Characters in Romeo and Juliet
's tragic play Romeo and Juliet, set in Verona, Italy, features the eponymous protagonists Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. The cast of characters includes members of their respective families and households; Prince Escalus, the city's ruler, and his kinsmen, Count Paris and Mercutio; and various unaffiliated characters such as Friar Laurence and the Chorus. In addition, the play contains two ghost characters, Petruchio and Valentine, and an unseen character, Rosaline.
House of Escalus
Prince Escalus
Prince Escalus, the Prince of Verona, attempts to de-escalate the conflict between the Capulets and Montagues through the rule of law. His character may be based on the historical Scaliger family which ruled Verona from 1262–1387, possibly on Bartolomeo I. He appears three times within the text, primarily to administer justice following major episodes of violence between the Capulet and Montague families.In Act 1, Scene 1, the Prince admonishes both families for fighting in the streets, and introduces a new law: any Capulets or Montagues found guilty of breaking the peace will be executed. In Act 3, Scene 1, the Prince must arbitrate an appropriate punishment for the violent brawl in the streets, and the subsequent killings of Mercutio and Tybalt. Benvolio reveals that Tybalt both instigated the fight and first murdered Mercutio; Romeo therefore killed Tybalt in revenge for the death of his friend, not as part of the Capulet-Montague feud. The Prince lightens Romeo's sentence to lifetime banishment from Verona. In recompense for the death of Mercutio, his kinsman, he also punishes both families with a severe fine.
Prince Escalus returns in the final scene, Act 5, Scene 3, following the discovery of the bodies of Paris, Romeo, and Juliet in the Capulet family tomb. He pardons Friar Lawrence for his role in Juliet's death. He laments the feud that led to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, and directs the families to come to peace with each other.
Count Paris
Count Paris is a kinsman of Prince Escalus and seeks to marry Juliet. He is described as handsome, somewhat self-absorbed, and very wealthy.Paris first appears in Act I, Scene II, where he tells Lord Capulet he wishes to marry Juliet.
Mercutio
Mercutio is a nobleman, the cousin of Prince Escalus and Count Paris. He is a close friend of Romeo and Benvolio. He supports the Montagues, and similarly antagonizes the Capulet family. His invitation to the Capulet's party reveals that he has a brother named Valentine. Mercutio typically makes long and fanciful speeches, and is generally characterised as reckless, a jester, and a free spirit. Mercutio is one of Shakespeare's most popular characters. Mercutio is the instigator of many fights with his rather mean-spirited humor, and often insults Tybalt, a renowned Capulet swordsman. Mercutio is the first character to die.In Act 3, Scene 1, Mercutio dismisses Benvolio's wishes to avoid running into the Capulets. Tybalt approaches Romeo and insults him, challenging him to a duel. However, Romeo, now secretly married to Juliet, refuses to fight Tybalt, as Tybalt is Juliet's cousin and therefore his kinsman. Not knowing this, Mercutio is incensed, and decides to fight Tybalt himself. Romeo, not wanting his best friend or his cousin-in-law to get hurt, intervenes by stepping between the two men. Tybalt fatally stabs Mercutio under Romeo's arm.
As he dies, Mercutio casts "a plague o' both your houses!". He makes one final pun before he dies: "Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man". In revenge for the murder of his friend, Romeo murders Tybalt.
House of Capulet
The Capulet family in the play was named after a 13th-century political faction in Verona.Lord Capulet
Lord Capulet is the patriarch of the Capulet family. He is Lady Capulet's husband, Juliet's father, and Tybalt's uncle. He is often commanding and short-tempered, but also convivial, as seen in Act 1, Scene 5, when he tells Tybalt not to antagonise Romeo at the Capulet masked ball, but escalates to insulting Tybalt when he disagrees.Capulet's treatment of Juliet changes across the course of the play. In Act 1, Scene 2, Capulet refuses to betroth Juliet to Count Paris on account of her youth, citing concerns over both Juliet's inexperience and her health, if she became pregnant following the marriage. He tells Paris he would only agree to a marriage if Juliet desired it, and that Juliet has her own opinions separate to his. Furthermore, he suggests that Paris could try to woo any of the unmarried Capulet ladies he meets at the masked ball that evening instead of pursuing a match with Juliet.
However, in Act 3, Scene 4, Capulet accepts Count Paris' proposal, and promises Paris that Juliet will be ruled by his wishes, even though the two have not met and Juliet remains in mourning. Later, in Act 3, Scene 5, Capulet thinks Juliet's sorrow is only due to Tybalt's death, and has Lady Capulet reveal Juliet's engagement to Paris. When Juliet refuses to become Paris' "joyful bride", Capulet becomes enraged. He threatens to make her a street urchin; calls her a "hilding", "unworthy", "young baggage", a "disobedient wretch", a "green-sickness carrion", and "tallow-face"; and says God's giving Juliet to them was a "curse" and he now realizes he and his wife had one child too many when Juliet was born. He chastises and insults Juliet for her disobedience, and threatens to disown her if she does not consent to the marriage on Thursday. In Act 4 Scene 2, Capulet at first treats Juliet coldly; he only becomes joyful after Juliet claims that she has not only agreed to the marriage, but even loves Paris, having met him when being counselled by Friar Lawrence. Later, Capulet is deeply upset by Juliet's death. In the final scene, Act 5, Scene 3, Capulet asks Lord Montague to join their families as kin and to end the feud.
