defense of both Romeo's honor and his person, picked up the challenge [issued by Tybalt] and would have killed Tybalt but for Romeo's intervention. . . . Mercutio was on the point of bringing to pass what neither civil authority [Prince Escalus] nor well-intentioned but misplaced ingenuity [Friar Lawrence] had been able to accomplish, and Romeo with a single sentimental action . . . destroyed his only hope of averting tragedy long enough to achieve the maturity he needed in order to avoid it all together. (1xxvii)
Dramatis Personae
Escalus, Prince of Verona
Mercutio, a young gentleman and kinsman to the Prince, friend of Romeo.
Paris, a noble young kinsman to the Prince.
Page to Paris.
Montague, head of a Veronese family at feud with the Capulets.
Lady Montague.
Romeo, Montague's son.
Benvolio, Montague's nephew and friend of Romeo and Mercutio.
Abram, a servant to Montague.
Balthasar, Romeo's servant.
Capulet, head of a Veronese family at feud with the Montagues.
Lady Capulet.
Juliet, Capulet's daughter.
Tybalt, Lady Capulet's nephew.
Capulet's Cousin, an old gentleman.
Nurse, a Capulet servant, Juliet's foster mother.
Peter, a Capulet servant attending on the Nurse.
Of the Capulet household:
Sampson,
Gregory,
Anthony,
Potpan,
Servingmen.
Of the Franciscan Order:
Friar Lawrence,
Friar John,
An Apothecary, of Mantua.
Three Musicians.
Members of the Watch, Citizens of Verona, Masquers, Torchbearers, Pages, Servants.
Chorus.
Name: Romeo
ID: Main Character
Gender: Male
Description:
CAPULET
"Young Romeo is it? (1.5.72) He bears him like a portly gentleman,/And, to say truth, Verona brags of him/To be a virtuous and well-governed youth" (1.5.75-77).
Role: Lover
Story Activities: "The sudden crisis [killing Tybalt] awakens primitive instincts which momentarily overwhelm his finer nature" (Gibbons 71).
Background & Family History: "He appears to be in love with Rosaline; but, in truth, he is in love only with his own idea. He felt the necessity of being beloved which no noble mind can be without" (Coleridge 142).
Character Type: Complex
Characteristics:
Motivation: Pursuit
Purpose: Desire; Actuality; Self Aware
Name: Juliet
ID: Impact Character
Gender: Female
Description:
"Youth, freshness, and vulnerable innocence" (Gibbons 40)
Role: Object of Affection
Character Type: Complex
Characteristics:
Motivation: Logic; Faith
Purpose: Ability; Aware
Name: Abram
Gender: Male
Role: Servant to Montague
Name: Apothecary
Gender: Male
Description:
"caitiff [miserable] wretch"
Role: Medicine Man
Name: Balthasar
Gender: Male
Description:
Loyal to a fault
Role: Romeo's servingman
Character Type: Complex
Characteristics:
Motivation: Support
Name: Benvolio
Gender: Male
Role: Romeo's cousin
Story Activities: "And Benvolio, a relative of the Montagues, is a consistent peacemaker. He tries to suppress a brawl amongst the rival retainers and invites Tybalt, a Capulet to assist him in the work. Later he begs his friends to avoid trouble by keeping out of the way of the Capulets, for it is the season of hot blood" (Charlton 153):
I pray thee, good Mercutio, let's retire:/The day is hot, the Capulet's abroad,/And if we meet, we shall not scape a brawl;/For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring (3.1.1-4).
Character Type: Complex
Characteristics:
Motivation: Avoidance
Methodology: Acceptance
Purpose: Inertia
Name: Friar Lawrence
Gender: Male
Description:
"Vigorous and ingenuous" (Bryant lxxvi)
Role: Priest
Story Activities: "Trying only to bring peace to Verona, he agrees to help Romeo and Juliet, but he quickly finds himself . . . entangled in new complications. Unfortunately, his well-laid plans depend on chance" (Carey 12).
Skills & Occupations: "Friar Laurence is one of the tribe of manipulators, whose job it is to transform or otherwise get round seemingly intractable realities" (Snyder 180).
Character Type: Complex
Characteristics:
Motivation: Consider; Help
Methodology: Reduction; Evaluation
Evaluation: Expectation; Ending
Purpose: Equity; Projection
Name: Gregory
Gender: Male
Role: Servant to Capulet
Name: Lady Capulet
Gender: Female
Description:
Young, beautiful "a nasty temper" (Carey 13)
Role: Juliet's mother:
Name: Lady Montague
Gender: Female
Description:
Lady Montague is extremely concerned for her family's safety. She does not want her husband engaging in any quarrels--and later grieves for her son's death, dying of sadness herself.
Role: Romeo's mother
Name: Lord Capulet
Gender: Male
Description:
"His querulous fussiness, his casual bonhomie, his almost senile humor, and his childish irascibility hardly make him the pattern of a clan chieftain" (Charlton 152). "Lady Capulet ridicules her ageing [sic] husband's marital pretension" (Gibbons 41).
Role: Juliet's father
Story Activities: "Juliet's father is on stage much more than Montague. He is very likeable in the ball scene as he reminisces with an old kinsman while watching the young people dance, and later when he is defending Romeo and upbraiding Tybalt. But his moods can undergo immediate change, as when he feels crossed by Juliet" (Carey 11).
Character Type: Complex
Characteristics:
Purpose: Inequity
Name: Lord Montague
Gender: Male
Description:
Like his wife, Lord Montague is concerned for his son.
Role: Romeo's father
Story Activities: "As father of Romeo, he is worried about his son's disturbed emotional state. After Romeo's death, Montague promises Capulet to honor Juliet with a golden statue" (Carey 11).
