My delightful padlet by Anabelle Zhu

Benvolio and Romeo

anabellezhu0106_1 — 2024-04-26 00:51:32 UTC

Benvolio and Romeo are both Montagues, similar in age, and good friends. Benvolio seeks peace; he tries to break up a fight between his house and the Capulets in Act I, Scene 1, and sttempts to prevent another such fight just before Tybalt kills Mercutio, an action that prompts Romeo to kill Tybalt. While Benvolio is constantly the voice of reason, Romeo is impulsively emotional, killing Tybalt in the street, with witnesses present. Benvolio has to tell Romeo to run afterward because Romeo seems unable to think for himself. Benvolio honestly seems like the most mature out of Romeo and all his friends; he's not interested in fighting, doesn't make the same kinds of bawdy and sexual jokes as the others do, and usually acts in a measured and calm way.

Quote:

Benvolio: "Come on, you first decided she was beautiful when no one else was around. There was no one to compare her to except herself." (Act 1 Scene 2)

Romeo: "I'll go with you. Not because I think you'll show me anything better, but so I can see the woman I love." (Act 1 Scene 2)

Juliet and Nurse

2024-04-26 01:00:52 UTC

Juliet is young, sheltered and knows very little of the world. She is innocent and idealistic, driven by her passionate love for Romeo. Nurse, on the other hand, experienced much more than Juliet. She has been married. She has raised Juliet since infancy and has a wealth of life experience. Juliet views love as pure and eternal. She is willing to ignore her family and societal expectation for Romeo.

Quote:

Juliet remains loyal to her husband, while the nurse cries out “Shame come to Romeo!”

Character Foil - Romeo&Mercutio

2024-04-26 01:04:18 UTC

In Romeo&Juliet, Romeo and Mercutio are friends, but they are very much different. Romeo is portrayed as a hopeless romantic, constantly driven by his emotions (usually love). His poetic language and tendency to idealize his relationships contrast sharply with Mercutio's sarcastic wit. Mercutio's skepticism and humor provides a contrast to Romeo's romanticism. It usually serves as a voice to mock Romeo's lovesickness.

Quote:
Romeo: "Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs." (Act 1, Scene 1)
Mercutio: "If love be rough with you, be rough with love." (Act 1, Scene 4)

Friar Lawrence & Romeo

56020_ — 2024-04-26 01:07:06 UTC

Friar Lawrence is a friend of the couple. Romeo exhibits impulsive, frantic, and extremely desperate behavior. Friar Lawrence acts calm, always trying to ease the tension and console. Romeo and Juliet had full trust in him because he was their town's priest and their friend. There were several key moments in the play when they went to Friar Lawrence for support and guidance which the couple relies very much on. Friar Lawrence has been offering advice and strategies to help the two of them reach their romantic goal of getting married. Instead, Romeo consistently acts rashly, driven by emotions, one of the examples is his action of taking poison at the end, which holds Friar—who devises the entire scheme—responsible for the pair's demise.

Quote:

Juliet: "I made my father angry, so I went to Friar Lawrence's cell to confess and be forgiven." (Act 3, Scene 5)

Friar: "And ifyou dare to do it, I'll give you the solution." (Act 4, Scene 1)

Friar: "Go wisely and slowly. Those who rush stumble and fall." (Act 4, Scene 3)

LadyCapulet&Nurse

2024-04-26 01:13:08 UTC

Lady Capulet, Juliet's mother, and the Nurse, Juliet’s caregiver, also highlights out each other’s personality in the play. Lady Capulet is more distant, formal, and noble. She sees Juliet's marriage as a way of increasing the family's social status. In contrast, the Nurse wants and supports Juliet to pursue true love. The contrast between their different approaches highlights these two characters’ different personalities, and made the Nurse a more significant figure, and sets the setting to create a greater dramatic effect for the tragedy in the end of the play.

Quote:

Lady Capulet: "Marry, my child, early next Thursday morn. The gallant, young, and noble gentleman, the County Paris, at Saint Peter's Church, shall happily make thee there a joyful bride." (Act 3, Scene 4)

Nurse: "I think it best you married with the County. O, he's a lovely gentleman! Romeo's a dishclout to him." (Act 3, Scene 5)

While Lady Capulet didn’t give Juliet a choice and directly arranges the marriage, the Nurse only suggested the marriage to Juliet, saying it would be the best if she marries him, but she still gave her a choice, she didn’t tell Juliet to not love Romeo.

Tybalt and Romeo

2024-04-26 01:21:43 UTC

Tybalt and Romeo are from opposing families, one from the Capulet family and the other from the Montague family. Tybalt is Juliet’s cousin and his role in the play is to highlight the character Benvolio’s goodness.

While Romeo wants peace and doesn’t like being violent, Tybalt is the complete opposite. Tybalt is a man who gets angry quickly and would rather fight than talk, but he is also loyal to his family. Romeo is also impulsive, which can be shown during the fight in Act 3 Scene 1.

In Act 3 Scene 1 during a dispute, Romeo refuses to be angered by Tybalt's verbal attack. Tybalt commands Romeo to draw his sword. Romeo protests that he has good reason to love Tybalt, and does not wish to fight him. When Romeo refuses, Tybalt attacks Mercutio instead and kills him. Romeo, being impulsive, attacks Tybalt to avenge Mercutio’s death, but doesn’t think about how his actions can affect him.

Quote: (Act 3 Scene 1)

“Tybalt, I love you for a reason that allows me to ignore the rage I would normally feel in response to such a greeting. I'm not a villain. Therefore, goodbye. I can see that you don't know me at all.”

TYBALT:

“Boy, these words don't excuse the injuries you've done to me. Turn and draw your sword.”