Examples Of Maturity In Romeo And Juliet

William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is an iconic tragedy composed of various characters. In this heartbreaking tale, the dashing Romeo Montague and beautiful Juliet Capulet form a perilous, yet alluring relationship with one another. Their strong love is tested throughout the course of the story, as lives are lost and characters are in vain. Shakespeare does a wonderful job portraying the feelings and impulses of two young adults in love, and the lengths they will go to in order to preserve it. In Romeo and Juliet, three characters who possess prominent traits are Lord Capulet, Tybalt, and Friar Lawrence.
Along the course of Romeo and Juliet, Lord Capulet exerts the act of being controlling. This is clearly displayed in Act 3 Scene 5
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A principal example of how Tybalt fails to act mature is when in Act 1 Scene 5 he degrades and insults Romeo to Lord Capulet. Tybalt remarks “This, by his voice, should be a Montague.—(to his PAGE) Fetch me my rapier, boy.—What, dares the slave. Come hither, cover'd with an antic face, to fleer and scorn at our solemnity? Now, by the stock and honor of my kin, to strike him dead I hold it not a sin.” This quote is illustrating that just because Romeo appeared at a Capulet feast, even though he was invited, Tybalt was ready to slaughter him. Romeo was harmless and unarmed, and Tybalt did not have anything against him at the time, therefore his anger was not justified at all. Tybalt was not mature and did not welcome Romeo at all. Instead, he let the feud and his temper get the better of him. In addition, Tybalt’s immaturity is executed is when in Act 1 scene 3 Tybalt provokes Romeo and Mercutio unnecessarily. He states “Romeo, the love I bear thee can afford. No better term than this: thou art a villain.” This quote clearly proves that Tybalt can not control his mouth, and has the need to taunt others, as he calls Romeo a “villain”. As a result of this statement, Mercutio feels enraged and tries to defend his friend (Romeo) and ends up getting killed in the process by Tybalt himself. If Tybalt had controlled his language and acted more mature, a death could have potentially been
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Friar Lawrence demonstrates the act of wisdom multiple times in the play. One prime instance Friar shows wisdom is in Act 3 Scene 3 when he scolds Romeo for losing feelings for Rosaline so quickly and acting quite shallow. He states “Holy Saint Francis, what a change is here! Is Rosaline, whom thou didst love so dear, so soon forsaken? Young men’s love then lies not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes. Jesu Maria, what a deal of brine hath wash'd thy sallow cheeks for Rosaline! How much salt water thrown away in waste to season love that of it doth not taste! The sun not yet thy sighs from heaven clears, thy old groans ring yet in my ancient ears. Lo, here upon thy cheek the stain doth sit of an old tear that is not washed off yet. If e'er thou wast thyself and these woes thine, thou and these woes were all for Rosaline. and art thou changed? Pronounce this sentence then: Women may fall when there’s no strength in men.” Here, Friar is being wise by saying that Romeo must love a woman for her heart and not just for her looks. Romeo should not expect Juliet to be faithful, as he moved on from Rosaline almost instantly. Friar Lawrence is trying to make Romeo understand that he should love a woman for her personality, something he did not do with Rosaline. These words bring out the wisdom in Friar Lawrence. Another significant example is in Act 2 Scene 6 when Friar warns Romeo to love moderately,