Name: Mercutio
Gender: Male
Description:
"Mercutio's wit, gaiety, and courage, will always procure him friends that wish him a longer life . . ." (Johnson 131)
Role: Romeo's friend; Prince's kinsman
Story Activities: "Mercutio is a man possessing all the elements of a poet: the whole world was, as it were, subject to his laws of association. . . . By his loss it was contrived that the whole catastrophe of the tragedy should be brought about: it endears him to Romeo and gives to the death of Mercutio an importance which it could not otherwise have acquired" (Coleridge 137).
Skills & Occupations: "He is the best of game-players, endlessly inventive and full of quick moves and countermoves" (Snyder 177).
Character Type: Complex
Characteristics:
Motivation: Disbelief; Oppose
Methodology: Proaction; Induction
Purpose: Chaos; Change
Name: Nurse
Gender: Female
Description:
". . . at once loquacious and secret, obsequious and insolent, trusty and dishonest" (Johnson 132).
Role: Juliet's nurse
Story Activities: "From the beginning, she is garrulous, corruptible, and insensitive; and as long as nothing requires her to be otherwise, she can also be amusing. At her crisis, when Juliet asks her to be wise, the Nurse can only suggest bigamy, a course quite in keeping with the values she herself is made of" (Bryant lxxiv).
Physical Traits & Mannerisms: ". . . in the Nurse you have all the garrulity of old age, and all its fondness . . . . You have also in the Nurse the arrogance of ignorance and the pride of meanness at being connected with a great family" (Coleridge 139).
Character Type: Complex
Characteristics:
Motivation: Reconsider
Name: Paris
Gender: Male
Description:
Lady Capulet gives Juliet "a very affected description of Paris as if he were a beautiful but unbound book in need of a cover (binding)" (Mowat and Werstine 38).
Role: Juliet's suitor
Story Activities: "He is handsome and courteous, and he hopes to marry Juliet. He duels with Romeo in the Capulet tomb, mistakenly believing . . . Romeo has come to desecrate the bodies of Juliet and Tybalt" (Carey 11).
Physical Traits & Mannerisms: Nurse describes Paris' physical beauty as "a man of wax" (1.3.82)--"The ideal form of a man such as an artist might fashion in wax" (Mowat and Werstine 38).
Character Type: Complex
Characteristics:
Purpose: Perception
Name: Prince Escalus
Gender: Male
Description:
Fair-minded and "forthright" (Bryant lxxvi)
Role: Prince of Verona
Story Activities: "The fact that the Prince must intervene [in the Montague and Capulet feud] is especially significant to this play because it serves to lift the action out of the realm of a domestic tragedy--that is, the feud has reached the stage where the issue is of public import" (Carey 11).
Character Type: Complex
Characteristics:
Motivation: Control; Conscience
Purpose: Order
Name: Sampson
Gender: Male
Role: Servant to Capulet
Story Activities: "Samson and Gregory in the first scene are slapstick cowards, hiding behind the law and daring to quarrel only when reinforcements arrive" (Bevington xxi).
Name: Servingman
Gender: Male
Description:
Illiterate
Role: Servant to Capulet
Name: Tybalt
Gender: Male
Description:
". . . the embodiment of violent aggression" (Gibbons 39).
Role: Kinsman to the Capulets
Story Activities: "Tybalt alone resents Romeo's presence at the ball . . . because Tybalt feels Romeo's coming to be an insult, he seeks him out next day to challenge him, so providing the immediate occasion of the new outburst" (Charlton 154).
Affiliations & Beliefs: "Tybalt alone takes the feud really seriously. It is his inner law, the propeller of his fiery nature" (Snyder 176).
Skills & Occupations: "a fierce and skilled fencer" (Carey 12)
Interests: Tybalt's passionate hatred of the Montagues is illustrated in Act 1, Scene 1:
TYBALT
What, art thou drawn among these heartless hinds?/Turn thee, Benvolio; look upon thy death.
BENVOLIO
I do but keep the peace. Put up thy sword,/Or manage it to part these men with me.
TYBALT
What, drawn and talk of peace? I hate the word/As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee. (1.1.67-72)
Character Type: Complex
Characteristics:
Motivation: Feeling; Uncontrolled; Temptation; Hinder
Methodology: Nonacceptance
Character: Abram
Abram's Introduction in the story:
Abram is introduced in Act 1, Scene 1, when he quarrels with Sampson and Gregory.
Abram's dismissal from the story:
Abram does not appear after Act 1, Scene 1.
PRINCE
Once more, on pain of death, all men depart (1.1.105).
Character: Apothecary
Apothecary's Introduction in the story:
The apothecary is introduced in Act 5, Scene 1, when Romeo purchases "mortal drugs" (5.1.66) from him.
Apothecary's dismissal from the story:
The apothecary is dismissed in Act 5, Scene 1, after selling Romeo poison that will "dispatch you straight" (5.1.108).
Character: Balthasar
Balthasar's Introduction in the story:
Balthasar is introduced in Act 5, Scene 1, when he arrives in Matua with the report of Juliet's death.
Balthasar's dismissal from the story:
Balthasar is dismissed in Act 5, Scene 3, when he tells the Prince of his master's actions.
Character: Benvolio
Benvolio's Introduction in the story:
Benvolio is introduced in Act 1, Scene 1, as he quells Montague servingmen from fighting: "Part, fools! Put up your swords. You know not what you do" (1.65-66).
Benvolio's dismissal from the story:
Benvolio explains to Prince Escalus what happened in the "bloody fray" (3.1.159) involving Romeo, Tybalt, and Mercutio. He does not appear thereafter.
Benvolio's relationship with Tybalt
". . . Benvolio, the man of good will, is set against Tybalt, the embodiment of violent aggression" (Gibbons 39).
Character: Friar Lawrence
Friar Lawrence's Introduction in the story:
Romeo leaves Juliet and goes straight to his confidant, Friar Lawrence, in Act 2, Scene 3.
