Rosaline - wikipedia Rosaline character in Romeo and Juliet For other uses, see Rosaline ( disambiguation ). Rosaline Rosaline in Zeffirelli 's Romeo and Juliet, one of the few films to give her a visible role. Created by William Shakespeare Rosaline ( / ˈrɒzəlɪn, - iː n / ) is an unseen character and niece of Lord Capulet in William Shakespeare 's tragedy Romeo and Juliet ( 1597 ). Although silent, her role is important. Romeo is at first deeply in love with Rosaline and expresses his dismay at her not loving him back. Romeo first spots Juliet while trying to catch a glimpse of Rosaline at a gathering hosted by the Capulet family. Scholars generally compare Romeo 's short - lived love of Rosaline with his later love of Juliet. The poetry Shakespeare writes for Rosaline is much weaker than that for Juliet. Scholars believe Romeo 's early experience with Rosaline prepares him for his relationship with Juliet. Later performances of Romeo and Juliet have painted different pictures of Romeo and Rosaline 's relationship, as filmmakers have experimented with making Rosaline a more visible character. Contents 1 Role in the play 2 Analysis 2.1 Name 2.2 Rosaline as plot device 2.3 Rosaline and Juliet 3 Performances 4 References Role in the play Before Romeo meets Juliet, he loves Rosaline, Capulet 's niece and Juliet 's cousin. He describes her as wonderfully beautiful : `` The all - seeing sun / ne'er saw her match since first the world begun. '' Rosaline, however, chooses to remain chaste ; Romeo says : `` She hath forsworn to love, and in that vow / Do I live dead that live to tell it now. '' This is the source of his depression, and he makes his friends unhappy ; Mercutio comments : `` That same pale, hard - hearted wench, that Rosaline, torments him so that he will sure run mad. '' Benvolio urges Romeo to sneak into a Capulet gathering where, he claims, Rosaline will look like `` a crow '' alongside the other beautiful women. Romeo agrees, but doubts Benvolio 's assessment. After Romeo sees Juliet his feelings suddenly change : `` Did my heart love till now ? Forswear it, sight / For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night. '' Because their relationship is sudden and secret, Romeo 's friends and Friar Laurence continue to speak of his affection for Rosaline throughout much of the play. Analysis Name ``... Juliet on the balcony ponders Romeo 's name and likens it to that rose that remains itself whatever it is called. Is Juliet that rose, and, thereby, Rosaline renamed ? '' '' -- Jonathan Goldberg Rosaline is a variant of Rosalind, a name of Old French origin : ( hros = `` horse '', lind = `` soft, tender '' ). When it was imported into English it was thought to be from the Latin rosa linda ( `` lovely rose '' ). Romeo sees Rosaline as the embodiment of the rose because of her name and her apparent perfections. The name Rosaline commonly appears in Petrarchan sonnets, a form of poetry Romeo uses to woo Juliet and to describe both Rosaline and Juliet. Since Rosaline is unattainable, she is a perfect subject for this style ; but Romeo 's attempt at it is forced and weak. By the time he meets Juliet his poetic ability has improved considerably. Gender studies critics have argued that Rosaline 's name suggests that Romeo never really forgets her but rather replaces her with Juliet. Thus, when Juliet cries `` What 's in a name ? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, '' she is ironically expressing Romeo 's own view of her as a substitute for Rosaline. That is to say, Rosaline, replaced in name only by Juliet, is just as sweet to Romeo. Gender critics also note that the arguments used to dissuade Romeo from pursuing Rosaline are similar to the themes of Shakespeare 's procreation sonnets. In these sonnets Shakespeare urges the man ( who can be equated with Romeo ) to find a woman with whom to procreate -- a duty he owes to society. Rosaline, it seems, is distant and unavailable except in the mind, similarly bringing no hope of offspring. As Benvolio argues, she is best replaced by someone who will reciprocate. Rosaline reveals similarities to the subject of the sonnets when she refuses to break her vow of chastity. Her name may be referred to in the first sonnet when the young man is described as `` beauties Rose. '' This line ties the young man to both Rosaline and Romeo in Juliet 's `` What 's in a name ? '' soliloquy. When Juliet says ``... that which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet '', she may be raising the question of whether there is any difference between the beauty of a man and the beauty of a woman. Rosaline is used as a name for only one other Shakespearean character -- the one of the main female figures in Love 's Labours Lost ( 1598 ), although Rosalind is the name of the main female character in As You Like It. Scholars have found similarities between them : both are described as beautiful, and both have a way of avoiding men 's romantic advances. Rosaline in Love 's Labours Lost constantly rebuffs her suitor 's advances and Romeo 's Rosaline remains distant and chaste in his brief descriptions of her. These similarities have led some to wonder whether they are based on a woman Shakespeare actually knew, possibly the Dark Lady described in his sonnets, but there is no strong evidence of this connection. Rosaline as plot device Analysts note that Rosaline acts as a plot device, by motivating Romeo to sneak into the Capulet party where he will meet Juliet. Without her, their meeting would be unlikely. Rosaline thus acts as the impetus to bring the `` star - cross 'd lovers '' to their deaths -- she is crucial in shaping their fate ( a common theme of the play ). Ironically, she remains oblivious of her role. Rosaline and Juliet `` Rosaline and Paris... are the subtlest reflectors of all... they are cast like a snake 's skin by the more robust reality of Romeo and Juliet. '' -- Ruth Nevo, on the Rosaline - Juliet, Paris - Romeo comparison Literary critics often compare Romeo 's love for Rosaline with his feelings for Juliet. Some see Romeo 's supposed love for Rosaline as childish as compared with his true love for Juliet. Others argue that the apparent difference in Romeo 's feelings shows Shakespeare 's improving skill. Since Shakespeare is thought to have written early drafts of the play in 1591, and then picked them up again in 1597 to create the final copy, the change in Romeo 's language for Rosaline and Juliet may mirror Shakespeare 's increased skill as a playwright : the younger Shakespeare describing Rosaline, and the more experienced describing Juliet. In this view, a careful look at the play reveals that Romeo 's love for Rosaline is not as petty as usually imagined. Critics also note the ways in which Romeo 's relationship with Rosaline prepares him for meeting Juliet. Before meeting Rosaline, Romeo despises all Capulets, but afterwards looks upon them more favourably. He experiences the dual feelings of hate and love in the one relationship. This prepares him for the more mature relationship with Juliet -- one fraught by the feud between Montagues and Capulets. Romeo expresses the conflict of love and hate in Act 1, Scene 1, comparing his love for Rosaline with the feud between the two houses : Here 's much to do with hate, but more with love. Why, then, O brawling love ! O loving hate ! O any thing, of nothing first create ! O heavy lightness ! serious vanity ! Mis - shapen chaos of well - seeming forms ! Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health ! Still - waking sleep, that is not what it is ! This love feel I, that feel no love in this. Dost thou not laugh ? Psychoanalytic critics see signs of repressed childhood trauma in Romeo 's love for Rosaline. She is of a rival house and is sworn to chastity. Thus he is in an impossible situation, one which will continue his trauma if he remains in it. Although he acknowledges its ridiculous nature, he refuses to stop loving her. Psychoanalysts view this as a re-enactment of his failed relationship with his mother. Rosaline 's absence is symbolic of his mother 's absence and lack of affection for him. Romeo 's love for Juliet is similarly hopeless, for she is a Capulet and Romeo pursues his relationship with her ; the difference being that Juliet reciprocates. This does not seem likely seeing as his mother died of grief after his banishment, indicating that she probably loved him deeply. Performances Rosaline has been portrayed in various ways over the centuries. Theophilus Cibber 's 1748 version of Romeo and Juliet replaced references to Rosaline with references to Juliet. This, according to critics, took out the `` love at first sight '' moment at the Capulet feast. In the 1750s, actor and theatre director David Garrick also eliminated references to Rosaline from his performances, as many saw Romeo 's quick replacement of her as immoral. However, in Franco Zeffirelli 's 1968 film version of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo sees Rosaline ( played by Paola Tedesco ) first at the Capulet feast and then Juliet, of whom he becomes immediately enamoured. This scene suggests that love is short and superficial. Rosaline also appears in Renato Castellani 's 1954 film version. In a brief non-Shakespearean scene, Rosaline ( Dagmar Josipovitch ) gives Romeo a mask at Capulet 's celebration, and urges him to leave disguised before harm comes to him. Other filmmakers keep Rosaline off - camera in stricter accordance with Shakespeare 's script. Rosaline also appears in the 2013 film adaptation of Romeo & Juliet. Robert Nathan 's 1966 romantic comedy, Juliet in Mantua, presents Rosaline as a fully developed character. In this sequel, in which Romeo and Juliet did not die, the pair live ten years later in exile in Mantua. After they are forgiven and return to Verona, they learn that Rosaline is now married to County Paris, and both couples must confront their disillusionment with their marriages. Another play, After Juliet, written by Scottish playwright Sharman Macdonald, tells the story of Rosaline after Romeo dies. A main character in this play, she struggles with her loss and turns away the advances of Benvolio, who has fallen in love with her. Macdonald 's daughter, Keira Knightley, played Rosaline in the play 's 1999 premiere. The 2012 young adult novel `` When You Were Mine '' by Rebecca Serle sets Rosaline 's story in a contemporary high school. Rosaline and Romeo ( renamed Rob ) have been best friends since childhood and are just beginning to fall in love when Rosaline 's cousin, Juliet, moves back into town and sets her sights on Rob. Important character in sequel named `` Plague on both your houses ! '' ( 1994 ) by Grigori Gorin. Still Star - Crossed ( 2017 ) -- period drama television series created by Heather Mitchell and based on the book with same name by Melinda Taub. It follows Rosaline ( played by Lashana Lynch ). She and Benvolio of Montague are betrothed against their will by Prince Escalus, to end the feud between the two families. Both resolve to find a way to end the violence without having the union. References Jump up ^ Romeo and Juliet, I. 2.99 -- 100. Jump up ^ Romeo and Juliet, I. 1.231 -- 232. Jump up ^ Romeo and Juliet, II. 4.4 -- 5. Jump up ^ Romeo and Juliet, I. 2.365. Jump up ^ Romeo and Juliet, I. 5.59 -- 60. ^ Jump up to : Goldberg, Jonathan. Queering the Renaissance. Durham : Duke University Press ( 1994 ), 221 -- 227. ISBN 0 - 8223 - 1385 - 5 Jump up ^ `` Rosaline ''. A Dictionary of First Names. Eds. Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, and Flavia Hodges. Oxford : Oxford University Press ( 2006 ). Oxford Reference Online. Retrieved 25 June 2007. Oxford Reference ( Registration required ) Jump up ^ `` Rosalind ''. A Dictionary of First Names. Eds. Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, and Flavia Hodges. Oxford : Oxford University Press ( 2006 ). Oxford Reference Online. Retrieved 25 June 2007. Oxford Reference ( Registration required ) ^ Jump up to : Whittier, Gayle. `` The Sonnet 's Body and the Body Sonnetized in ' Romeo and Juliet '. '' Shakespeare Quarterly 40.1 ( Apr 1989 ) : 27 -- 41. Jump up ^ Lewis, Alan. `` Reading Shakespeare 's Cupid. '' Criticism 47.2 ( Apr 2005 ) : 177 -- 213. Jump up ^ Act 2 Scene 2 Jump up ^ Clarke, Charles and Mary Clarke. The Shakespeare Key. City : Kessinger Publishing, LLC ( 2007 ), 651 -- 652. ISBN 1 - 4304 - 6745 - 2 ^ Jump up to : Gray, Henry David. `` Romeo Rosaline, and Juliet ''. Modern Language Notes 29.7 ( Nov 1914 ) : 209 -- 212. Jump up ^ Evans, Bertrand. `` The Brevity of Friar Lawrence. '' PMLA 65.5 ( September 1950 ) : 841 -- 865. Jump up ^ Nevo, Ruth. `` Tragic Form in Romeo and Juliet ''. Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama. Studies in English Literature, 1500 -- 1900 9.2 ( April 1969 ) : 241 -- 258. Jump up ^ Bowling, Lawrence Edward. `` The Thematic Framework of Romeo and Juliet. '' PMLA 64.1 ( Mar 1949 ) : 208 -- 220. Jump up ^ Krims, Marvin, `` Romeo 's Childhood Trauma ? -- ' What Fray Was Here ? '. '' PSYART : A Hyperlink Journal for Psychological Study of the Arts. ( November 1999 ) 3 article no. 991022. Reprinted in Shakespearean Criticism, Vol. 76. Jump up ^ Marsden, Jean. The Re-Imagined Text. Lexington : University Press of Kentucky, ( 1995 ), 87 -- 88. ISBN 0 - 8131 - 1901 - 4 Jump up ^ Branam, George C. `` The Genesis of David Garrick 's Romeo and Juliet. '' Shakespeare Quarterly 35.2 ( July 1984 ) : 170 -- 179. Jump up ^ Stone, George Winchester, Jr. `` Romeo and Juliet : The Source of its Modern Stage Career. '' Shakespeare Quarterly 15.2 ( April 1964 ) : 191 -- 206. Jump up ^ `` Romeo & Juliet ( 1968 ) ''. Yahoo ! Movies. Yahoo !. 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2007. Jump up ^ Martin, Jennifer L. `` Tights vs. Tattoos : Filmic Interpretations of ' Romeo and Juliet '. '' The English Journal 92.1 ( Sep 2002 ) : 41 -- 46. Jump up ^ Maxwell, Tom ( 20 July 2007 ). `` Keira 's helpful prompt ''. The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 1 December 2007. Retrieved 27 May 2009. Jump up ^ `` After Juliet by Sharman McDonald ''. Plays. Acquis. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 27 May 2009. Jump up ^ Serle, Rebecca. When You Were Mine. New York : Simon Pulse, 2012. ISBN 1442433132 William Shakespeare 's Romeo and Juliet Characters Romeo Juliet Mercutio Tybalt Benvolio Friar Laurence Nurse Paris Rosaline Queen Mab Atomy Sources The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet Pyramus and Thisbe Palace of Pleasure Troilus and Criseyde Ballets Romeo and Juliet ( 1938, Prokofiev ) Romeo and Juliet ( 1962, Cranko ) Romeo and Juliet ( 1965, MacMillan ) Romeo and Juliet ( 1977, Nureyev ) Romeo and Juliet ( 1965, Lavery ) Radio and Juliet ( 2005 ) Romeo + Juliet ( 2007, Martins ) Romeo and Juliet ( 2008, Pastor ) Operas Romeo und Julie ( 1776, Benda ) Giulietta e Romeo ( 1796, Zingarelli ) Giulietta e Romeo ( 1825, Vaccai ) I Capuleti ei Montecchi ( 1830, Bellini ) Gloria ( 1874, Cilea ) Roméo et Juliette ( 1867, Gounod ) A Village Romeo and Juliet ( 1907, Delius ) Romeo und Julia ( 1940, Sutermeister ) Romeo und Julia ( 1943, Blacher ) Musicals The Belle of Mayfair ( 1906 ) West Side Story ( 1957 ) Once on This Island ( 1990 ) Roméo et Juliette, de la Haine à l'Amour ( 2001 ) Giulietta e Romeo ( 2007 ) Classical Beethoven 's String Quartet No. 1 ( c. 1800 ) Roméo et Juliette ( 1839, Berlioz ) Romeo and Juliet ( 1870, Tchaikovsky ) On screen 1900 1908 1916 Metro Pictures 1916 Fox 1936 1940 1953 1954 1955 1964 1968 1978 ( TV ) 1992 ( TV ) 2006 2013 Film adaptations English Beneath the 12 - Mile Reef ( 1953 ) Romanoff and Juliet ( 1961 ) West Side Story ( 1961 ) Gonks Go Beat ( 1965 ) Lonesome Cowboys ( 1968 ) Romie - 0 and Julie - 8 ( TV ; 1979 ) The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet ( 1982 ) Valley Girl ( 1983 ) Bullies ( 1986 ) China Girl ( 1987 ) Romeo. 