Romeo
The balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet as depicted by Ford Madox Brown in an 1870 painting.
Creator	William Shakespeare
Play	Romeo and Juliet
Family	Juliet (wife) Montague (father) Lady Montague (mother) Benvolio (cousin)
Associates	Mercutio
Role	Protagonist

Romeo is one of the title characters in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Romeo is the son of old Montague and his wife, who secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet. Forced into exile by his slaying of Tybalt, Juliet's cousin, in a duel, Romeo commits suicide upon hearing falsely of Juliet's death.

The character's origins can be traced as far back as Pyramus, who appears in Ovid's Metamorphoses, but the first modern incarnation of Romeo is Mariotto in the 33rd of Masuccio Salernitano's Il Novellino (1476). This story was adapted by Luigi da Porto as Giulietta e Romeo (1530), and Shakespeare's main source was an English verse translation of this text by Arthur Brooke.^[1] Although both Salernitano and da Porto claimed that their stories had historical basis, there is little evidence that this is the case.

Romeo is one of the most important characters of the play, and has a consistent presence throughout it. His role as an idealistic lover has led the word "Romeo" to become a synonym for a passionate male lover in various languages. Although often treated as such, it is not clear that "Montague" is a surname in the modern sense.

Origins[link]

The earliest tale bearing a resemblance to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is Xenophon of Ephesus' Ephesiaca, whose hero is a Habrocomes.The character of Romeo is also similar to that of Pyramus in Ovid's Metamorphoses, a youth who is unable to meet the object of his affection due to an ancient family quarrel, and later kills himself due to mistakenly believing her to have died.^[2] Although it is unlikely that Shakespeare directly borrowed from Ovid while writing Romeo and Juliet, the story was likely an influence on the Italian writers who the playwright was greatly indebted to.^[3] The two sources which Shakespeare most likely consulted himself are Brookes' translation of de Porta and W. Painter's The goodly historye of the true, and constant Love between Rhomeo and Iulietta.^[1]

Role in the play[link]

Romeo first appears in the play in the first scene, shortly after the brawl between the Montagues and the Capulets. As a young man, he is rash and quite easily distempered. As a general rule, he is a mirror image of Juliet, being urged to marry by his father. He is overly eager, especially because he is infatuated with Rosaline, who is uninterested in him due to her commitment to chastity.^[4] His cousin Benvolio (who is related by his divorced mother's new husband), wishing to distract him from his romantic plight, presumably to gain Rosaline's favour, takes him and his friend Mercutio, uninvited and disguised, to a feast at the house of the Capulets.^[5] There he meets and falls in love with Juliet, the daughter of Lord and Lady Capulet.^[6] However, this was not merely infatuation, but true love, as Romeo explicitly states that loves Rosaline, but the two talk and indeed fall in love, as Romeo also is noted to find Juliet less than beautiful. This however changes and Romeo learns to see the beauty in his true love (as opposed to infatuation with Rosaline, Shakespeare's method of adding contrast). Romeo again meets her after the feast, as she laments her love for him from her balcony.^[7] Through a meeting with Juliet's Nurse, Romeo arranges for them to be married secretly by Friar Lawrence.^[8] When Tybalt, Juliet's cousin, insults Romeo in the streets the next day, he is prevented by his now familial relation with Tybalt from defending his honour.^[9] His friend Mercutio, exasperated by this, fights Tybalt, and is killed by him.^[10] Romeo, seeking revenge, kills Tybalt, which results in him being exiled from the city by the Prince.^[11] He leaves the next morning, having consummated his marriage with Juliet. Juliet, whose father intends to marry her to an aristocrat, Paris, unbeknownst to Romeo takes a potion, provided by Friar Lawrence, which places her in a death-like coma.^[12] She is therefore buried, and a messenger is sent to Romeo to tell him that Juliet is in fact alive, who unfortunately is unable to reach him to due to the plague.^[13] Romeo, genuinely believing Juliet to be dead, travels to her grave, where he meets and kills Paris.^[14] When he sees her body, he kills himself, moments before she awakes; when Juliet sees that Romeo is dead, she kills herself in turn shortly thereafter.^[15] The tragedy leads to the end of the feud between the two families.^[16]

Francisco Araiza playing Romeo in a 1990 production of Giuseppe Verdi's opera adaptation of the play.

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Bevington, David M. (2006). How to read a Shakespeare play. Westport: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-30089-5. 
• Halio, Jay (1998). Romeo and Juliet: A Guide to the Play. Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 1-4051-1396-0. 
• Hunter, Lynette, Lichfield, Peter (2009). Negotiating Shakespeare's language in Romeo and Juliet: reading strategies from criticism, editing and the theatre. Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7546-5844-3. 
• Shakespeare, William (1859). Romeo and Juliet:A tragedy. Leipzig: G. Græbner. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=izgALQkNvwwC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Romeo+and+Juliet&hl=en&ei=nau0TbuqGZCI5Aab4eGkDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CEEQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false. 

