I’ve heard the Twilight novels and Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet compared many times, and most often the similarities between Edward Cullen and Romeo Montague are brought up. The theme of “forbidden love” definitely permeates both stories, and the male leads in these tales are very similar, but they still differ in a number of ways that are vital to the average romance reader. Which character was better developed? Which is more appealing to readers (male and female)? Which one is a better hero? Welcome to this week’s fiction collision: Romeo versus Edward.

Both Romeo and Edward are teenagers (although Edward is a hundred year old teenager), falling for a girl who is all wrong for them. For Romeo, it was Juliet, the daughter of the Capulet’s, with whom the Montague’s had a longstanding and heated feud. For Edward, it was Bella, a human. Romeo had to overcome hate, fear, and risk becoming ostracized by his family. Edward had to decide whether he could love Bella without draining her, and whether she could be trusted with the little secret about him being a vampire. Pfft. First point goes to Romeo. The emotional baggage that stood in the way of his romance far outweighs Edward’s, and his character dealt with it in a realistic way. The forbidden love made him more enamored and determined to be with Juliet, as it would with most hormone-driven teens. For Edward, there was no major force keeping him and Bella apart, unless you count Jacob as an obstacle, which I don’t.

Romeo is presented as emotionally weak and shallow. We see this in his instant attraction and obsession with Juliet. He’s immature when compared to Juliet, and acts like an ass upon their first meeting. Um…ditto Edward, but Bella is no more mature than either male character. Both characters are dominating, or try to be, but Edward definitely gains points for being creepy stalker dominating. That Meyer managed to still make readers love him despite some seriously wrong behavior is something. Romeo is annoying in his attempts to control Juliet, and he comes off as a whiny, spoiled child. Point to Edward.

And I mentioned Jacob, who was a major obstacle for Edward. He offered Bella another, slightly better possibility for a love affair. One that Bella’s father approved of. For Romeo, the third wheel was Paris, who Juliet’s father tries to force her into marrying after Romeo is banished. Romeo didn’t have to worry though, because Juliet wasn’t interested in Paris. Edward on the other hand had lots to worry about. Jacob is Bella’s bestie, the only person she shares her secrets with. That boys, is power. With that trust comes love, so Edward obviously failed to fully capture Bella’s heart. This point goes to Romeo, for thoroughly stealing his love’s heart and making her blind to all others with his fancy talk.

Now, the main draw of a forbidden love tale is that it is human nature to want what we can’t have, so we instantly root for the couple to end up living happily ever after. For teens, the desire to have that which is wrong for us tends to be stronger. This instant relatability makes readers bond more strongly to both Edward and Romeo in their respective stories. However, Edward’s “perfection” and his cold, calculated “romancing” of Bella places some distance between him and the reader. Romeo is flawed, but humanly so. His negative traits are ones we are all guilty of at some point. We’re all immature, sometimes impulsive, and many readers have loved so much at one point in our lives that we can understand the feeling that one would rather die than live a day without the object of our affections. Point to Romeo.

Another similarity is when, in order to protect their ladies, both heroes separate themselves from their loves at some point, but they do so for very different reasons. Romeo accidentally kills Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt. Edward…wants to suck Bella dry. Oh and his family might find her appealing as a tasty little snack too. The self-imposed exiles of both heroes work to create brilliant tension, but only with Romeo does the reader really feel that the separation might be forever. With Romeo there is the constant dread that he might never be able to be with his lover because of forces beyond his control. Edward? Well he made his own problems. Another point to Romeo.

Finally, the death. Romeo and Edward share tales that are cloaked in the dark business of death and eternal suffering and drama. Romeo kills himself to be with Juliet when he believes she has died, and Juliet, distraught at the tragedy of such a pointless and stupid action, kills herself as well. Edward…well he’s kinda already dead when we start the story. Bella wants to be a vampire so she can live with him for eternity, so in a way, she would die for him, as long as she will be resurrected as his monster bitch. So Edward dies, comes back immortal and sparkly, and his lover is willing to do the same to be with him. Romeo just dies and so does his lady love. Point for Edward.

In the end, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is one of the most beloved stories of all time, and its characters are the inspiration for hundreds of characters since their creation. Twilight has inspired some fan fiction, although not everyone will be able to relate to those characters until they’re of legal age to learn of them. Romeo was created more than a century ago, but he still remains one of the most quoted and sighed over leading men today. Edward has a divided following: those that love him and those that love to hate him. Because of his superior believability, depth and endurance, Romeo Montague wins this fiction collision.