Lady Capulet
Lady Capulet is the matriarch of the Capulet family. She is Capulet's wife, Juliet's mother, and Tybalt's aunt. She has a larger role than Lady Montague, appearing in several scenes.In Act 1, Scene 3, she reveals that she was married to Lord Capulet and pregnant at a younger age than Juliet is now. In Act 1, Scene 2, Lord Capulet also reveals that Juliet is their only surviving child. Compared to the Nurse, Lady Capulet is often more reserved towards her daughter Juliet.
When Tybalt is killed in Act 3, Scene 1, she expresses both extreme grief and anger over Tybalt's death, insisting that the Prince have Romeo executed. In Act 3, Scene 5, she offers to send a poisoner to kill Romeo at Mantua, and hopes that preparing the poison would console Juliet's grief. In this same scene, she becomes angry with Juliet for refusing to marry Paris; she dismisses Juliet's pleas to postpone the wedding, saying: "Talk not to me, for I'll not speak a word; do as thou wilt, for I am done with thee".
In Act 4, Scene 5, Lady Capulet is deeply distraught over Juliet's death. In Act 5, she is nearly overcome by the tragic events of the play, this is where the grief-stricken mother comes out.
The name of "Lady Capulet" is a later addition; it is an echo of Juliet's form of address in 3.5.65. In the first texts, the character's stage direction and speech headings can be "mother", "wife", or even "old lady", but nowhere "Lady Capulet".
Juliet
Juliet Capulet, the female protagonist, is the only daughter of Lord and Lady Capulet. At the time of the play, she is almost fourteen years old. As a child, she was cared for by the Nurse, who remains her confidante.Juliet dies by suicide at the end of the play, next to Romeo. Both their families realize what they had done by trying to separate the star-crossed lovers with the effect that the Capulets and Montagues are united, ending their feud.
Tybalt
Tybalt is Lord and Lady Capulet's nephew, and Juliet's hot-headed cousin. He is a skilled swordsman. He serves as an antagonist to the Montague characters. Tybalt is angered by Romeo and Benvolio's uninvited presence at the Capulet's masked ball. Mercutio repeatedly refers to Tybalt as the "Prince of Cats", ostensibly referring to Tybalt's speed and agility with in a duel. Mercutio is also mocking Tybalt: he shares a name with the character of Tibert/Tybalt, the "Prince of Cats", who features in the satirical Medieval and Early Modern literary cycles of Reynard the Fox. Moreover, the nickname may also refer to the Italian insult cazzo, the equivalent of the English insult "dick".Tybalt is first seen coming to the aid of his servants who are being attacked by the Montagues' servants. He is also present at Capulet's feast in Act 1, Scene 5, and is the first to recognize Romeo. His last appearance is in Act 3, Scene 1, wherein Mercutio insults Tybalt and ends up fighting with him. Tybalt kills Mercutio and, in retaliation, Romeo rages and kills Tybalt, resulting in Romeo's banishment.
Nurse
The Nurse is a major character in the play. She is Juliet's former wet nurse, having lost her own daughter of Juliet's age. As Juliet's primary caretaker and personal attendant, she is Juliet's confidante and acts as a warm maternal figure. There has been speculation about the Nurse's name, as Capulet may refer to her as "Angelica", but the line can be addressed to either the nurse or Lady Capulet.Peter
Peter is a Capulet servant who appears loyal, and always quick to obey the nurse. The Nurse chastises him when he does not duel Mercutio for her honour, but Peter insists that he "saw no man use you a pleasure; if I had, / my weapon should quickly have been out". He appears again in Act 4, Scene 5 in a brief comic relief scene with a number of musicians.Gregory and Sampson
Gregory and Sampson are Capulet servants. Gregory is originally hesitant to start a fight. Sampson, however, bites his thumb at Abram, "Which is a disgrace to them, if they bear it". The Montagues then retaliate in earnest. Benvolio arrives to break up the fight but ends up fighting with Tybalt. Both Gregory and Sampson appear to be friends of their master Tybalt.In the opening scene, the two engage in a dialogue full of puns on "coal" and "eye", each intending to outdo the other and get each other ready to fight Montagues. The rhetorical form is called stichomythia, wherein characters participate in a short, quick exchanges of one-upmanship. Their discussion and brawl in this scene set the stage for the rivalry and conflict which fills the rest of the play.