The first time that Shakespeare introduces Romeo is by the conversation between Benvolio and Romeo. He is sad about the refusal from the Rosaline. The emotion is so strong that he frustrates himself and unwilling to interact with his friends and parents. Simply say, Romeo is too in love that his love is hurting himself: “ Griefs of my own lie heavy in my breast.” (Romeo and Juliet 21) Later on scene 4, he has worries that something bad will happen during the party and thus unwilling to go. The dialogues Romeo and Mercutio have implied that his anxiety comes from Romeo’s dream. However, it does not suggest the contents of the dream. Based on Romeo previous action about love, I think the dream is about him and Rosaline. He feels fear about meeting Rosaline in the party. Instead of solving the problem, as Benvolio and Mercutio suggest to examine other women, Romeo’s first expression is to escape and turn himself back into his comfort zone. Besides Romeo’s unrequited love and refusal to negotiate with people around him, the action of going back to the comfort zone suggests Romeo is an introverted person. He has too many thoughts that can express to himself and the people who he familiar with, but limited himself from others he is unfamiliar. Without any impulsive motives, Romeo will not even kiss Juliet and will never get to know her. The traits Romeo has might also make him a selfish person, meaning he has the bias towards to people based on his opinion. For example, he might not really know Juliet’s personality and does not know if Juliet will be pleased seeing him dies in front of her “corpse”. These are wild guesses; however, I do think Romeo is an impetuous person because his action is based mostly on his emotions.
The first time Juliet appears in the play is when she sits between her mother and the nurse. During the conversation, she participates little. In the scene Juliet first appears, she barely speaks to her mother directly. The tone she speaks with her mother is also formal rather than talks should between parents and child. She probably has little chance to know her parents well. However, she has good relationships with the nurse. She seems more comfortable staying with the nurse and seeking suggestions from the nurse. In the scene she meets Romeo, she inquires the name of Romeo from the nurse. She asks a list of names but obviously pays real attention to Romeo’s name. She does this to cover the fact that she is in love, which I think is clever.
I do not like Romeo, for me he seems too vulnerable. He is too dramatic in feelings; thus he can be hurt by small things. Although he can change his mind quickly, he only does that passively. Inconsistency is not a good thing in a relationship, either. Although Juliet is slightly overprotected by her parents, she has intelligence. Why Juliet loves Romeo; I think it is because Juliet was fenced too much, she is seeking something different unconsciously. A frivolous boy in the party? Sounds good. The single child from Montague? Even better.
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