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Romeo
The son and heir of Montague and Lady Montague. A young man of about sixteen, Romeo is
handsome, intelligent, and sensitive. Though impulsive and immature, his idealism and passion
make him an extremely likable character. He lives in the middle of a violent feud between his
family and the Capulets, but he is not at all interested in violence. His only interest is love and
he goes to extremes to prove the seriousness of his feelings. He secretly marries Juliet, the
daughter of his father’s worst enemy; he happily takes abuse from Tybalt; and he would rather
die than live without his beloved. Romeo is also an affectionate and devoted friend to his
relative Benvolio, Mercutio, and Friar Lawrence.
Juliet
The daughter of Capulet and Lady Capulet. A beautiful thirteen-year-old girl, Juliet begins the
play as a naïve child who has thought little about love and marriage, but she grows up quickly
upon falling in love with Romeo, the son of her family’s great enemy. Because she is a girl in an
aristocratic family, she has none of the freedom Romeo has to roam around the city, climb over
walls in the middle of the night, or get into swordfights. Nevertheless, she shows amazing
courage in trusting her entire life and future to Romeo, even refusing to believe the worst
reports about him after he gets involved in a fight with her cousin. Juliet’s closest friend and
confidant is her Nurse, though she’s willing to shut the Nurse out of her life the moment the
Nurse turns against Romeo.
Friar Lawrence
A Franciscan friar, friend to both Romeo and Juliet. Kind, civic-minded, a proponent of
moderation, and always ready with a plan, Friar Lawrence secretly marries the impassioned
lovers in hopes that the union might eventually bring peace to Verona. As well as being a
Catholic holy man, Friar Lawrence is also an expert in the use of seemingly mystical potions and
herbs.
Mercutio
A kinsman to the Prince, and Romeo’s close friend. One of the most extraordinary characters in
all of Shakespeare’s plays, Mercutio overflows with imagination, wit, and, at times, a strange,
biting satire and brooding fervor. Mercutio loves wordplay, especially sexual double entendres.
He can be quite hotheaded, and hates people who are affected, pretentious, or obsessed with
the latest fashions. He finds Romeo’s romanticized ideas about love tiresome, and tries to
convince Romeo to view love as a simple matter of sexual appetite.