Prince Escalus is a major character in the famous William Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet. He is the well-intentioned Prince of Verona who wishes to end the feud between the House of Montague and the House of Capulet, which cost the lives of six people throughout the play.
Personality[]
Despite his desperate threats to keep the houses from quarrelling, Prince Escalus is shown to be very fair and sympathetic. He acts out of responsibility for keeping Verona safe, and is pressed to do something after seeing two wealthy families fighting on the streets for the third time. As the two houses have shown continued disregard for his authority, he resorts to taking a more forceful stance against the feud, warning that those who continue to disturb the peace again will pay the price with their lives. When the Prince hears that Tybalt and Mercutio were both killed in a fight with Romeo, he at first decides that Romeo will be sentenced to death, but softens the sentence to banishment after being convinced that Tybalt was the primary aggressor. Although he is grieved by the loss of Mercutio, who was a cousin to him, the Prince states that it is more important for him to be responsible than vengeful.
He is saddened to realize at the end of the play that his prediction that "mercy but murders, pardoning those that kill" has resulted in the death of another kinsman, Paris, and that the murderer, Romeo, had also been killed by the burden of his banishment, and Juliet as well. After the reveal that Romeo and Juliet were secretly married, and that it was the feud of the Capulets and Montagues and Lord Capulet's mistreatment of Juliet that lead to their deaths, the Prince decides to not punish anyone, declaring that the grief from this tragedy is enough punishment, and that he is also punished for not being involved enough. While suffering from bitter emotions and grief just like everyone else, he remains level-headed throughout the story, and speaks formerly to everyone. This trait is best shown at the end of the play when he asks everyone to set their emotions aside to figure out what happened to Romeo, Juliet, and Paris. Through his commentary on the events evolving from condemnation of the malignant fighting to admitting his faults and forgiving both houses for the tragedies they share as a result of their actions, he can be seen as one of the wisest characters in the story.
Story[]
Act 1[]
The play opens with fighting in the streets, which the Prince dissipates with his arrival on his steed and cavalrymen to enforce his authority. He calls out the Capulets and Montagues on the street for profaning their swords by staining it with the blood of their neighbors. He orders those partaking in the street brawl to drop their swords and hear that this is his last warning before he takes any lives. He accuses them all of disrupting the peace with their irrational hatred, and asks for Lord Capulet to follow him at once and for Lord Montague to meet him in the afternoon. The meeting was described by Lord Capulet to have been the Prince giving them high stakes to keep the peace in Verona.
Act 3[]
Romeo kills Tybalt in Scene 1 of Act 3, although he had not intended to do so since Tybalt was now a relative of his from his marriage to Juliet. Benvolio tells Romeo to run, knowing that the Prince will be likely to sentence him to death. When Prince Escalus arrives, he very predictably questioned who was responsible for Tybalt and Mercutio now being dead. Mercutio was killed by Tybalt, but Lady Capulet yells for vengeance for the death of Tybalt. The Prince ignores her and asks Benvolio to give him all the details, which he profusely offered in favor of Romeo. Hearing that Romeo had been peaceful to Tybalt and that he only killed him because Tybalt had slain Mercutio, he alleviates the death penalty in favor of banishment instead. Acting in a fair manner, he also fines both Capulet and Montague. Romeo hides in Friar Laurence's cell, where the friar tells him that Prince Escalus has banished him. Romeo despairs over this, since he cannot live without Juliet. The Friar does not show sympathy for Romeo, believing that his love for Juliet is infatuation and not true love.
Act 5[]
The Prince makes his third and final appearance in Scene 3 of Act 5, the final scene of the play. The dead bodies of Paris, Romeo, and Juliet are discovered by watchmen, who notify Prince Escalus. He maintains a level-headed attitude when confronted with grief, and encourages others to do the same so they all can learn about what happened. Friar Laurence confesses his part in it, stating that he had secretly married Romeo and Juliet, and how the results of his infamous plan to prevent Juliet from marrying Paris was warped by Friar John not being able to deliver a letter to Romeo in Mantua, which contained important information: Juliet is sleeping in the tomb, believed to be dead, so you can arrive at night to run away with Juliet when she wakes up. He makes no mention that he did this in hopes that their marriage will ease the conflict between the two families, but nevertheless, the Prince states that he still sees him as a holy man. He asks Balthasar, Romeo's servant, and Page, Paris's servant, what both of their masters were doing in this crypt, and receives a letter from Balthasar that tells him that Romeo bought poison from an apothecary and came to die with Juliet, not knowing that she wasn't actually dead. Prince Escalus remarks that from their feud, love has taken both family's children, and taken away two of his kinsmen: Mercutio and Paris. Despite having much to be angry for, he notes that he has failed by not doing enough to prevent the ongoing conflict, and instead expresses sorrow and sympathy that they have all suffered. Those who are at fault are not punished by Escalus but by grief. Referring to who is at fault for the tragedy, including himself, Prince Escalus remarks, "some shall be pardoned, some are punish'd: for never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo." These words spoken by Prince Escalus are the last words of the play.
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