Paris

• Count Paris


  A young nobleman in Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet
• Paris's proposed marriage to Juliet

  1. Paris visits Verona to negotiate with Capulet

  2. Capulet is a wealthy businessman and community leader

  3. Paris proposes marriage to Capulet's 13-almost 14-year-old daughter Juliet
• Arranged marriages between aristocrats and wealthy citizens were common in medieval and Renaissance times
• Aristocrats


  • Did not engage in business and depended on their land and other traditional means of making ends meet
  • Many were hard up and sought to find wealthy spouses for their children to gain aristocratic connections
• Arranged marriage


  A good deal for both the aristocrat and the wealthy citizen, providing an aristocratic connection and a large dowry
• Paris is handsome and gracious, a good catch for the Capulets
• Consultation with Juliet was not necessary as daughters were expected to be obedient and marry who their parents chose
• Many daughters were forced to marry much older men, so this would be a good deal for Juliet too
• Paris


  • A formal, polite character lacking in personality
  • More of a dramatic device than a fully developed character
• When Paris confronts Romeo at the tomb


  Romeo regards the mature nobleman as a 'boy', suggesting his own growth into a man
• We don't know much about Paris as a person, only that he is a formal young nobleman with a mandate to marry Juliet
• Paris's youth and handsomeness creates a comparison with the more exciting and adventurous Romeo
• Juliet expects to have a say in her marriage, even if it may not be taken into account
• When Capulet tells Juliet she is to marry Paris, she is already married to Romeo and refuses
• Paris plays no significant role in the tragic events that unfold, only appearing briefly at key moments
• Friar Lawrence: 'Happily met, my lady and my wife'
• Paris: 'Thy face is mine, and thou hast slander'd it'
• Paris: 'O woe! thy canopy is dust and stones'
• Paris: 'Condemned villain, I do apprehend thee'
• Paris: 'Beguiled, divorced, wronged, spited, slain!'
• Paris: 'O, I am slain.'