Shakespeare - Romeo and Juliet - characters

There are lots of characters in Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. Take an in-depth look at the main ones identifying their key attributes and relationships and analysing their part in the play.

As you might expect, characters in 'Romeo and Juliet' fall into two camps - the Montagues and the Capulets. These are the two families who have been at war for many years. Romeo is a Montague and Juliet is a Capulet. There are lots of characters in this play, but the main ones are:

• Romeo
• Juliet
• Friar Lawrence
• The Nurse

Other key characters include:

• Tybalt - Juliet’s cousin
• Mercutio - Romeo’s close friend
• Benvolio - Romeo’s cousin
• Capulet - Juliet’s father

Romeo is a young, passionate and impulsive character. When we first meet him he is heartbroken because Rosaline does not return the love he has for her. However, things change as soon as he meets Juliet at the party. He sneaks to her balcony at night and declares his undying love for her. They arrange to get married in secret the very next day, showing how impulsive he really is. When Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt, later challenges Romeo to a duel, Romeo refuses. This shows us how devoted he is to Juliet. We also see his passionate nature at the end of the play when he believes that Juliet is dead and kills himself to be with her.

• Impulsive – he falls immediately in love with Juliet and forgets Rosaline.
• Devoted friend – when Mercutio is killed by Tybalt, Romeo is so enraged that he kills him too.
• Passionate – he kills himself in order to be with Juliet.

Romeo’s friends are:

• Benvolio - his cousin
• Mercutio – his best friend
• Friar Lawrence – marries Romeo and Juliet

He is enemies with:

• Tybalt - a Capulet and Juliet’s cousin

• At the start of the play Romeo is depressed and confused by his love for Rosaline.
• When he sets eyes on Juliet at the Capulet party, Romeo forgets all about Rosaline, claiming he has never experienced true love until this moment.
• Romeo refuses to fight with Tybalt, but when his best friend Mercutio is slain, he fights Tybalt to the death.

In Act 2 Scene 2, Romeo has crept into the Capulet garden and is looking up at Juliet as she appears on her balcony. She cannot hear him speaking about her.

Juliet is the young daughter of Capulet and Lady Capulet. Early in the play the nobleman, Paris asks her father whether he might be allowed to marry her. Capulet organises a party as an opportunity for the two to meet and get to know each other. However, Juliet’s heart is captured that night, not by Paris, but by Romeo. She is headstrong and determined, going against her parents’ wishes and marrying Romeo in secret. She shows strength of character when Romeo is banished and she commits to a risky plan with Friar Lawrence. She fakes her own death, and when later she finds Romeo dead by her side, she stabs herself.

• Obedient – even though she has not thought of love or marriage before now, Juliet agrees to look at Paris at the party.
• Passionate – she falls instantly in love with Romeo.
• Courageous – she disobeys her parents and arranges to marry Romeo in secret. She later kills herself for love.

Juliet doesn’t have friends her own age. She obviously loves Romeo and she also takes advice from:

• The Nurse
• Friar Lawrence

• Initially Juliet is innocent and obedient, but after she meets Romeo we see her more determined side.
• She appears childish at first and is still looked after by her Nurse. However, we later see Juliet stand up to the Nurse when she advises forgetting about Romeo.
• At the start of the play, Juliet trusts the Nurse who even helps arrange the secret marriage. Later though, Juliet acts more independently, keeping her plan to be reunited with Romeo a secret from the Nurse.

In Act 3 Scene 2 Juliet learns from the Nurse that Romeo has killed Tybalt. In this section she reacts to the news.

The Friar is a close friend of Romeo’s. He is a good and kind character who supports the young lovers and helps them to marry in secret. After Romeo is banished, he makes a potion that Juliet will take to appear dead. The plan is that she and Romeo will escape together, but the message about the plan never reaches Romeo. Friar Lawrence is an important character as he heavily influences the action of the play.

• Trustworthy – both Romeo and Juliet confide in Friar Lawrence. He is a neutral character who hopes that by marrying the young lovers, the two feuding families will come to peace.
• Wise – the Friar challenges Romeo when he switches the focus of his affections from Rosaline to Juliet. He also has faith in the young people.
• Compassionate – he comforts Juliet when Romeo is banished and she is told to marry Paris.

The Friar’s friends are:

• Romeo - he listens and offers counsel to Romeo
• Juliet – he conducts the marriage between her and Romeo and later helps her come up with a plan to be reunited with her husband

• Friar Lawrence is a steady character throughout the play. He hopes that good will come from the marriage between Romeo and Juliet. The main change we see in him is at the end when he expresses regret about his role in their deaths.- -

In Act 2 Scene 6, Friar Lawrence marries Romeo and Juliet in secret.

At the start of the play we see the Nurse as Juliet’s carer and confidante and she helps arrange the marriage between Juliet and Romeo. Although she is an adult, she is sometimes seen as less mature than the teenage lovers. Her language is often bawdy and she seems to enjoy crude humour. After Tybalt’s death she tells Juliet that she should forget about Romeo and marry Paris instead. This could be seen as a betrayal by the once trustworthy Nurse, or as evidence that she wants to protect Juliet from pain.

• Trustworthy – the Nurse is Juliet’s companion and confidante. She has brought Juliet up from birth and wants the best for her. She keeps the meetings between Juliet and Romeo a secret.
• Playful – when the Nurse brings news from Romeo to Juliet about their marriage arrangements, she teases Juliet by taking time to tell her his answer.
• Caring – the Nurse puts Juliet’s wishes first and takes big risks by arranging secret meetings and a marriage for Romeo and Juliet.

The Nurse’s friends are:

• Juliet - she is like a mother to her
• The Capulet family – she has a strong allegiance and sense of duty to them

• Early on, the Nurse is playful and goes along with Juliet’s wishes. She shows support for the secret love between her ward and Romeo.
• After Tybalt’s death the Nurse advises Juliet to forget about Romeo and suggests that Paris is the better man. Juliet ceases to confide in her after this.

We first meet the Nurse in Act 1 Scene 3. Here she talks about how she has nursed Juliet since she was a baby.