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( Hungarian 2004 ) In Fair Palestine : A Story of Romeo and Juliet ( 2006 ) The Bubble ( Hebrew / Arabic 2006 ) Priyatama ( Marathi 2014 ) Arshinagar ( Bengali 2015 ) Eeda ( Malayalam 2017 ) The Sea Prince and the Fire Child ( Japanese 1981 ) TV series Sons and Daughters ( 1982 ) Family and Friends ( 1990 ) Villa Quintana ( 1995 ) Yo amo a Paquita Gallego ( 1998 ) Skin ( 2003 ) A Touch Away ( 2006 ) Dangerous ( 2007 ) Romeo × Juliet ( 2007 ) Romeo y Julieta ( 2007 ) Saints & Sinners ( 2007 ) Harina de otro costal ( 2010 ) Villa Quintana ( 2013 ) Westside ( 2013 pilot ) Star - Crossed ( 2014 ) Still Star - Crossed ( 2017 ) Plays Romanoff and Juliet ( 1956 ) Romeo and Juliet ( 2013 ) Songs Lan và Điệp ( 1930s ) `` Montagues and Capulets '' ( 1935 ) `` Fever '' ( 1956 ) Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet ( 1968 ) `` ( Do n't Fear ) The Reaper '' ( 1976 ) `` Angelo '' ( 1978 ) `` Romeo and Juliet '' ( 1978 ) `` Romeo and Juliet '' ( 1981 ) `` Cherish '' ( 1989 ) `` Amor Prohibido '' ( 1994 ) `` Kissing You '' ( 1996 ) `` Exit Music '' ( 1997 ) `` Starcrossed '' ( 2004 ) `` Peut - être toi '' ( 2006 ) `` Mademoiselle Juliette '' ( 2007 ) `` Love Story '' ( 2008 ) `` Love Me Again '' `` Laal Ishq '' `` Mor Bani Thanghat Kare '' `` Nagada Sang Dhol '' `` Ram Chahe Leela '' ( 2013 ) Albums Romeo and Juliet ( 1968 ) Romeo + Juliet ( 1996 ) Romeo & Julia ( 2006 ) Tragic Lovers ( 2008 ) Literature Les Chouans The Wandering Jew ( 1844 ) The Stolen Dormouse ( 1941 ) The Faraway Lurs ( 1963 ) Romiette and Julio ( 2001 ) New Moon ( 2006 ) Warm Bodies ( 2010 ) Art Romeo and Juliet : the Tomb Scene ( 1790 ) Romeo and Juliet ( 1978 ) Phrases `` Star - crossed '' `` A rose by any other name would smell as sweet '' Story within a story Nicholas Nickleby 1912 film 1947 film 1980 play 2001 film 2002 film The Picture of Dorian Gray 1910 film 1913 film 1915 film 1916 film 1917 film 1918 film 1945 film 1976 TV special 2009 film Harlequinade W Juliet `` Nothing Broken but My Heart '' Panic Button Bare : A Pop Opera `` '' Into the Light '' Bolji život The Sky Is Everywhere Pay as You Exit The White Mercedes She Died a Lady `` Moonshine River '' Rendez - vous Fame `` I Am Unicorn '' The Frog Prince Molly Smart Girls Get What They Want Tumbleweeds `` The Thief of Baghead '' The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke Prince Charming Km. 0 Phileine Says Sorry Hamateur Night `` Say You 'll Be Mine '' Into the Gauntlet Wandering Son K - On ! Foreign stories Adam Khan and Durkhanai Tum Teav Yusuf Khan and Sherbano Solomon & Gaenor Butterfly Lovers Hani and Sheh Mureed Lục Vân Tiên film Teav Aek Layla and Majnun Lovers of Teruel film Lord Saltoun and Auchanachie Ishaqzaade Other Such Tweet Sorrow Romeo and Juliet effect After Juliet `` Upper West Side Story '' ( 2012 ) Millennium Dome Show Inge Sylten and Heinz Drosihn Boys Do n't Cry My Wedding and Other Secrets Donkey in Lahore Upside Down Letters to Juliet Sherlock Gnomes Book : Romeo and Juliet Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rosaline&oldid=854751342 '' Categories : Fictional characters introduced in 1597 Fictional Italian people in literature Unseen characters Female Shakespearean characters Characters in Romeo and Juliet Fictional nobility Hidden categories : Articles with short description EngvarB from September 2017 Use dmy dates from September 2017 Pages using infobox character with unknown parameters Good articles Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 13 August 2018, at 14 : 46 ( UTC ). 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Question: who does romeo say he's in love with at the start of romeo and juliet
Answer: Rosaline