O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!

It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope's ear; Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear! So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows, As yonder lady o'er her fellows shows. The measure done, I'll watch her place of stand, And, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand. Did my heart love till now? forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night. - Romeo Montague William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act I Scene V

In the beginning of the play, Romeo is lovesick about Rosaline. To cheer him up, his friends Benvolio and Mercutio plan to crash the Capulet's party. At the party, these are the words Romeo utters as he sees Juliet for the first time. The quote shows three main attributes about Romeo. He is noble, romantic, and immature. As the son of Lord Montague, Romeo is of noble descent. Whenever Shakespeare wrote plays, he had the noble characters talk in iambic pentameter while lower class people spoke in prose. Iambic pentameter means that each line has five pairs of two syllables. The emphasis is placed on the second syllable of each pair. This is significant because the iambic pentameter is an immediate indication that Romeo is of noble descent. Before coming to the Capulet's party, all Romeo could think of was Rosaline and how he couldn't live without her. He didn't think that the party could cheer him up. However, when he first sees Juliet at the party, he immediately forgets about Rosaline and says, For I ne'er saw true beauty til this night. The inclusion of the word true is significant. It adds emphasis to the word beauty and

disregards the love he previously showed toward Rosaline. Romeo also says, And, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand. which means something along the lines of, just by being with her I feel blessed. Immediately, Romeo shows his love and desire for Juliet. They haven't even known each other for a minute! In the movie, Romeo says these lines with a loving and romantic tone and facial expression. These examples show his romantic side. Romeo can be classified as immature. He throws his love around like it is a joke. In the beginning, he is depressed because he can't be with Rosaline, but immediately after seeing Juliet, he forgets about Rosaline. When he sees Juliet he says, Did my heart love til now? forswear it, sight! which means he didn't truly love until now. Rosaline was always on his mind before seeing Juliet, but afterwards, Juliet filled every second of his thinking. Not only did he jump from one girl to another, he also fell into an ill-fated relationship. Had he been more mature, he would have known that a relationship or marriage between a Montague and a Capulet wasn't going to be possible. In conclusion, the lines Romeo says when he first sees Juliet show that he is noble, romantic, and immature.