Romeo and Juliet: characters

Main Characters in Romeo and Juliet

Romeo:

Romeo is the son of Montague and his wife, the protagonists of the play ‘Romeo and Juliet’.
He is deeply passionate and impulsive. He moves from being infatuated with Rosaline to loving Juliet, both intensely and quickly.
His love for Juliet provokes him to abandon his family, who have an intense hatred for the Capulets, Juliet’s family.

Juliet

Juliet is the young daughter of Capulet and Lady Capulet, and the love interest of Romeo.
She is only 13 years old, but it is her love for Romeo that allows her to mature quickly.
While she is obedient to her parents at first, she later defies them to marry Romeo.

Lord Capulet

Capulet is Juliet’s father, and the head of the Capulet family.
He is shown off initially as a loving father figure to Juliet but turns hostile when she refuses to follow the arranged marriage with Paris.

Lady Capulet

Lady Capulet is Juliet’s mother.
She relies on her Nurse for moral support and guidance and expects Juliet to obey her father’s wishes to marry Paris.

Mercutio

Mercutio is a close friend to Romeo and a blood relative to the Prince.
His character is energetic and full of wit. He despises love as he sees it only as a matter of sexual appetite.

Tybalt

Tybalt is Juliet’s cousin, known for his toughness and fiery personality.
He displays a continuous resentment towards the Montagues and is quick to anger, shown when he kills Mercutio.

Friar Laurence

Friar Laurence is a friend to both Romeo and Juliet.
He agrees to marry the lovers in secret hoping it will bring the two families together. His actions unintentionally lead to the tragic ending of the play.

The Nurse

The Nurse is Juliet’s faithful confidante and loyal intermediary in Juliet’s affair with Romeo.
Cares deeply for Juliet and wants her to have a suitable husband, but is undermined by gallows humour.

Note that understanding each character’s personality, their motivations, their relationships with others, and their impact on the plot will help you analyse the play in depth. It’s also important to analyse how these characters are portrayed in different performances, the director’s interpretation can have a significant impact on how a character is perceived.