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“For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo,” goes the last line of the famous Shakespeare play, __Romeo and Juliet__. Reading this quote, you may wonder, why was this story so lamentable? There are many factors that contributed to the woeful plot of the story, with the most conspicuous factor being the foolishness of its own characters, especially Romeo, the male protagonist of the play. He is the culprit of nearly all the tragedies that occur in the play either directly or indirectly. A rash and capricious young man, Romeo often acts idiotically, bemusing the readers of the play. However, if you go beyond the mere surface of the plot to the solid core, you will become cognizant of the reason behind Romeo’s actions: he acts on whim, and therefore does not put careful thought into his actions.

Romeo is depicted in the play as a very handsome young man, as the nurse states in Act II Scene V line 42, “Though his [Romeo] face be better than any man…” which may explain why Juliet fell for the romantic Romeo. However, though he is handsome and romantic, "he is not the flower of courtesy" (Nurse Act 2 Scene 5 line 45), which means that he is not very cordial. Perhaps because of his age, Romeo is very rash and audacious; he is also very whimsical and capricious. In fact, he shocks Friar Lawrence by his fickle love, when he proclaims that his love for Rosaline is no more. At this, Friar Lawrence expresses his astonishment, "Holy Sait Francis, what a change is here! Is Rosaline, that thou didst love so dear, so soon forsaken?" (Act 2 Scene 3 lines 69-71). Therefore, it can be infered that while Romeo is young, attractive, and charming, he is still juvenile and shallow.