Friar Lawrence's dismissal from the story:
Friar Lawrence explains to all what has transpired between Romeo and Juliet in Act 5, Scene 3.
Friar Lawrence's relationship with Prince Escalus
The Prince and Friar Lawrence desire the same goal:
"Like the Prince, the Friar has had from the start a clear perception of the danger latent in the old quarrel, and like the Prince he has taken steps appropriate to his position to mend the differences and restore order" (Bryant lxxv).
Character: Gregory
Gregory's Introduction in the story:
Sampson and Gregory are introduced in Act 1, Scene 1. They enter with "swords and bucklers." "They encounter two Montague servingmen, Abram and another" (Carey 14).
Gregory's dismissal from the story:
Gregory is dismissed In Act 1, Scene 1, after the "fray":
PRINCE
Once more, on pain of death, all men depart (1.1.105).
Character: Juliet
Juliet's Introduction in the story:
At the bidding of Nurse, Juliet obediently comes to her mother, Lady Capulet, in Act 1, Scene 3: "Madam, I am here. What is your will?" (1.3.7)
Juliet's dismissal from the story:
Grief-stricken, Juliet stabs herself with Romeo's dagger in Act 5, Scene 3.
Juliet's relationship with Nurse
"The Nurse . . . is emphatically coarse in her vitality, providing a foil for Juliet's lightness and natural delicacy" (Gibbons 39).
Juliet's relationship with Romeo
"In their first kiss Romeo and Juliet withdraw into a private world of intimacy, suspending the world's ordinary time and replacing it with the rival time of the imagination" (Gibbons 55).
Character: Lady Capulet
Lady Capulet's Introduction in the story:
Lady Capulet accompanies Lord Capulet in Act 1, Scene, 1, as they come across Benvolio and Tybalt and others engaged in a fracas.
Lady Capulet's dismissal from the story:
Lady Capulet mourns her daughter in Act 5, Scene 3.
Character: Lady Montague
Lady Montague's Introduction in the story:
Lady Montague accompanies Lord Montague as they arrive at the brawl immediately after Lord Capulet, in Act 1, Scene 1:
Montague: Thou villain Capulet!--Hold me not; let me go.
Lady Montague: Thou shalt not stir one foot to seek a foe. (1.1.81-82)
Lady Montague's dismissal from the story:
Lord Montague tells the Prince of his wife's death:
MONTAGUE
Alas, my liege, my wife is dead tonight./Grief of my son's exile hath stopped her breath (5.3.218/19).
Character: Lord Capulet
Lord Capulet's Introduction in the story:
Lord Capulet is introduced in Act 1, Scene, 1, as he comes across Benvolio and Tybalt and others engaged in a fracas: "What noise is this? Give me my long sword, ho!" (1.1.76)
Lord Capulet's dismissal from the story:
Capulet's last words are uttered in the final scene: "As rich shall Romeo's by his lady lie,/Poor sacrifices of our enmity." (5.3.314-15)
Character: Lord Montague
Lord Montague's Introduction in the story:
Lord Montague arrives at the brawl immediately after Capulet in Act 1, Scene 1:
CAPULET
My sword, I say. Old Montague is come/And flourishes his blade in spite of me.
MONTAGUE
Thou villain Capulet!--Hold me not; let me go. (1.1.79-81)
Lord Montague's dismissal from the story:
Montague responds to Capulet's gesture of friendship with the promise to raise a "statue in pure gold" (5.3.310) of Juliet.
Character: Mercutio
Mercutio's Introduction in the story:
Mercutio is introduced in Act 1, Scene 4, as the young gallants discuss attending Capulet's feast.
Mercutio's dismissal from the story:
Mercutio is fatally wounded in Act 3, Scene 1, as he curses: "A plague o' both your houses!" (3.1.111)
Mercutio's relationship with Romeo
"Mercutio is a foil to Romeo the lover." (Gibbons 40)
Character: Nurse
Nurse's Introduction in the story:
Nurse is introduced in Act 1, Scene 3, bidding Juliet to come to Lady Capulet.
Nurse's dismissal from the story:
Nurse is dismissed in Act 4, Scene 5, as she mourns Juliet: ". . . this is a pitiful case" (4.5.104).
Nurse's relationship with Juliet
"The Nurse . . . is emphatically coarse in her vitality, providing a foil for Juliet's lightness and natural delicacy" (Gibbons 39).
Character: Paris
Paris's Introduction in the story:
Paris is introduced in Act 1, Scene 2, discussing with Capulet his suit for Juliet's hand.
Paris's dismissal from the story:
Paris is mourning Juliet at the church when Romeo comes upon him. They fight, and Romeo slays Paris. As he is dying, Paris beseeches his rival to "lay me with Juliet" (5.3.73), a request Romeo honors.
Paris's relationship with Romeo
". . . Paris [is] rival to Romeo in the second half of the play, once Tybalt and Mercutio are dead and Benvolio fades from the action. . . . Thus Shakespeare develops Paris into a noble rival to Romeo; he has public acceptability and observes the rules of conventional courtship, so contrasting with Romeo's secret and unconventional love" (Gibbons 41).
Character: Prince Escalus
Prince Escalus's Introduction in the story:
Prince Escalus, with his train, comes upon the fray in Act 1, Scene 1, and makes his pronouncement: "If you ever disturb our streets again,/Your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace." (1.1.98-99)
Prince Escalus's dismissal from the story:
Prince Escalus has the final word in Romeo and Juliet: "For never was a story of more woe/Than this of Juliet and her Romeo." (5.3.320-321)
Prince Escalus's relationship with Friar Lawrence
The Prince and Friar Lawrence desire the same goal:
"Like the Prince, the Friar has had from the start a clear perception of the danger latent in the old quarrel, and like the Prince he has taken steps appropriate to his position to mend the differences and restore order" (Bryant lxxv).
