This scene presents Paris and Romeo as unwitting rivals for Juliet's hand. Paris is the model suitor — a well-to-do relative of the prince and notably courteous toward Capulet. He complies with social convention in his public proposal of marriage. Romeo, on the other hand, appears as a fanciful and fashionable young lover, with idealistic concepts of love. Romeo is reckless in his attitude towards love, quickly transferring his affections from Rosaline to Juliet, whereas Paris remains constant in his affection for Juliet. When Romeo falls in love with Juliet, he defies social conventions and woos her in secret.
A chance encounter with Capulet's illiterate servant later in the scene enables Romeo and Benvolio to find out about the feast. This chance meeting contributes to a sense of inevitability that Romeo and Juliet are destined to meet.
In his concluding speech, Romeo is only able to describe his feelings for Rosaline through figurative language that he has learned from poetry books. His borrowed images of love as a religious quest suggest that his idealism has separated him from reality; he is in love with an ideal, not a real person. Also borrowed second-hand from the sonnets are his images of "looking" — his declaration that his eyes cannot delude him only proves that he is the stereotypical lover blinded by love. This paradox builds dramatic suspense for Act I, Scene 5 when he falls in love at first sight with Juliet.
