Sunday, March 8, 2015

What are some personality traits to describe Romeo during acts 4 and 5 in Romeo and Juliet?

Romeo does not appear in Act IV as he has been banished from Verona to Mantua for the murder of Tybalt. However, in Act V, one could describe Romeo as irrational, rash, and foolish. He does not stop to think through his actions and, as a result, several characters lose their lives - Count Paris, Lady Montague (his own mother), and Juliet, to name a few. In addition to acting irrationally, he also disregards the warnings that he receives about acting too hastily. For example, when his servant, Balthasar, asks him to have some patience before hastily returning to his hometown, thereby breaking his banishment (and the law), Romeo says "Tush, thou art deceived/Leave me and do the thing I bid thee do" (5.1.30-32). Therefore, Romeo could also be described as self-absorbed, unwilling to listen to and act upon the warnings of others.


Romeo actually does not appear in act IV, having been banished from Verona for killing Tybalt in the previous act. In act V, we see that he is still an impulsive young man, but this time, it is for a good reason—he has just received the disturbing news from Balthasar that Juliet is dead. Balthasar, it turns out, is not privy to the plot between Juliet and the Friar, and he does not realize that she is not really dead. Once he receives the news, Romeo makes his way to an apothecary, where he purchases a poison to use for suicide. He plans to return to Verona and die by Juliet's grave. This, of course, he does, and Juliet awakes to find his corpse, and the tragedy is complete. Romeo acted impulsively in returning to kill himself, but the character trait that is clearest in the final act is his sincere and faithful love for Juliet. Early in the play, he was fickle and juvenile in his affection for Rosaline, and some readers and playgoers might believe that his love for Juliet was not as sincere and heartfelt as hers for him. But the final act reveals, in the most tragic way possible, that his love for Juliet is absolutely real, and it is his defining character trait.

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