Character: Romeo
Romeo 's Introduction in the story:
Romeo is introduced in Act 1, Scene 1, wandering about--disconsolate over his infatuation with Rosaline: "Out of favor where I am in love" (1.173).
Romeo 's dismissal from the story:
Romeo, believing Juliet is dead, takes the apothecary's poison and dies in Act 5, Scene 3:
ROMEO
Eyes, look your last./Arms take your last embrace./And, lips, O, you/The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss/A dateless bargain to engrossing death./. . . O true apothecary,/Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die. (5.3.111-15, 119-20)
Romeo 's relationship with Juliet
"In their first kiss Romeo and Juliet withdraw into a private world of intimacy, suspending the world's ordinary time and replacing it with the rival time of the imagination" (Gibbons 55).
Romeo 's relationship with Mercutio
"Mercutio is a foil to Romeo the lover." (Gibbons 40)
Romeo 's relationship with Paris
". . . Paris [is] rival to Romeo in the second half of the play, once Tybalt and Mercutio are dead and Benvolio fades from the action. . . . Thus Shakespeare develops Paris into a noble rival to Romeo; he has public acceptability and observes the rules of conventional courtship, so contrasting with Romeo's secret and unconventional love" (Gibbons 41).
Romeo 's relationship with Tybalt
Romeo and Tybalt belong to rival households. Tybalt, believing Romeo to have insulted the Capulet's, challenges him to a duel, resulting in his death at Romeo's hands.
Character: Sampson
Sampson's Introduction in the story:
Sampson and Gregory are introduced in Act 1, Scene 1. They enter with "swords and bucklers." "They encounter two Montague servingmen, Abram and another" (Carey 14).
Sampson's dismissal from the story:
Sampson is dismissed after the "fray":
PRINCE
Once more, on pain of death, all men depart (1.1.105).
Character: Servingman
Servingman's Introduction in the story:
Capulet's servingman is introduced in Act 1, Scene 2. He bears the list of the guests to be invited to Capulet's feast. He cannot read, and coming across Romeo, asks for help. Further, the servingman, not realizing he is talking to his master's enemy, invites Romeo and Benvolio to ". . . come and crush a cup of wine" (1.2.87-88).
Servingman's dismissal from the story:
The servingman is dismissed in Act 4, Scene 4, as he and others prepare for Juliet's wedding to Paris.
Character: Tybalt
Tybalt's Introduction in the story:
Tybalt is introduced in Act 1, Scene 1, as he comes upon Benvolio and challenges the Montague kinsman to a sword fight.
Tybalt's dismissal from the story:
Tybalt is dismissed in Act 3, Scene 1, when Romeo kills him.
Tybalt's relationship with Benvolio
". . . Benvolio, the man of good will, is set against Tybalt, the embodiment of violent aggression" (Gibbons 39).
Tybalt's relationship with Romeo
Romeo and Tybalt belong to rival households. Tybalt, believing Romeo to have insulted the Capulet's, challenges him to a duel, resulting in his death at Romeo's hands.
Nature as it relates to Actual Work:
The nature of the story is actual work as the community must change to Romeo's point of view.
Essence as it relates to Negative Feel:
The essence of the story is negative, as the objective characters attempt to avoid the expectations placed upon them.
Tendency as it relates to Unwilling:
Romeo's first approach to problem solving is to internalize the dilemma, thus as a be-er in an action story, he is uncomfortable.
Reach as it relates to Both:
Women and men will empathize with ". . . the brilliant and violent delights of love at first sight" (Gibbons 61).
Main Character Resolve as it relates to Steadfast:
Romeo remains steadfast in his love for Juliet and desire to remain at her side--to the point of following his wife in death.
Impact Character Resolve as it relates to Change:
Juliet changes from the Capulet's dutiful daughter to wife of Romeo. She has a mind of her own with no one, save Friar Lawrence, to guide her. As an example, she looks to the woman who raised her for advice: "At her crisis, when Juliet asks her to be wise, the Nurse can only suggest bigamy, a course quite in keeping with the values she herself is made of. Here the Nurse is no longer funny, but she has not changed. It is Juliet who has done that" (Bryant lxxiv).
Main Character Growth as it relates to Start:
Romeo has to start acting like the man that Juliet is certain he can be.
Main Character Approach as it relates to Be-er:
Romeo's first preference in approaching a conflict is to adapt himself to the environment, for example, he lacks interest in the (contentious) " . . . activities of his gang of friends, whom he accompanies only reluctantly to the Capulet feast: 'I'll be a candle holder and look on'" (1.4.38) (Paster 258); After making Juliet his wife, he tries to placate Tybalt rather than fight him; and so forth.
Main Character Problem-Solving Style as it relates to Logical:
Romeo uses cause and effect problem solving techniques. As an example, in his first scene with Benvolio, he explains Rosaline's cold heart is the cause of his morose behavior--he does not look beyond this to determine the real reason for his unhappiness--that he has not yet found true love.
Story Driver as it relates to Action:
The "three civil brawls" (1.1.91) the Capulets and Montagues have engaged in force Prince Escalus to determine: "If you ever disturb our streets again,/Your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace" (1.1.98-99), thus driving the story forward. Gibbons asserts: "In Romeo and Juliet the play's decisive events occur with instantaneous suddenness: servants brawl on sight, the lovers fall in love at first sight, the shock of the tragic catastrophe converts the parents suddenly and completely from hate to love" (70).
Story Limit as it relates to Optionlock:
With their two only children dead, the Montagues and Capulets come to their senses and reconcile.
Story Outcome as it relates to Success:
The grief stricken Capulets and Montagues reconcile, horrified the ancient grudge has resulted in their children's deaths:
PRINCE
A glooming peace this morning with it brings. The sun for sorrow will not show his head (5.3.316-317).
