juliets tragedy?

In William Shakespeare’s tragic Drama ‘Romeo and Juliet’, the character of Juliet is arguably the central character within the play. The play captures Juliet’s journey as she evolves rapidly upon falling in love with Romeo.

The two main characters within the play are doubtlessly Romeo and Juliet, however we tend to notice that the story mainly evolves around Juliet. In this romantic tragedy, we tend to focus upon the growth of Juliet as she falls in love with Romeo. Initially Juliet is a naïve thirteen-year old that has given very little thought on marriage. ‘ It is an honor that I dream not of’ she says as her mother, lady Capulet introduces to her the subject of marriage. When Lady Capulet mentions Paris’s interest in marrying Juliet, she dutifully responds which indicates to us that she is childish and has an immature conception of love. Juliet’s first meeting with Romeo pushes her towards adulthood. Though Juliet is deeply in love with him, she is able to criticize his rushed decisions ‘it is too rash, too unadivized, too sudden’ After Romeo kills Tybalt and is banished, Juliet makes logical decisions that her loyalty and love for Romeo must be her guiding priorities. Juliet is the character in focus as we see her develop from a wide-eyed child into a self-assured, loyal and capable woman.

Although we see both the main characters make sacrifice for one another, it is noticeable that Romeo’s actions are far from heroic. Romeo is described to be a character that lacks the capacity for restraint. Love compels him to climb in to his enemy’s garden risking death simply to catch a glimpse of her. Anger compels him to kill his wife’s cousin to avenge the death of his friend. He is often emotional and has feminine characteristics. We see him ‘on the ground, with his own tears made drunk’ after he is banished from Verona, the nurse tells him to ‘stand and you be a man!’ Extreme behavior seems to dominate the character of Romeo and can sometimes seem rather pathetic. He seems to be the trouble maker in the relationship, had he restrained himself from killing Tybalt, or waited even one day before killing himself after hearing about Juliet’s death, the story would have ended happily. Although these characteristics may indicate to us that he is unafraid of danger, it also forces us to notice his stupidity and that he lacks control over his own life.

On the other hand, Juliet is determined, strong and sober-minded. In many ways she is the heroin in the story. We start to see this in her earlier scenes as Shakespeare uses subtle foreshadows of the women she will become. While Lady Capulet is unable to quiet down the nurse, Juliet succeeds with one line ‘ and stint thou too, I pray thee, nurse say I.’ When Juliet falls deeply in love with Romeo, her love does not make her blind. She is able to tell Romeo his weaknesses and criticizes his actions. ‘ You kiss by Th’ book’ she says, meaning that he kisses according to the rules and implying that his kisses lack originality. After Romeo is banished, Juliet cuts herself loose from her prior social moorings, her nurse, her parents and her position in Verona in order to reunite with Romeo. When she wakes from her ‘unnatural death’ to find her love dead, she does not kill herself out of feminine weakness, but out of a deep love. Juliet’s suicide actually requires more strength than Romeo; while he swallows poison, she stabs herself in the chest with a dagger. Juliet’s actions are well thought-out which shows that she is the one who is really unafraid of death and is ready to sacrifice everything to be with Romeo.

I agree that ‘ Juliet is really the central character in the play; she is stronger than Romeo and an altogether more interesting person: it is her tragedy that we feel keenly about not his’