Personal Assignment #7

I believe that Juliet has changed since the beginning of the play…

            In the play Romeo and Juliet, Juliet is a dynamic character because she develops abundantly as a person throughout the play. At the start of the play Juliet is talking with her mother, Lady Capulet, about the potential of getting married to the county man Paris. Juliet states, “It is an honour I dream not of,” (Shakespeare, pp. Act 1, Scene 3, Line 67) when asked if she wanted to wed. This is an example of how she is young and naive at the start of the play. However as the play goes on Juliet becomes determined and courageous. She provides evidence for both of these starting in Act 4, Scene 1 after Romeo has been banished for Tybalts death and Juliet is told she will marry Paris. Juliet shows her determination for Romeo by going to Friar Laurence’s to come up with a plan to runaway with Romeo. When the Friar gives Juliet a sleeping potion she takes it even though she does not know what is exactly going to happen. This shows her determination to be with her beloved Romeo. An example showing Juliet’s courage is when she wakes up from her sleep in the tomb and sees Romeo dead. Juliet felt she needed to be with her lover for the rest of her life and had the courage to follow through with it. That is why Juliet has changed since the beginning of the play. She went from the naive girl, to the confident and determined women.