Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is a story of two doomed teenage lovers whose fate ends in tragedy. In modern times the name Romeo has become nearly synonymous with “lover”. Romeo, in Romeo and Juliet, does indeed experience a love of such purity and passion that he believes he can no longer live and decides to take his own life when he believes that the object of his love, Juliet, has died. The power of Romeo’s love, however, often obscures a clear vision of Romeo’s character, which is far more complex. He is an emotional, juvenile, brave character that makes very impulsive, rash decisions. Romeos character changes drastically throughout the play due to his character traits, strong influences from others and determination
Romeo is a free spirited youth age 16 living in 17th century Verona, Italy. In the beginning of the play Romeo is described as a young depressed and lonely boy. Romeo is first mentioned as an aimless wanderer preoccupied with thoughts of Rosaline. Rosaline, the woman with whom Romeo is first infatuated with, is never seen in the play it but is said by other characters to be very beautiful and has sworn to live a life of chastity. He spends most of his time sighing over his depressing and virtually nonexistent love life. Though he is first obsessed and supposedly in love with Rosaline, when describing her he only speaks on her physical appearance and beauty rather than her intelligence or the reasons why he loves her. Romeo is a great reader of love poetry, and the portrayal of his love for Rosaline suggests he is trying to re-create the feelings that he has read about. Throughout this play, Romeo's relationship with Rosaline is passive. He never speaks to her or takes any decisive action to charm or flatter his lady love. He spends his time in anguish, wavering between simplistic adulation and utter despair. Furthermore, Romeo spends a great deal of time in limbo, thinking about a woman who does not reciprocate his feelings. Despite Benvolio's urging,