Story Judgment as it relates to Bad:
Romeo ultimately fails in his efforts to live happily ever after with his "heart's dear love" (2.3.61)--"For never was a story of more woe/Than this of Juliet and her Romeo" (5.3.320-21).
Overall Story Name: "An Ancient Grudge"
Throughline Synopsis:
The Montagues and Capulets, the two chief families of Verona, are bitter enemies; Escalus, the prince, threatens anyone who disturbs the peace with death. Romeo, son of old Lord Montague, is in love with Lord Capulet's niece Rosaline. But at a feast given by Capulet, which Romeo attends disguised by a mask, he sees and falls in love with Juliet, Capulet's daughter, and she with him. After the feast he overhears, under her window, Juliet's confession of her love for him, and wins her consent to a secret marriage. With the help of Friar Laurence, they are wedded next day. Mercutio, a friend of Romeo, meets Tybalt, of the Capulet family, who is infuriated by his discovery of Romeo's presence at the feast, and they quarrel. Romeo comes on the scene, and attempts to reason with Tybalt, but Tybalt and Mercutio fight, and Mercutio falls. Then Romeo draws and Tybalt is killed. The prince, Montague, and Capulet come up, and Romeo is sentenced to banishment. Early the next day, after spending the night with Juliet, he leaves Verona for Mantua, counselled by the friar, who intends to reveal Romeo's marriage at an opportune moment. Capulet proposes to marry Juliet to Count Paris, and when she seeks excuses to avoid this, peremptorily insists. Juliet consults the friar, who bids her consent to the match, but on the night before the wedding drink a potion which will render her apparently lifeless for 42 hours. He will warn Romeo, who will rescue her from the vault on her awakening and carry her to Mantua. The friar's message to Romeo miscarries, and Romeo hears that Juliet is dead. Buying poison, he comes to the vault to have a last sight of Juliet. He chances upon Count Paris outside the vault; they fight and Paris is killed. Then Romeo, after a last kiss on Juliet's lips, drinks the poison and dies. Juliet awakes and finds Romeo dead by her side, and the cup still in his hand. Guessing what has happened, she stabs herself and dies. The story is unfolded by the friar and Count Paris's page, and Montague and Capulet, faced by the tragic results of their enmity, are reconciled. The play begins with a sonnet spoken by the chorus and in its poetry, language, and plot reflects the sonnet craze of the 1590's from which period Shakespeare's own sequence dates. (Drabble 854)
Backstory:
The backstory of Shakespeare's tragedy is described in the prologue: Two households, both alike in dignity/(In fair Verona, where we lay our scene),/From ancient grudge break to new mutiny/Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
Throughline as it relates to Activity:
Problems in the objective story are derived from activities and endeavors, principally to do with the ancient grudge between the Capulets and Montagues, and Friar Lawrence's attempt to reconcile the two families. Gibbons explains:
Shakespeare makes the plot depend crucially on messages. He invents the episode in which Romeo, Benvolio, and Mercutio learn by accident from Capulet's illiterate servant of the proposed ball. This scheme is repeated when the Nurse haphazardly encounters the young gallants, and Romeo lightheartedly identifies himself amidst the bawdy mockery of his friends. Later, the Nurse brings Juliet a happy reply (II,v). In the second, tragic, movement of the play, the Nurse brings Juliet the news of Tybalt's death and Romeo's banishment . . . . Shakespeare stresses in both scenes the ease with which messages can go wrong; so Juliet at first thinks it is Romeo, not Tybalt, whom the Nurse saw bedaubed in gore-blood. . . . In the closing movement of the play Balthasar brings Romeo the false report of Juliet's death (v.i); immediately afterwards, as Romeo leaves the stage by one door, bearing a phail of poison, Friar John enters by another to begin the next scene by telling Friar Laurence how he failed to get through with the message that Juliet is drugged, not dead. (41-42)
Concern as it relates to Doing:
The objective characters are concerned with engaging in battles of wits, wills, and physical strength--much for the sake of a "quarrel between the two families [Montagues and Capulets] . . . so ancient that the original motives are no longer even discussed. Inspired by the 'fiery' Tybalt, factionalism pursues its mindless course despite the efforts of the Prince to end it" (Bevington xxii).
Issue as it relates to Experience :
Thematic issues regarding experience in the objective story are illustrated in terms of age. This is seen particularly in Lord Capulet and Nurse, both who think they know what's best for Juliet, and Friar Lawrence, who counsels the young lovers.
Counterpoint as it relates to Skill :
Skill is illustrated in feats of swordplay, such as the duel between Mercutio and Tybalt--and in feats of wordplay, such as Mercutio's "Queen Mab" speech. Proficiency in both is well regarded.
Thematic Conflict as it relates to Experience vs. Skill:
In Romeo and Juliet, experience creates a generation gap between old and young. Aptitude for a quick draw or insightful jest is held in higher esteem by the younger generation, more than any experience an elder might try to pass on.
Problem as it relates to Expectation:
Expectations the objective characters have for one another create problems. An illustration of this is seen in Paris, Juliet's prospective bridegroom. Capulet has granted permission for the young man to court and marry his daughter--when Juliet refuses the suit, Capulet is outraged and abusive.
Solution as it relates to Determination:
Friar Lawrence, Prince Escalus, Capulet and Montague all determine their part and acknowledge their accountability in the tragedy of the young lovers: "The long last public ceremonial is important because, although the private catastrophe of the lovers is unalterably complete, recognition occurs only when the whole story is known by all" (Bevington xxv).
Symptom as it relates to Non-Accurate:
The Prince will not tolerate any more "frays" on the part of the Capulets and Montagues; Lord Capulet does not tolerate his daughter's insubordination, neither does Lady Capulet: "Talk not to me, for I'll not speak a word./Do as thou wilt, for I have done with thee" (3.5.215).
