Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet” is often examined for its dramatic content, its investigation into the nature of love or the elements of tragedy. However, each of these greater themes can be better understood when you look at smaller clues to the characters, such as their personality characteristics or levels of maturity. It is often forgotten that the play is about two young teenagers attempting to find a means of being together in spite of a bitter feud existing between their two families.
Maturity plays a significant role in their story as it dictates the way in which they respond to the pressures brought upon them. Within the play, there are many ways in which Romeo can be said to be less mature than Juliet. In considering this answer, it is important to think about the known generalities regarding maturity and the actions of each of the two characters involved.
The generalities that are known about maturity are that girls tend to mature faster than boys. This is generally true physically as well as mentally. While this idea is not always true in specific cases, it can be assumed to be true in the case of Romeo and Juliet because of the ways in which they act. It is assumed that they are both of sufficient physical maturity to take on the roles of adults, but that their mental maturity is still lacking in judgment. Juliet is 13 and Romeo is slightly older at 17, indicating that perhaps they have been able to reach comparable maturity levels. However, their actions make it clear that Romeo is decidedly less mature the Juliet.
Romeo spends most of the play exhibiting an impetuousness that greatly works against him. He is quick to take anger with others and quick to fight, both attributes that are consistent with being male. However, he is easily compared at all times with other men in the play, all of whom within his same class can be seen to exercise more caution and thoughtfulness in their actions than Romeo does himself. Romeo’s infatuation with Rosalind is also seen as a childish crush.
Compared with his sentiments expressed toward Juliet, Romeo can be seen to mature during the course of the play, but not by so much as to qualify him as more mature than Juliet. He is very eager to be with Juliet and is impatient for every minute that separates them regardless of the fact that they have just met. In his dealings with others, he sounds very much like a spoiled little boy as he begs the friar to marry them and, when he finds Juliet dead in her tomb, he is quick to take the poison that will kill him as well. A little bit of thought might have spared both their lives.
Juliet, on the other hand, shows much more restraint and maturity in her actions. When Romeo comes to plead with her to run away with him, she suggests they slow things down a bit and get to know each other a little first. When he insists he can’t wait, she brings up the topic of marriage and takes each necessary step to ensure that her reputation will remain in good standing. She is given little support and emotional encouragement at home, treated by her parents as a commodity rather than a daughter, and meets their expectations with grace and restraint within the bounds of what she wants for herself. She is not hesitant in speaking her mind and is decisive in what she wants; quickly convincing the friar, on an adult level, that she means what she says when she suggests she will kill herself before marrying Paris.
When the friar suggests she take a potion that will make her appear dead to everyone, slowing her heart to an imperceptible beat, she bravely faces the risks and doesn’t give in to the kinds of hysterics many young women might have while Romeo, finding Juliet in the tomb, instantly downs the poison he brought for that purpose. This rather feminine means of death is compared to Juliet’s final action in which she plunges Romeo’s dagger into her heart, an action that takes a great deal more nerve and passion that simply taking a drink.