Romeo and Juliet

Chorus

A speaker who introduces the play’s story and reflects on the feud and the lovers.

Sampson

A servant of the Capulets who helps provoke the opening street brawl.

Gregory

A servant of the Capulets who accompanies Sampson and fights the Montagues’ servants.

Abram

A servant of the Montagues who is drawn into the opening brawl.

Balthasar

Romeo’s servant, who brings him news of Juliet’s apparent death and accompanies him to the Capulet tomb.

Benvolio

Romeo’s friend and Montague’s nephew, who repeatedly tries to keep the peace.

Tybalt

Lady Capulet’s nephew, a fierce opponent of the Montagues and Romeo. Romeo kills him, and Juliet and the Nurse mourn him.

First Citizen

A citizen of Verona who helps call for the fighting to stop and later demands that Benvolio answer for the deaths.

Capulet

Juliet’s father and head of the Capulet household, which is feuding with the Montagues. He arranges Juliet’s marriage to Paris, threatens to disown her when she refuses, and grieves when she appears dead.

Lady Capulet

Juliet’s mother and Capulet’s wife, who urges Juliet to marry Paris and grieves when Juliet appears dead.

Montague

Romeo’s father and head of the Montague household, which is feuding with the Capulets. He reports that Lady Montague has died from grief over Romeo’s exile.

Lady Montague

Romeo’s mother and Montague’s wife. She dies from grief over Romeo’s exile.

Escalus

Also known as Prince Escalus · Prince

The Prince of Verona, who orders the feuding families to keep the peace and exiles Romeo for killing Tybalt. He investigates the lovers’ deaths and condemns the families’ feud.

Romeo

Montague’s son, who secretly marries Juliet, kills Tybalt, and is exiled. Believing Juliet dead, he takes poison at her tomb; she awakens, then kills herself beside him.

Paris

Also known as County Paris

A young nobleman and kinsman of the Prince who seeks to marry Juliet. He visits Juliet’s tomb to mourn her and is killed there by Romeo.

Capulet’s Servant

Also known as Servant

An unnamed servant of Capulet, sent to invite the people named on a guest list to the Capulet feast.

Signior Martino

A guest named on Capulet’s feast list; he is mentioned but does not appear in this passage.

Signior Martino’s wife

A guest named on Capulet’s feast list; she is mentioned but does not appear in this passage.

Signior Martino’s daughters

Guests named collectively on Capulet’s feast list; they are mentioned but do not appear in this passage.

County Anselmo

A guest named on Capulet’s feast list; he is mentioned but does not appear in this passage.

County Anselmo’s sisters

Guests named collectively on Capulet’s feast list; they are mentioned but do not appear in this passage.

The widow of Utruvio

Also known as The lady widow of Utruvio

A guest named on Capulet’s feast list; she is mentioned but does not appear in this passage.

Signior Placentio

A guest named on Capulet’s feast list; he is mentioned but does not appear in this passage.

Signior Placentio’s nieces

Guests named collectively on Capulet’s feast list; they are mentioned but do not appear in this passage.

Valentine

Mercutio’s brother, named on Capulet’s feast list; he does not appear in this passage.

Rosaline

A woman Romeo loves before meeting Juliet; she has sworn to remain chaste and is named among Capulet’s guests.

Livia

A guest named on Capulet’s feast list; she is mentioned but does not appear in this passage.

Signior Valentio

A guest named on Capulet’s feast list; he is mentioned but does not appear in this passage.

Lucio

A guest named on Capulet’s feast list; he is mentioned but does not appear in this passage.

Helena

A guest named on Capulet’s feast list; she is mentioned but does not appear in this passage.

Nurse

Juliet’s longtime nurse and confidante, who helps arrange the secret marriage and carries messages between Juliet and Romeo. She later urges Juliet to marry Paris, then discovers Juliet apparently dead.

Juliet

Capulet’s daughter, nearly fourteen, who secretly marries Romeo despite their families’ feud. To escape marrying Paris, she takes a potion that makes her appear dead; finding Romeo dead at her tomb, she kills herself.

Susan

The Nurse’s daughter, who was Juliet’s age but died in childhood.

The Nurse’s husband

Also known as Nurse’s husband

The Nurse’s late husband, who helped care for Juliet when she was a baby.

Romeo’s man

Romeo’s unnamed servant, entrusted with messages and later found at the Capulet tomb after Romeo orders him to wait outside.

Mercutio

A kinsman of the Prince and Romeo’s witty friend. Tybalt mortally wounds him, and Romeo kills Tybalt in revenge.

Queen Mab

A fairy midwife described by Mercutio as riding through sleepers’ minds and shaping their dreams.

Friar Lawrence

A Franciscan friar and Romeo’s confidant who marries Romeo and Juliet in hopes of ending their families’ feud. He gives Juliet a potion to feign death, but his message to Romeo fails to arrive.

Friar John

A Franciscan friar who is unable to deliver Friar Lawrence’s letter to Romeo because he is detained amid a suspected plague quarantine.

Peter

A servant to Juliet’s Nurse who accompanies her and is sent to wait at the gate.

Capulet’s Cousin

An elderly relative of Capulet who attends the feast and recalls dancing with him at a mask years earlier.

Old Tiberio’s son and heir

An unnamed young man Juliet asks about at the feast; the Nurse identifies him as the son and heir of old Tiberio.

Young Petruchio

A young man Juliet asks about at the feast; the Nurse thinks he is the gentleman leaving the house.

Page to Paris

An unnamed page who serves Paris, keeps watch at Juliet’s tomb, and summons the watch when Paris and Romeo fight.

Three Musicians

Musicians hired for the wedding who arrive at the Capulet tomb and speak with Peter; the text names Simon Catling, Hugh Rebeck, and James Soundpost among them.

The Apothecary

Also known as Apothecary

A poor apothecary in Mantua who sells Romeo poison, despite the law forbidding its sale.

An Officer

An unnamed officer listed in the cast list; the passage does not identify him further.

Potpan

A Capulet-house servant called for during the feast preparations.

Antony

A Capulet-house servant called for during the feast preparations.

Susan Grindstone

A person a servant is asked to let into the feast; no further details are given.

Nell

A person a servant is asked to let into the feast; no further details are given.

Lucentio’s son

A man mentioned by Capulet’s Cousin as being thirty years old; he does not appear in this passage.

Lucentio

A person whose nuptials Capulet recalls; he is mentioned but does not appear in this passage.

Second Servant

An unnamed servant of Capulet who jokes about hiring cooks by testing whether they lick their fingers.

First Servant

An unnamed servant carrying supplies for the cook during preparations for Juliet’s wedding.

Second Musician

A musician at Juliet’s funeral who banters with Peter.

Third Musician

A musician at Juliet’s funeral who says he does not know what to say when Peter questions him.

First Watch

A member of the watch who responds to the deaths at the Capulet tomb and reports the scene to the Prince.

Second Watch

A member of the watch who presents Romeo’s servant after he is found in the churchyard.

Third Watch

A member of the watch who presents Friar Lawrence and the tools found with him.