Romeo & Juliet: Characters (Edexcel GCSE English Literature)

It is useful to consider each character as representing a function in the play. Understanding Shakespeare’s purpose for each character will help produce a sophisticated analysis. Interpreting the play’s ideas by considering how each character may represent an idea, and how characters oppose each other or react to each other, is crucial.

Below you will find character profiles of:

• Romeo
• Juliet
• Tybalt
• Benvolio
• Mercutio
• Friar Laurence

• The eponymous  protagonist , an heir to the Montagues, is the tragic hero. This means:
• He displays heroic characteristics
• He has a fatal character flaw (hamartia): his impulsiveness
• Despite his hamartia, the audience does feel sympathy for him
• He is doomed to die at the end of the play
• At the beginning of the play, Romeo is presented as:
• Introvert: he is alone and uninterested in the family battles
• Brooding : Romeo considers the links between love and hate
• Sensitive: Romeo ponders the complex feelings unrequited love brings
• Obsessive: Shakespeare shows his obsession with a superficial courtly love
• For Romeo, there is tension between the heroic and tragic aspects of his character. He lurches from love to obsessive love and from one reckless action to another
• In the Rising action of the play, Romeo’s fatal flaw is exposed at the Capulet ball
• Romeo is fateful and impulsive, telling fate to, “Direct my sails”
• He is shown to be reckless about danger: “Stony limits cannot hold love out”
• Romeo is admonished for being impulsive and obsessive: swearing his undying love to Juliet so “rash, so sudden”
• Despite his hamartia, the audience feels sympathy for him:
• He shares a romantic, religious  sonnet  with Juliet, suggesting purity in their love
• He prefers peace to violence, endearing him to a war-weary Elizabethan audience
• He is presented as autonomous  in his relationships with friends and family
• By the climax, Romeo acknowledges his fatalistic {Error #829843: Missing popover `abc123`} attitude: “I am fortune’s fool!”
• He is forced to fight for family honour, despite his protests about loving the Capulets
• His impulsive actions, murdering Tybalt in revenge, lead to his downfall
•  At the end of the play, Romeo takes his fate into his own hands and defies the stars
• Romeo is shown as desperate, implying his isolation due to his impulsive actions
• Romeo is presented as obsessed with love, even in death: “Thus with a kiss, I die”
• His fatal flaw  results in Juliet’s death as well as his own

• The eponymous character, daughter of Lord and Lady Capulet could be seen as a second  tragic hero
• One of Juliet’s fatal character flaws (hamartia) is her defiance of family duty
• Her tragic death, however, is presented as an act of desperation and powerlessness, challenging audience perceptions of gender roles and traditions
•  Juliet is presented as autonomous , willing to defy her family duties
• She tells her mother marriage is an honour she “dreams not of”
• She tells Romeo she will no longer be a Capulet if he swears his love for her
• Juliet is presented as sensible and cautious about the dangers of the feud
• Juliet advises Romeo to be more constant and less rash
• She warns him of the dangers associated with their love
• She understands her love for Romeo is a love “sprung from hate”
• By the climax of the play, Juliet is presented as desperate and powerless due to societal  norms
• Her nurse forsakes her and she is isolated from her family, showing the impact of family conflict
• Juliet’s anguish and will to avoid marriage to Paris is made clear: “if all else fail, myself have power to die”, suggesting her need for autonomy
• She welcomes her fated, tragic suicide (“Happy dagger”) as her best choice
• Shakespeare presents her as a character who  subverts  the typical attributes of women of that time:
• She is not dutiful: she does not do what her father tells her and is not loyal to her family
• She is not submissive: she asks Romeo to be sure of his promises
• She is strong: she refuses to resist the mounting pressures 
• She is autonomous: she chooses her own fate