External links[link]

• Complete listing of all of Romeo's lines

v t e William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Characters Romeo Juliet Mercutio Tybalt Benvolio Friar Laurence Nurse Paris Prince Escalus Rosaline Full Character List Sources The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet Pyramus and Thisbe Palace of Pleasure Troilus and Criseyde Ephisaica Musical adaptations Romeo und Julie (1776) I Capuleti e i Montecchi (1830) Roméo et Juliette (Berlioz) (1839) Roméo et Juliette (1867) Romeo and Juliet (overture) (1870) Romeo und Julia (1929) Romeo and Juliet (1938) West Side Story (1957) Roméo et Juliette, de la Haine à l'Amour (2001) Giulietta e Romeo (2007) On screen Romeo and Juliet (1900) Romeo and Juliet (1908) Romeo and Juliet (1916) Romeo and Juliet (1936) Romeo and Juliet (1954) Romeo i Dzhulyetta (1955) Romeo and Juliet (1968) Romeo and Juliet (1978) The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (1982) Romeo and Juliet (1992) Romeo + Juliet (1996) Romeo and Juliet (2012) Adaptations Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (1953) Romeo, Juliet and Darkness (1960) Romanoff and Juliet (1961) West Side Story (1961) Romie-0 and Julie-8 (1979) The Sea Prince and the Fire Child (1981) Tromeo and Juliet (1996) Love Is All There Is (1996) The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998) Shakespeare in Love (1998) Romeo Must Die (2000) Romiette and Julio (2001) Hobak Nar (2004) Pizza My Heart (2005) West Bank Story (2005) Romeo & Juliet: Sealed with a Kiss (2006) Romeo × Juliet (2007) Saints & Sinners (2007) Gnomeo & Juliet (2011) Book:Romeo and Juliet

This article is incomplete. Please help to improve the article, or discuss the issue on the talk page. (September 2011)

Romeo Saganash MP
Saganash speaking to the 2011 convention of the New Democratic Party in Vancouver, British Columbia
Member of the House of Commons of Canada
Incumbent
Assumed office May 30, 2011
Preceded by	Yvon Lévesque
Constituency	Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou
Deputy Grand Chief of the Grand Council of the Crees
In office 1990 – 1993[1]
Grand Chief	Ted Moses
Personal details
Born	Diom Romeo Saganash (1961-10-28) October 28, 1961 (age 50) Waswanipi, Quebec, Canada
Political party	New Democratic Party
Residence	Quebec City
Alma mater	Université du Québec à Montréal
Profession	Lawyer
Website	www.saganash.ca

Diom Romeo Saganash,^[2] MP (born October 28, 1961 in Waswanipi, Quebec) is a Canadian politician and the Member of Parliament for the Quebec riding of Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou.^[3] He is a member of the New Democratic Party and was first elected in the 2011 federal election, succeeding Yvon Lévesque of the Bloc Québécois.

Early life[link]

Saganash was born on October 28, 1961 at Waswanipi, a native community in Quebec.^[3] He attended law school at the Université du Québec à Montréal and in 1989 he became the first Cree to receive a law degree in Quebec.^[4] Saganash's first language is Cree; he is also fluent in English and French.^[5] Saganash attended an Indian residential school. At the age of 7, he was among 27 Cree children taken from their homes to attend French-language schooling in La Tuque, while living with an English-speaking, Anglican family.^[6] The program was cancelled the following year, but he remained there for 10 years, completing his schooling in French.^[7]

Career[link]

In 1985, Saganash founded the Cree National Youth Council.^[8]

Saganash was served as deputy grand chief of the James Bay Crees of Northern Quebec from 1990 to 1993.^[2]

Prior to his election, Saganash served as director of governmental relations and international affairs for the Grand Council of Crees.^[9] From 1997 to 2000, Saganash chaired the James Bay Advisory Committee on the Environment.^[8]

As a prominent Cree figure in a riding with many Aboriginal voters, Saganash received personal support from NDP Quebec lieutenant Thomas Mulcair, who referred to Saganash as a "very important candidate".^[9]

On Friday September 16, 2011, Saganash announced that he was running for the leadership of the NDP, to succeed Jack Layton.^[10] He is believed to be the first aboriginal leader to run for the leadership of a major Canadian party.^[5] Saganash announced on February 9, 2012 that he was withdrawing from the race, citing illness in his family and a lack of confidence in his campaign.^[11]. On March 7, 2012, Saganash announced that he would support Mulcair for NDP leader. ^[12]

See also[link]

• New Democratic Party leadership election, 2012

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Leadership campaign website
• Romeo Saganash on Facebook
• Romeo Saganash - Parliament of Canada biography

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