Why does Romeo refer to Paris as a "youth" and himself as a "desperate man" when Paris is older than Romeo in Romeo and Juliet?This is in Act 5...

At this point, Romeo has come to the Capulet tomb to see
Juliet's body and to commit suicide. He has bought a powerful potion from an apothecary
which he will use for this purpose. Romeo is utterly distraught and has decided that he
cannot live without his beloved Juliet, so much so that he has even warned Bathasar to
meddle in his plans, telling him that:

readability="10">

"But if thou, jealous, dost return to
pry
In what I further shall intend to do,
By heaven, I
will tear thee joint by joint
And strew this
hungry churchyard with thy
limbs:"

Romeo
is clearly a "desperate man", in this instance and this is
exactly what he tells Paris who confronts him as he opens the tomb. Paris believes that
Romeo is about to desecrate the tomb and wants to arrest him. He tells
Romeo:

"Stop
thy unhallow'd toil, vile Montague!
Can vengeance be pursued further than
death?
Condemned villain, I do apprehend
thee:
Obey, and go with me; for thou must
die."

Romeo's
retort clearly shows that he will stop at nothing to fulfill his purpose. He warns
Paris, and it is clear from his language that he does not want to fight
him.

"I must
indeed; and therefore came I hither.
Good gentle
youth, tempt not a desperate
man;
Fly hence, and leave me: think upon these
gone;
Let them affright thee. I beseech thee,
youth,
Put not another sin upon my
head,
By urging me to
fury:'

By addressing Paris as
a gentle youth, Romeo is attempting to
persuade him to leave. The reference also
indicates Romeo's true nature: he is indeed,
also gentle driven to desperate means. Note how the terms he uses are
soft and not as harsh as those he used with Balthasar. The implication is also that
Paris is innocent of any wrongdoing and is not battle-hardened or ruthless and Romeo
does not wish to hurt him and commit 'another sin'.

In
contrast, Romeo is a 'desperate man', intent on doing what
he came for. Although he is younger than Paris, the events of the past few
days have made him a
man: he killed Tybalt, married Juliet, was banished and has
a death-sentence hanging over his head if he should return. Paris has not experienced
such desperate circumstances but Romeo has, and he surely feels hopeless for he has lost
the will to live.