character analysis romeo and juliet
Juliet
For the majority of act 5, Juliet is in a deep sleep, while Romeo believes she is dead. He travels to Verona after hearing the news of her “death,” as he plans on killing himself. When she wakes up in scene 3, she finds Romeo dead by her side. At this point she changes from being happy and hopeful that her and Romeo were going to be together, to completely miserable and heart broken. While feeling this extreme amount of pain, she makes the decision to kill herself. This was not out of feminine weakness, but rather out of an intensity of love (http://www.sparknotes.com), just like Romeo. Juliet’s suicide actually required even more nerve than Romeo’s did. Romeo swallowed poison, but Juliet stabbed herself through the heart with a dagger. Before she stabbed herself, she said “O happy dagger! This is thy sheath, there rust and let me die,” meaning that her body is a sheath for the dagger and she welcomed death. Juliet’s death, along with Romeo’s, is the main focus of not only act 5, but possibly even the whole play. It goes along with the theme of fate and how they were never meant to be together, which is why their love caused their death.
Apothecary
The apothecary is only seen in act 5, scene 1. Romeo comes to him in Mantua looking for illegal poison in exchange for a large amount of money. Had the apothecary been wealthier, he might have valued his morals more than money (“My poverty, but not my will, consents”). However, he agrees to sell the poison to Romeo, which Romeo later uses to kill himself.
Prince Escalus
Prince Escalus is only seen towards the end of scene 3, act 5. After the bodies of Romeo and Juliet were found, he questioned Friar Laurence, Balthasar, and Paris' Page. After getting all of the facts, he seemed to be very upset at the Capulets and the Montagues. He said, “See, what a scourge is laid upon your hate, that heaven finds means to kill your joys with love,” meaning that the rivalry between the two families was part
For the majority of act 5, Juliet is in a deep sleep, while Romeo believes she is dead. He travels to Verona after hearing the news of her “death,” as he plans on killing himself. When she wakes up in scene 3, she finds Romeo dead by her side. At this point she changes from being happy and hopeful that her and Romeo were going to be together, to completely miserable and heart broken. While feeling this extreme amount of pain, she makes the decision to kill herself. This was not out of feminine weakness, but rather out of an intensity of love (http://www.sparknotes.com), just like Romeo. Juliet’s suicide actually required even more nerve than Romeo’s did. Romeo swallowed poison, but Juliet stabbed herself through the heart with a dagger. Before she stabbed herself, she said “O happy dagger! This is thy sheath, there rust and let me die,” meaning that her body is a sheath for the dagger and she welcomed death. Juliet’s death, along with Romeo’s, is the main focus of not only act 5, but possibly even the whole play. It goes along with the theme of fate and how they were never meant to be together, which is why their love caused their death.
Apothecary
The apothecary is only seen in act 5, scene 1. Romeo comes to him in Mantua looking for illegal poison in exchange for a large amount of money. Had the apothecary been wealthier, he might have valued his morals more than money (“My poverty, but not my will, consents”). However, he agrees to sell the poison to Romeo, which Romeo later uses to kill himself.
Prince Escalus
Prince Escalus is only seen towards the end of scene 3, act 5. After the bodies of Romeo and Juliet were found, he questioned Friar Laurence, Balthasar, and Paris' Page. After getting all of the facts, he seemed to be very upset at the Capulets and the Montagues. He said, “See, what a scourge is laid upon your hate, that heaven finds means to kill your joys with love,” meaning that the rivalry between the two families was part