Response as it relates to Accurate:
Despite Prince Escalus' pronouncement against further outbreaks of violence between the Capulets and Montagues: "Your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace" (1.1.99), he is tolerant when Romeo kills Tybalt, allowing him banishment instead of death.
Catalyst as it relates to Enlightenment:
The objective story accelerates when Friar Lawrence intuitively discerns, if he aids Romeo and Juliet in their desire to marry, their rival families will ultimately reconcile: "In one respect I'll thy assistant be,/For this alliance may so happy prove/To turn your households' rancour to pure love" (2.3.96-99); After Mercutio's death: ". . . Romeo sees at once that an irreversible process has begun . . . . The temper of this new world is largely a function of onrushing events" (Snyder 178).
Inhibitor as it relates to Threat:
The action that starts the story is halted when, after the feuding families have engaged in "Three civil brawls"(1.1.91), the Prince threatens Capulet and Montague: "If ever you disturb our streets again,/Your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace" (1.1.98-99); As a warning to the community against further battles, Prince Escalus banishes Romeo. The objective story is impeded--Friar Lawrence counsels Romeo to wait patiently ". . . . till we can find a time/To blaze your marriage, reconcile your friends,/Beg pardon of the Prince, and call thee back" (3.3.150-52).
Benchmark as it relates to Gathering Information:
Much of the tragedy can be attributed to ignorance and misinformation. As the characters begin to learn the true nature of people and events, they can begin to make informed decisions.
Goal as it relates to Doing:
Friar Lawrence states the goal, the Capulet and Montagues' feud must be undone--Romeo and Juliet will marry: "To turn your households' rancour to pure love" (2.3.99). "The Friar's aims are those implicit in the play's comic movement: an inviolable union for Romeo and Juliet and an end to the families' feud" (Snyder 180).
Consequence as it relates to Playing a Role:
If the Capulets and Montagues cannot come to terms, they will continue to be arch-enemies--passing on the role to younger generations. The violence acted out over a long forgotten grudge will continue to bring grief to the community of Verona.
Cost as it relates to How Things are Changing:
Friar Lawrence aids in Romeo and Juliet's marital union in hopes it will advance mending the rift between the feuding families--the cost of this progress is the loss of their and other's lives. In another example: "Friar Laurence and the Nurse have no place in the new world brought into being by Mercutio's death, the world of limited time, no effective choice, no escape. They define and sharpen the tragedy by their very failure to find a part in the dramatic progress, by their growing estrangement from the true springs of the action" (Snyder 181).
Dividend as it relates to Impulsive Responses:
Romeo and Juliet give into their impulse to love rashly--which gives them brief happiness; The impulsive banter Mercutio and the Nurse engage in entertains the gallants; and so forth.
Requirements as it relates to Gathering Information:
Montague and Capulet learn of the events that have transpired, and vow to keep peace.
Prerequisites as it relates to Conceiving an Idea:
Friar Lawrence devises a way to end the feud--marry Romeo and Juliet.
Preconditions as it relates to The Present:
Romeo explains to Friar Lawrence the circumstances of Juliet and his relationship--and in the young man's mind it is imperative they wed right now: "Then plainly know my heart's dear love is set/On the fair daughter of rich Capulet./As mine on hers, so hers is set on mine (2.3.61-63). We met, we wooed, and made exchange of vow" (2.3.66).
Forewarnings as it relates to Contemplation:
An example of "conscious" as a forewarning to the consequence of "being"--the Capulets and Montagues remaining rivals--is illustrated during Capulet's feast, when Tybalt becomes cognizant of Romeo on the premises, and wishes to remove him. Capulet refuses to allow Tybalt to create a fracas during the party; Tybalt exits bitterly, contemplating revenge at a later date: "I will withdraw, but this intrusion shall,/Now seeming sweet, convert to bitt'rest gall." (102-103)
Main vs. Impact Story Name: "Love at First Sight"
Throughline Synopsis:
The characters of Romeo and Juliet have been depicted in literature, music, dance, and theater. The appeal of the young hero and heroine--whose families, the Montagues and Capulets, respectively, are implacable enemies--is such that they have become, in the popular imagination, the representative type of star-crossed lovers. . . . Shakespeare set the scene in Verona, Italy, during July. Juliet, a Capulet, and Romeo, a Montague, fall in love at a masked ball of the Capulets and profess their love when Romeo later visits her at her private balcony in her family's home. Because the two noble families are enemies, the couple is married secretly by Friar Laurence. When Tybalt, a Capulet, kills Romeo's friend Mercutio in a quarrel, Romeo kills Tybalt and is banished to Mantua. Juliet's father insists on her marrying Count Paris, and Juliet goes to consult the friar. He gives her a potion that makes a person appear to be dead. He proposes that she take it and that Romeo rescue her; she complies. Unaware of the friar's scheme, Romeo returns to Verona on hearing of Juliet's apparent death. He encounters Paris, kills him, and finds Juliet in the burial vault. He gives her a last kiss and kills himself with poison. Juliet awakens, sees the dead Romeo, and kills herself. The families learn what has happened and end their feud. (Merriam Webster 964-65)
Backstory:
It is not simply that the families of Romeo and Juliet disapprove of the lover's affection for each other; rather, the Montagues and the Capulets are on opposite sides in a blood feud and are trying to kill each other on the streets of Verona. Every time a member of one of the two families dies in the fight, his relatives demand the blood of his killer. Because of the feud, if Romeo is discovered with Juliet, he will be killed. Once Romeo is banished, the only way that Juliet can avoid being married to someone else is to take a potion that apparently kills her, so that she is buried with the bodies of her slain relatives. In this violent, death-filled world, the movement of the story from love at first sight to the union of the lovers in death seems almost inevitable. (Mowat and Werstine xiii)
Throughline as it relates to Manipulation:
Romeo and Juliet do not fall in with their families' way of thinking:
Romeo and Juliet find a new discourse of romantic individualism . . . their union imperils the traditional relations between males that is founded upon the exchange of women, whether the violent exchange Gregory and Sampson crudely imagine or the normative exchange planned by Capulet and Paris. Juliet, as the daughter whose erotic willfulness activates her father's transformation from concerned to tyrannical parent, is the greater rebel. (Paster 264)
Concern as it relates to Playing a Role:
The suddenness of Romeo and Juliet's love, the circumstances in which they are a part--that of belonging to feuding families, and their extreme youth all contribute to the feeling that this is a temporary relationship. Romeo and Juliet's concern is temporarily keeping their marriage secret--hoping to eventually fulfill the role of peacemakers.
