Title: Romeo and Juliet: Character Analysis of Juliet | Romeo and Juliet Play Summary & Study Guide | CliffsNotes Shakespeare Central
Headings: Character Analysis
Juliet

Romeo and Juliet
William Shakespeare
Character Analysis Juliet

Content: When Romeo and Juliet kiss at the feast, Juliet teases Romeo for using the popular imagery of love poetry to express his feelings and for kissing according to convention rather than from the heart: " You kiss by th' book" (I.5.110). This establishes a pattern for their relationship in which Juliet displays greater maturity, particularly in moments of great emotional intensity. In the balcony scene of Act II, Scene 2, Juliet is aware of the foolhardiness of their love: " It is too rash, too unadvis'd, too sudden." This sense of rushing headlong accurately characterizes their love, yet despite her premonition, Juliet is the one who suggests later in the scene that they marry. Act III, Scene 2, marks Juliet's move toward sexual and emotional maturity when she anticipates the consummation of her marriage to Romeo. The lyrical language Juliet employs as she waits impatiently for the night to come underscores the intensity of her feelings: Spread thy close curtain, love-performing night,
That runaway eyes may wink, and Romeo
Leap to these arms untalk'd of and unseen. (III.2.5-7)
The news of Tybalt's death initially produces conflicting feelings for Juliet because she's torn between her love for her husband and the loyalty she feels for Tybalt, her slain cousin: "