Romeo and Juliet Romeo Quotes

Romeo

Quote 37

ROMEO
I do protest I never injured thee
But love thee better than thou canst devise
Till thou shalt know the reason of my love.
And so, good Capulet, which name I tender
As dearly as my own, be satisfied.
(3.1.69-73)

When Tybalt challenges Romeo to a duel, Romeo refuses to fight because he's secretly married to Tybalt's cousin, Juliet. Here, it seems that Romeo's love for his new wife is the most important thing to him—right up until Tybalt kills Romeo's best friend. Then, the ties of birth family seems to be stronger.

Romeo > Friar Laurence

Quote 38

ROMEO
O, let us hence. I stand on sudden haste.

FRIAR LAURENCE
Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast.
(2.3.100-101)

When Romeo wants to rush off to marry Juliet, the Friar warns him to slow down emotionally, as well as physically. But the Friar isn't exactly being all calm and level-headed, is he?

Romeo > Friar Laurence

Quote 39

ROMEO
What less than doomsday is the prince's doom?
FRIAR LAURENCE
A gentler judgment vanished from his lips:
Not body's death, but body's banishment.
ROMEO
Ha, banishment? Be merciful, say 'death,'
For exile hath more terror in his look,
Much more than death. Do not say 'banishment.'
FRIAR LAURENCE
Hence from Verona art thou banishèd.
Be patient, for the world is broad and wide.
ROMEO
There is no world without Verona walls
But purgatory, torture, hell itself.
Hence 'banishèd is banished from the world,'
And world's exile is death. Then 'banishèd,'
Is death mistermed. Calling death 'banishèd' 
Thou cutt'st my head off with a golden ax
And smilest upon the stroke that murders me.
(3.3.10-24)

Romeo's reaction to the news that he's been exiled (per the Prince's orders) from Verona is similar to Juliet's response (see passage above). Romeo says "there is no world without [outside] Verona's walls" because Juliet, his entire world, is inside the walls of Verona. While the Friar sees Romeo's exile as a good thing (he's glad Romeo hasn't been sentenced to be executed), banishment, for Romeo, is tantamount to death.