“There is no world without Verona walls, but purgatory, torture, hell itself.” ‘It is impossible to feel sympathy for Romeo.’ Do you agree?In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the titular character Romeo is undoubtedly a flawed character, who is all the worthier of sympathy and compassion because of this. Romeo and Juliet tells the tale of two young lovers who are divided by their feuding families which ultimately renders their budding love untenable, resulting in multiple deaths from both sides of the feud. Shakespeare utilises the craft of playwriting and a wide range of largely one-dimensional characters to illustrate the strengths and fatal flaws that exist in all humans. The key characters that will be referred to in this essay are; Romeo, the sympathetically flawed leading man; Juliet, the sheltered young woman overcome with love; Montague and Lady Montague Romeo’s uninvolved parents; and Friar Lawrence the less than wise confidant and guide to Romeo. Firstly, Romeo’s fatally flawed nature and character traits will be outlined. Secondly, the nature of his young and unbridled love, caught at ‘first sight’ will be explained. Thirdly, the lack of sage and timely advice or guidance will be outlined with reference to its effect on Romeo himself. Ultimately, the message of William Shakespeare through Romeo and Juliet is that if young people without proper parental or elder-lead advice meet under a cloud of dangerous choices they will not be able find the correct path.

Firstly, Romeo is a sympathetic character to the audience and readers of Romeo and Juliet because he is such a flawed and uncompromising character. We feel for him and relate to him because of his many failing and flaws. Most notably he is almost clinically suicidal, with at least three attempts made upon his own life and many more mentions or allusions to the act of suicide. His first allusion to suicide comes in Act 1, Scene 1 he states, “She hath forsworn to love, and in that vow – Do I live dead, that I live to tell it now.” (Line 214-215). Later in Act 1 he retorts, “With this night’s revels and expire the term Of a despised life.” (Line 109-110). These two quotes reveal that he was instilled with a penchant for suicide even prior to meeting Juliet, it also shows that for a young person in the throes of their first love, failing to be met with love can seem like a death sentence. Furthermore, love is a seeking of one’s own self to persist beyond their life, so considering suicide as the other darker side of this, is not impossible. Though he is suicidal, not a quality that many people would happily feel acquainted with, the other side of his emotional coin is that he is also overwhelmingly passionate and sure-footed in love. He does not pause to question his feelings, or the possible consequences of his love-fuelled actions, but rather throws himself fully into each and every one of his actions. As an audience member older than Romeo’s young adulthood, we may consider the moments we would liked to have been more forward, or more passionate, so we see Romeo as the hero that he is. Upon his first sighting of Juliet, he pronounces “O she doth teach the torches to burn bright!” (Act 1, Scene 5, Line 43), where a lesser person would have mildly noted, ‘she looks nice’. Yet, mere moments later, he pronounces, “Is she a Capulet? O dear account! My life is my foe’s debt.” (Act 1, Scene 5, Line 117-118), which also shows the darker side of his passion, his suicidal tendencies. Lastly, his final fatal slaw is his short fuse and the way that he is quick to anger, which is only shown once, when he pursues and murders Tybalt. A final aspect of Romeo

that is not often reflected upon however, is his murder of Paris, a character almost completely unknown to him. In modern retellings of Romeo and Juliet this fact is often glossed over, or left out entirely. His killing of Paris is not a heated act of passion, he has time to explain, “I beseech they, youth, Put not another sin upon my head, By urging me to fury: O be gone!” (Act 5, Scene 3, Line 61-63), yet he still murders Paris. This is the one aspect of Romeo that is without excuse and goes beyond a ‘flawed character’, to a criminal and unfeeling murderer. Though he proves to be a flawed and passionate character, some of the blame for his actions can be laid at the feet of his love.

Secondly, Romeo is a sympathetic character simply due to the fact that he is in love. Love is now, in modern times, understood to be similar to the effects of certain illicit drugs, and is likened to a short bout of genuine insanity. People in the throes of love forget to eat and often can think of little other than their newly discovered beloved. Romeo fits this modern conception of new love very neatly. He climbs fences and trespasses on the land of his sworn enemies, spends a night in Juliet’s chamber, attends a Capulet party and sword fights openly in the streets of Verona, despite his own proclamation that “Mercutio, the prince expressly hath, Forbidden bandying in Verona streets:” (Act 3, Scene 1, Line 80-81). His actions do not match his words in this sense, we see glimpses of a more temperate and thoughtful nature that is extinguished in the ardent flame of his passionate love for Juliet. As a young man with a small conception of the world he lives in, after laying aside Rosaline, “With Rosaline, my ghostly father? no; I have forgot that name, and that name’s woe.” (Act 2, Scene 3, Line 44-45), Juliet becomes his entire focus and Verona his entire world. So, when he is banished, it is understandable that he decries, “There is no world without Verona walls, but purgatory, torture, hell itself.” (Act 3, Scene 3, Line 17-18). Just as there is no life worth living without Juliet. Love at first sight and a love felt truly is something really seen or experienced in life, so people should throw themselves at it wholeheartedly when they do get a chance to claim it. He explains clearly, “Heaven is here, Where Juliet lives” (Act 3, Scene 2, Line 29-30), which shows the way that he feels complete and whole when he is around Juliet. Shakespeare reveals the effect that love has on people’s minds when he has Firar Lawrence note, “The wit, that ornament to shape and love, Misshapen.” (Act 3, Scene 3, Line 130-131), expressing that Romeo’s mind is literally misshapen. Though love mishapes Romeos mind, a strong influence of strong-willed adults would have been able to properly mould, or reshape his mind and mental state towards something more temperate and calm.

