Discussion Topic
The roles of Romeo and the Prince in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
Summary:
In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Romeo is one of the protagonists, a young Montague who falls in love with Juliet, a Capulet, leading to a tragic romance. The Prince, on the other hand, serves as a figure of authority in Verona, striving to maintain peace and order amidst the feud between the Montagues and Capulets.
What is the Prince's role in Romeo and Juliet?
Prince Escalus in Romeo and Juliet is the voice of law, authority, and reason. His role is important in the play because we need to have someone who stands above all the endless turmoil, conflict, and passion engendered by the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets. The character of the Prince alerts us to just how dangerous and out of control this feud has become, how much instability and disruption it has caused to the city of Verona.
It says something about the nature of the feud that even a powerful authority figure cannot stop it, despite his best efforts. There's something almost primal about this conflict, something that taps into the innermost depths of the soul. The Prince is the law in Verona, but even he cannot control custom and its manifestations, and feuding is a social custom that goes back centuries, as old as law itself, if...
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not older. It has a life of its own, and no amount of interventions by the sovereign power is going to make any difference; in the face of tradition, the law is practically impotent. In Verona, honor and blood are more important than formal legal power. It will take atragedy to bring this feud to a close, and so it does.
What is Romeo's role in the play Romeo and Juliet?
Romeo's main characteristic is that he is in love with being in love. His other main trait is his way with words. At the masquerade ball and during the balcony scene, he knows how to woo with language. In fact, these characteristics are so powerful that today a "Romeo" means a smooth-talking seducer.
Of course, Romeo is nothing but utterly sincere in his love for Juliet, and he shows he means what he says when he marries her the day after they meet.
Another characteristic of Romeo is his impulsivity: he falls in love quickly. Further, and no doubt an aspect of being an adolescent, he very much is in a hurry. Everything has to be now for him, which explains the very hasty marriage—and his rush to obtain poison when he hears (wrongly) that Juliet has died.
If we were to further develop his character, we would note he has the security of loving parents, especially a loving father who is concerned as the play opens with Romeo's mooning about. He also has a gift for friendship as well as love. We can therefore imagine, that having been raised with a sense of inner security, he would have been a good father to any children he and Juliet bore. With his personality and gift for wooing people, he could have, as he matured and tamed his impulsivity, become an important force bringing together the two feuding families—without having to die.