• Tybalt acts as a contrast to the character of Romeo. In literature, this is known as being a foil:
• A  foil (Tybalt) is used to contrast with the characteristics of a protagonist (Romeo)
• A foil, therefore, highlights character traits that are very particular to the protagonist, that an author wants to explore
• Tybalt is shown as having typical masculine traits 
• His attitudes contrast Romeo’s 
• He is a passionate fighter for his family's honour, unlike Romeo
• In the first scene, he is eager to kill Benvolio and all Montagues, while Romeo is absent
• Unlike Romeo, Tybalt is often the instigator of battles, seeking it out repeatedly 
• Unlike Romeo, he is not interested in love, preferring the company of males
• Tybalt  represents societal norms, challenging audience perceptions of masculinity
• Tybalt’s hatred of Romeo is presented as meaningless, and based on a desire for aggression
• He does not understand Romeo’s submissive nature
• He tells audiences Romeo creates the “bitterest gall” in him
• His desire for revenge is shown as obsessive and violent
• His death is a  catalyst for Romeo’s downfall and Mercutio’s curse
• Shakespeare punishes his hatred when Romeo murders him in revenge 
• Shakespeare shows through Tybalt the violence and hatred inherent in the family feud
• Shakespeare uses his character, Tybalt, to address the conflicts in the  Elizabethan religious war

• In the play, Benvolio acts as Romeo’s confidante and ally, representing male friendship and support 
• He is Romeo’s friend and cousin
• Lord Capulet relies on him to console Romeo
• He represents, through his name, goodness and  benevolence 
• He advises Romeo away from his  unrequited love
• He hurries Romeo into the Capulet ball and away from deep thought
• Shakespeare’s function for Benvolio is to act as a contrast to the more aggressive male characters
• He highlights contrasts between aggression and peace
• In the first scene, he is a peaceful character, the foil to Tybalt: “I do but keep the peace”
• Instead of revenge, Benvolio prefers forgiveness:  "Father forgive them; for they know not what they do"
• Benvolio is presented as a level-headed and sensible young man, questioning the feud
• He identifies that the quarrel is “between our masters”, presenting the young males as innocent victims
• He warns Mercutio of the “mad blood stirring” before the fight leading to Mercutio’s death

Mercutio 

• Mercutio functions to provide comedic relief against the intense characters of Romeo and Tybalt
• Mercutio’s dialogue is dramatic and humorous, mocking seriousness
• He lures Tybalt into a witty, playful argument 
• His name represents mercury or ‘quicksilver’, known for its unpredictability
• His actions change from playful to serious very quickly 
• Mercury is also the name of the Winged Messenger in Greek mythology
• Mercutio’s final lines curse the houses of Capulet and Montague
• His final curse presents a darker side to his  flippant nature
• Mercutio’s views on love are cynical , representing attitudes often present in  courtly love
• He suggests he is heart-broken, telling Romeo that love is not a tender thing
• He sarcastically advises Romeo to soar above love
• He delivers a soliloquy about a troublesome love fairy, Queen Mab
• Mercutio represents the typically likable masculine character traits of Elizabethan England 
• He is reckless and aggressive, quick to seek out conflict
• He believes in fighting for family honour
• He believes murder for family or revenge is holy and justified
• He believes Romeo’s desire for peace is submissive and dishonourable
• He casually picks a fight with Tybalt Capulet despite his friend’s warning and the Prince’s law against public brawls
• This scene mirrors the first scene of the play, suggesting the cycle of violence in Elizabethan England 

Friar Laurence 

• Friar Laurence, a father figure to Romeo and aid to Juliet, represents the importance of religion in Elizabethan society
• He advises Romeo to “go wisely and slowly” with his love affairs
• Friar Laurence helps Juliet be with Romeo, linking true love with religious values
• Friar Laurence symbolises peace brought about by religion
• He marries the lovers in secret in a bid to turn “rancour into pure love”
• The friar’s character promotes an end to fighting and hatred
• The friar is presented as opposed to the  Great Chain of Being
• He allies himself with the children of the two noble families
• He opposes the natural Hierarchy : parents are placed above children
• He opposes the  patriarchy  by defying Lord Capulet 
• The friar subverts Elizabethan attitudes about religion and witchcraft
• He refers to the good and evil inherent in all things as the natural state
• He contrasts virtue with vice, flowers with poison, delights with violence, graves and wombs
• He concocts potions and poisons from herbs and plants, traditionally linked to witchcraft
• His potion is ultimately the reason for the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet
• Shakespeare presents  ambiguity with the friar’s character
• He is often considered to blame for the tragedy, suggesting Shakespeare’s reference to religion as dangerous