An example of Romeo and Juliet's concern with who they are is illustrated in Juliet's balcony speech:
JULIET
O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name!
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I'll no longer be a Capulet. (2.2.36-39)
'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's a Montague? . . . What's in a name?
That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet . . . (2.2.41-43/46-47)
Issue as it relates to Desire :
"The logic of Juliet's almost instant disobedience in looking at, and liking, Romeo (rather than Paris) can be understood as the ironic fulfillment of the fears in traditional patriarchal culture about the uncontrollability of female desire, the alleged tendency of the female gaze to wander." (Paster 260)
Counterpoint as it relates to Ability :
The thematic counterpoint to Romeo and Juliet's desire to be together is "ability"--in this case their inability to engage in romance publicly.
Thematic Conflict as it relates to Desire vs. Ability:
Romeo and Juliet overcome all obstacles in their desire to be together--for the brief time they are able.
Problem as it relates to Effect:
Romeo and Juliet must deal with the effects of their romance. Because they choose to keep it secret, mishaps and misunderstandings occur--to the relationship's detriment.
Solution as it relates to Cause:
If certain objective characters had understood the cause of Romeo and Juliet's strange behavior, the tragedy may not have occurred. For example: "For all his dictatorial ways, and the manifest advantages he sees in marrying his daughter to an aristocrat, Capulet would never knowingly force his daughter into bigamy" (Bevington xxiii).
Symptom as it relates to Non-Accurate:
"Non-Accurate" as the subjective story focus is emphasized in Romeo and Juliet. Tragic mishaps occur because of non-accurate information, for example, Balthasar's report to Romeo of Juliet's death is not quite accurate. In terms of "non-accurate" meaning "not within tolerance," the Capulets and Montagues, at least from the outset, would not tolerate a relationship between the two--hence Romeo and Juliet's (and Friar Lawrence and Nurse's) need for secrecy; Mercutio, as Romeo's closest friend, does not really tolerate Romeo's romantic pursuits, let alone a true love that would separate Romeo as a man from the "boys"; and so forth.
Response as it relates to Accurate:
Accuracy is attempted in Romeo and Juliet's relationship. For example, Friar Laurence is careful to give Juliet just the right amount of poison:
FRIAR LAWRENCE
If thou darest, I'll give thee remedy. (4.1.77)
The efforts in the subjective story are directed toward making the relationship acceptable, however: ". . . the secret marriage in which this new language of feeling is contained cannot here be granted the sanction of a comic outcome. When Romeo and Juliet reunite, it is only to see each other, dead, in the dim confines of the Capulet crypt. In this play the autonomy of romantic individualism remains 'star-crossed'" (Paster 264).
Catalyst as it relates to Thought:
Romeo overhears Juliet musing aloud. Juliet's honest expression of her feelings for him spurs on their relationship:
JULIET
O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore [why] art thou Romeo?/Deny thy father and refuse thy name;/Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,/And I'll no longer be a Capulet.
ROMEO [Aside]
Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?
JULIET
. . . Romeo, doff thy name;/And for thy name, which is no part of thee,/Take all myself.
ROMEO
I take thee at thy word./Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized. . . (2.2.33-38, 47-50)
Inhibitor as it relates to Worry:
The apprehension concerning the future of Romeo and Juliet's relationship impedes the subjective story progress:
JULIET
O God, I have an ill-diving soul!/Methinks I see thee, now thou art so low,/As one dead in the bottom of a tomb (3.5.54-56).
Benchmark as it relates to Conceiving an Idea:
As an example of "conceiving" as the standard by which growth is measured in the subjective story, after their first meeting, Juliet conceives of the next step in their relationship:
JULIET
Three words, dear Romeo, and good night indeed.
If that thy bent of love be honorable,
Thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow,
By one that I'll procure to come to thee,
Where and what time thou wilt perform the rite
And all my fortunes at thy foot I'll lay
And follow thee my lord throughout the world. (2.2.149-155)
Role: Lover
Description:
CAPULET
"Young Romeo is it? (1.5.72) He bears him like a portly gentleman,/And, to say truth, Verona brags of him/To be a virtuous and well-governed youth" (1.5.75-77).
Throughline Synopsis:
When we first hear of Romeo in Shakespeare's play he is described in the attitude of a typical Elizabethan melancholy lover; he is young and untried, but there is at first an element of parody in Shakespeare's presentation of him; his conventionality and bookishness are obvious in the first words he speaks, all absurdly stereotyped paradox and similitude . . . it is only the unusually rapid and intense alternations of mood, and a certain musical sensitivity on diction that enliven his speech. . . . When Romeo enters Capulet's garden . . . . Romeo . . . finds new language. . . . Romeo's development, however, is not achieved without uncertainties, hesitations, and false notes. (Gibbons 47)
Backstory:
Romeo, infatuated with the fair Rosaline, pines away for the lady who does not return his interest. He is a romantic, predisposed to fall in love with the first sight of Juliet.