Thirdly, Romeo remains throughout the play largely unadvised, unguided and also un-parented, which leaves him unchecked to make a slew of awful decisions. Running through the dramatis personae of the play, we note many potential guides to Romeo. His father Montague and mother Lady Montague appear so infrequently and are so ineffectual that combined they speak less than fifteen times in the play. So their role in the play is merely to perpetuate the feud and not to parent or guide their son and young lover Romeo. Next, we must consider Romeo’s friends, Mercutio and Benvolio. Both of these characters are themselves flawed and limited characters, Benvolio offers little assistance as he is an ardent believer in the power of love.

He also makes the fatal, for Romeo, error of instructing Romeo to attend the party and “Examine other beauties.” (Act 1, Scene 1, Line 118). He believes that, “Alas, that love, so

gentle in his view, Should be so tyrannous and rough in proof!” (Act 1, Scene 1, Line 160-161), which shows that he does not know of love that is sharp and challenging, but he sees it as lovely and soft to the touch. Benvolio’s advice and very existence encourages Romeo to pursue love, as he presents it as soft, safe and beautiful. By contrast, Romeo’s other close friend Mercutio, speaks lustily of sex and the carnal elements of love, “O, that she were, An open-arse, thou a pop’rin pear!” (Act 2, Scene 1, Line 37-38). He provides advice that encourages risks and dangerous actions, stating, “If love be rough with you, be rough with love; Prick love for pricking, and you beat love down.” (Act 1, Scene 4, Line 27-28), which only encourages Romeo’s rash actions and violence on the streets. He then goes on to give his ‘Queen Mab’ speech, which reveals Shakespeare’s talent for floral language and rich symbolism, but in the world of the play only confuses and disturbs Romeo with the possibilities of ill-tidings. The actions, or more suitably the inactions of Friar Lawrence speak for themselves. He is a chaste and celibate man being asked to give advice on love, an area far beyond his realm, Romeo notes, “Thou canst not speak of that thou dost not feel: Wert thou as young as I,” (Act 3, Scene 3, Line 64-5). Which neatly summarises the failings and flaws of Friar Lawrence in this regard, which puts the priest beyond blame for the calamities that later eventuated. Blame must sit squarely on the shoulders of one character most strongly however, Prince Escalus, the man charged with maintaining order on the streets of Verona, fails numerous times to put in place clear boundaries for the two feuding families and their youthful, violent sons. Hearing of Romeo’s killing of Tybalt, he states, “And for that offence, immediately we do exile him hence” (Act 3, Scene 1, Line 177-178), which is perhaps the least impactful approach he could have taken. As the prince of Verona, he could have banished an entire family from the area, thus ending the feud, or put in place any number of more effective measures to quell the fighting and end the feud. Though the feud is ultimately ended, despite the Prince’s best efforts, even at the very end of the play he does little to ensure the feud does not continue, noting glibly, “Some shall be pardon’d, and some punished:” Act 5, Scene 3, Line 308). Yet, it was his very failure to do this throughout the play that caused the numerous deaths in the first place.

Overall, Romeo is a character for whom it is easy to feel sympathy for. He has a notably flawed character, in that he is suicidal, passionate, and quick to anger. He was addled by the powerful effects of love, whilst being provided limited clear counsel by anyone who had actually experiences love. His risks are clearly justified when you consider the powerful and narcotic effects of young love. Lastly, Romeo’s flaws are underlined by the inaction and poor support network that he has in place. Benvolio and Mercutio have the opposite views on love but their conflicting and unclear advice leaves Romeo confused and unsure. Whilst Friar Lawrence is understandably out of his depth speaking on the topic of young love, Prince Escalus is a character who wholeheartedly fails at his primary job, maintaining peace on the streets of Verona. Overall, Shakespeare presents a perfect storm that surrounds Romeo, that plays naturally to his inbuilt character traits, which are ultimately very human and very relatable to the audience of Romeo and Juliet. It is quite possible for those reading, or watching a performance to empathise with Romeo and to relate to his simple-minded and pure actions that none-the-less result in failures and unexpected outcomes.