Romeo Montague | The son and heir of Lord Montague and Lady Montague. He kills Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin. |
Juliet Capulet | The daughter of Lord Capulet and Lady Capulet. |
Friar Laurence | He secretly marries Romeo and Juliet in hopes that the union will bring peace to Verona. |
Nurse | Juliet’s faithful confidante and loyal intermediary in Juliet’s relationship with Romeo. |
Mercutio | A kinsman to the Prince, and Romeo’s close friend. He is killed by Tybalt. |
Tybalt | A Capulet, Juliet’s cousin on her mother’s side. He kills Mercutio. Vain, fashionable. He loathes Montagues. |
Lord Montague | Romeo’s father, the patriarch of the Montague clan and bitter enemy of Capulet. |
Lady Montague | Romeo’s mother, Montague’s wife. She dies of grief after Romeo is exiled from Verona. |
Lord Capulet | Juliet’ father, The patriarch of the Capulet family, , husband of Lady Capulet, and enemy, for unexplained reasons, of Montague. |
Lady Capulet | Juliet’s mother, Capulet’s wife. She is eager to see her daughter marry Paris. |
Benvolio | Montague’s nephew, Romeo’s cousin and thoughtful friend, he makes a genuine effort to defuse violent scenes in public places, though Mercutio accuses him of having a nasty temper in private. He spends most of the play trying to help Romeo get his mind off Rosaline, even after Romeo has fallen in love with Juliet. |
Friar John | A Franciscan friar charged by Friar Lawrence with taking the news of Juliet’s false death to Romeo in Mantua. Friar John is held up in a quarantined house, and the message never reaches Romeo. |
Balthasar | Romeo’s dedicated servant, who brings Romeo the news of Juliet’s death, unaware that her death is a ruse/not real. |
The Apothecary | An apothecary in Mantua. He sells poison to Romeo. |
Paris | A kinsman of the Prince, and the suitor of Juliet most preferred by Lord Capulet. Lord Capulet promises he can marry Juliet. |
Prince Escalus | The Prince of Verona. A kinsman of Mercutio (Romeo’s best friend) and Paris. He is concerned about maintaining the public peace at all costs |
Peter | A Capulet servant who invites guests to the Capulet’s feast and escorts the nurse to meet with Romeo. He is illiterate. |
Sampson and Gregory | Two servants who, like their master, hate the Montagues. At the beginning of the play, they successfully provoke some Montague men into a fight. |
Abraham | Montague’s servant, who fights with Sampson and Gregory in the first scene of the play. |
The Chorus | A character developed in Greek drama, whose function is to comment on the play’s plot and themes. |
Rosaline | The woman with whom Romeo is infatuated with at the beginning of the play. Rosaline never appears onstage, but it is said by other characters that she is very beautiful and has sworn to live a life of chastity. |
Romeo and Juliet: Characters (pictures limited descriptions)
July 16, 2019