| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Romeo | The son and heir of Montague and Lady Montague. |
| Juliet | The daughter of Capulet and Lady Capulet. |
| Friar Laurence | He secretly marries the impassioned lovers in hopes that the union might eventually bring peace to Verona. |
| Nurse | Juliet’s faithful confidante and loyal intermediary in Juliet’s affair with Romeo. |
| Mercutio | A kinsman to the Prince, and Romeo’s close friend. |
| Tybalt | A Capulet, Juliet’s cousin on her mother’s side. Vain, fashionable, supremely aware of courtesy and the lack of it, he becomes aggressive, violent, and quick to draw his sword when he feels his pride has been injured. Once drawn, his sword is something to be feared. He loathes Montagues. |
| Lord Montague | Romeo’s father, the patriarch of the Montague clan and bitter enemy of Capulet. At the beginning of the play, he is chiefly concerned about Romeo’s melancholy. |
| Lady Montague | Romeo’s mother, Montague’s wife. She dies of grief after Romeo is exiled from Verona. |
| Lord Capulet | The patriarch of the Capulet family, father of Juliet, husband of Lady Capulet, and enemy, for unexplained reasons, of Montague. |
| Lady Capulet | Juliet’s mother, Capulet’s wife. A woman who herself married young (by her own estimation she gave birth to Juliet at close to the age of fourteen), she is eager to see her daughter marry Paris. She is an ineffectual mother, relying on the Nurse for moral and pragmatic support. |
| Paris | A kinsman of the Prince, and the suitor of Juliet most preferred by Capulet. Once Capulet has promised him he can marry Juliet, he behaves very presumptuous toward, acting as if they are already married. |
| 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. |
| Prince Escalus | The Prince of Verona. A kinsman of Mercutio and Paris. As the seat of political power in Verona, he is concerned about maintaining the public peace at all costs. |
| 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. |
| Sampson & Gregory | Two servants of the house of Capulet, who, like their master, hate the Montagues. At the outset of the play, they successfully provoke some Montague men into a fight. |
| Abram | Montague’s servant, who fights with Sampson and Gregory in the first scene of the play. |
| The Apothecary | An apothecary in Mantua. Had he been wealthier, he might have been able to afford to value his morals more than money, and refused to sell poison to Romeo. |
| Peter | A Capulet servant who invites guests to Capulet’s feast and escorts the Nurse to meet with Romeo. |
| Rosaline | The woman with whom Romeo is infatuated 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. |
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