Romeo and Juliet Characters Explanation of character Adjectives

Romeo and Juliet Characters Explanation of character. Adjectives to describe their personalities.

Team Montague Characters close to Romeo

Romeo Montague • 16 years old • Only son of Lord and Lady Montague • Peaceful: Not interested in the feud between the Montagues and Capulets • Hopeless romantic: in love with Rosaline and Juliet throughout the play

Lady Montague • Mother of Romeo • Wife of Lord Montague • Emotional: dies of grief after the death of a character

Lord Montague (Referenced as Montague) • Father of Romeo • Husband of Lady Montague • Leader of all Montagues • Concerned: worried about Romeo’s sadness

Balthasar • Romeo’s servant • Confused: Tells Romeo about Juliet’s “death”

Abraham • Servant to the Montague family • Violent: Fights Capulet servants at the beginning of the play

Benvolio • Romeo’s cousin • Tries to convince Romeo to move on from his love of Rosaline • Loyal: Defends Romeo in his times of need • Non-violent: activist for peace between the Montague and Capulet families

Mercutio • Romeo’s best friend • Funny: makes inappropriate jokes with puns and wordplay • Spiteful: hates the Capulets; he fights and makes fun of them • Unromantic: doesn’t understand why Romeo is concerned with the romantic side of love instead of physical acts

Team Capulet Characters close to Juliet

Juliet Capulet • 13 years old • Only daughter of Lord and Lady Capulet, but mostly cared for by The Nurse • Obedient: at the beginning of the play she listens to what her parents tell her to do • Naïve: believes everything that Romeo tells her and blindly goes along with Friar Laurence’s plan

Lord Capulet (Referenced as Capulet) • Father of Juliet • Husband of Lady Capulet • Leader of all Capulets • Confused: doesn’t understand the emotions of Juliet or why she doesn’t want to marry Paris • Impatient: demands others respect him, and is furious when something doesn’t go his way

Lady Capulet • Juliet’s Mother • Became a wife and mother around the age of 14 • Impatient: pushes for Juliet to marry Paris • Unemotional: relies on The Nurse to care for Juliet

The Nurse • The mother figure for Juliet who served as a type of nanny for her • Entertaining: makes vulgar jokes and long speeches at inappropriate times • Trustworthy: Juliet’s confidant • Worried: concerned about Juliet’s rushed love for Romeo, her concerns lead to a strain on her relationship with Juliet

Gregory and Sampson • Servants to the Capulet family • Begin a fight at the beginning of the play by insulting Montague servants • Immature: don’t know what they are fighting over, just that they like to instigate a fights with the Capulets

Tybalt • Juliet’s cousin • Hateful: loathes the Montagues and is eager to fight Romeo at a formal event as well as in public areas • Arrogant: proud of his sword fighting skills and ready to use them on anyone who disrespects him

Other Important Players

Prince Escalus • Prince of Verona • Threatens death to a Capulet or Montague who fights in the public streets • Political: set on keeping the peace between the Capulets and Montagues after citizens begin to complain

Paris • The suitor who Lord and Lady Capulet want choose for Juliet to marry • Bold: once he is “engaged” to Juliet, he begins to act possessive over her • Apathetic: not very romantic when it comes to his relationship with Juliet

Rosaline • The girl who Romeo is in love with at the beginning of the play • Romeo and Rosaline would have never been together because she has decided to live a life of chastity

The Apothecary • Like a pharmacist • Sells deadly drugs to Romeo • Selfish: cares more about money than morals

Friar Lawrence • Marries Romeo and Juliet in secret • Kind: friend advisor to Romeo • Sympathetic: has good intentions and hopes this marriage will ultimately end the feud between the Montagues and Capulets

Friar John • A friend of Friar Lawrence • Friar Lawrence sends him an errand to bring a message from Verona to Mantua • Unlucky: stopped at the boarder between Verona and Mantua due to a quarantine that is supposed to stop sicknesses from spreading between the cities