Throughline as it relates to Fixed Attitude:
What sets Romeo apart from the other males in the story is his disposition in regard to women--one from which he essentially does not waver:
Feuding, then, is the form that male bonding takes in Verona, a bonding which seems linked to the derogation of woman. But Romeo, from the very opening of the play, is distanced both physically and emotionally from the feud . . . . He is alienated . . . from the idea of sexuality that underlies it. Romeo subscribes to a different, indeed a competing view of woman--the idealizing view of the Petrarchan lover. (Paster 257)
Concern as it relates to Impulsive Responses:
Romeo embodies impulsive actions: As Friar Lawrence admonishes: "Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast" (2.4.101). "Romeo . . . misreads the signs of Juliet's revival. Less than a minute's hesitation here would have saved his life and Juliet's, but Romeo acts in passionate haste" (Gibbons 53).
Issue as it relates to Worry :
Romeo does not allow himself the luxury of confidence: "Romeo fears 'Some consequence yet hanging in the stars' when he reluctantly goes to the Capulet's feast (1.4.107); After he has slain Tybalt, he cries 'O, I am fortune's fool!' (3.1.135)" (Bevington xxii).
Counterpoint as it relates to Confidence :
It is his love for Juliet that instills confidence in Romeo--enough to defy his family and friends.
Thematic Conflict as it relates to Worry vs. Confidence:
Although Romeo's nature does not essentially change, he does mature from an apprehensive boy to a man confident in his decisions. Gibbons explains:
When we first hear of Romeo . . . he is described in the attitude of a typical Elizabethan melancholy lover . . . . By the beginning of the last scene, Romeo's transformation of personality is expressed in a new note of resolution and command, compressed, resonant and personal (50).
Problem as it relates to Result:
Romeo's desire for immediate results is the cause of his problems.
Solution as it relates to Process:
Romeo needs to take part of the process to achieve the results he desires.
Symptom as it relates to Non-Accurate:
Romeo focuses on what is inadequate to his needs and desires. An example of this is when he learns he is banished:
ROMEO
Ha, banishment? Be merciful, say "death,"/For exile hath more terror in his look,/Much more than death. Do not say "banishment (3.3.13).
FRIAR LAWRENCE
. . . O deadly sin, O rude unthankfulness! . . . This is a dear mercy, and thou seest it not (3.3.25,30).
Response as it relates to Accurate:
Romeo directs his efforts towards what is acceptable. "Romeo's love of introspective solitude" (Gibbons 53) is tolerated by his parents; Romeo tolerates the antics of his friends; After Friar Lawrence's sententious words, he goes off to Matua until his presence will once more be tolerated in Verona; and so forth.
Unique Ability as it relates to Worth:
Romeo's steadfast belief in his own worth and his right to marry Juliet causes him to defy his own family and that of the Capulets--crucial to the rival families' ultimate reconciliation.
Critical Flaw as it relates to Desire:
What Romeo covets undermines his efforts--evidenced in his desire for Rosaline:
MONTAGUE
Many a morning hath he there been seen,/With tears augmenting the fresh morning dew,/Adding to clouds more clouds with his deep sighs (1.1.134-36).
BENVOLIO
. . . What sadness lengthens Romeo's hours?
ROMEO
Not having that, which, having, makes them short.
BENVOLIO
In love?
ROMEO
. . . Out of her favor where I am in love. . . . A sick man in sadness makes his will--/A word ill urged to one that is so ill./In sadness, cousin, I do love a woman (1.1.210-12).
Benchmark as it relates to Contemplation:
Romeo is first presented as a self-conscious "poseur"--and five days later he has matured, but not quite enough to make sensible, informed decisions. Bryant asserts:
What Romeo needs most of all is a teacher, and the only one capable of giving him instruction worth having and giving it quickly is Mercutio. All the rest are unavailable, or ineffectual, like Benvolio, or unapt for dealing practically with human relations. . . . His first line in the play, discharged at a young fool who is playing the ascetic for love, is revealing: "Nay, gentle Romeo, we must have you dance" (1.4.13). And when gentle Romeo persists in day-dreaming, he says, "Be rough with love," declares that love is a mire and that dreamers are often liars. The long fairy speech which follows dignifies idle dreams by marrying them to earth; its intent is to compel Romeo to acknowledge his senses and to bring him to an honest and healthy confession of what he is really looking for, but Romeo is too wrapped up in self-deception to listen. In Act 2 Mercutio tries harder, speaks more plainly, but prompts from his pupil only the fatuous "He jests at scars that never felt a wound." Later still, in the battle of wits (2.4), Mercutio imagines briefly that he has succeeded: "Why, is not this better now than groaning for love? Now art though sociable, now art thou Romeo; now art thou what thou art, by art as well as by nature" (92.95). There are no wiser words in the whole play, and none more ironic; for Romeo even here has not found his identity and is never really to find it except for those fleeting moments when Juliet is there to lead him by the hand. (lxxviii)
Role: Object of Affection
Description:
"Youth, freshness, and vulnerable innocence" (Gibbons 40)
Throughline Synopsis:
Juliet is the daughter of Lord and Lady Capulet. At the start of her throughline she responds to her mother's question: "Can you like of Paris' love?" (1.4.102), with: "I'll look to like, if looking liking move./But no more deep will I endart mine eye/Than your consent gives strength to make it fly" (1.4.103-05). Over the course of several days, however, Juliet transforms herself from dutiful daughter to a wife--fierce in her commitment to her husband, Romeo, following him even in death: "If that thy bent of love be honorable,/Thy purpose marriage . . . all my fortunes at thy foot I'll lay/And follow thee my lord throughout the world" (2.2.150-55).
Backstory:
Juliet is a young teen--as her father informs Paris: "My child is yet a stranger in the world" (1.2.8). Paster states: "A woman's identity was conceived almost exclusively in relation to male authority and marital status" (254).