The play begins with a large fight between the Capulets and the Montagues, two

prestigious families in Verona, Italy. These families have been fighting for quite some
time, and the Prince declares that their next public brawl will be punished by death.
When the fight is over, Romeo’s cousin Benvolio tries to cheer him of his melancholy.
Romeo reveals that he is in love with a woman named Rosaline, but she has chosen to
live a life of chastity. Romeo and Benvolio are accidentally invited to their enemy’s party;
Benvolio convinces Romeo to go.
At the party, Romeo locks eyes with a young woman named Juliet. They instantly fall in
love, but they do not realize that their families are mortal enemies. When they realize
each other’s identities, they are devastated, but they cannot help the way that they feel.
Romeo sneaks into Juliet’s yard after the party and proclaims his love for her. She
returns his sentiments and the two decide to marry. The next day, Romeo and Juliet are
married by Friar Lawrence; an event witnessed by Juliet’s Nurse and Romeo’s loyal
servant, Balthasar. They plan to meet in Juliet’s chambers that night.
Romeo visits his best friend Mercutio and his cousin Benvolio but his good mood is
curtailed. Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt, starts a verbal quarrel with Romeo, which soon turns
into a duel with Mercutio. Romeo tries to stop the fight but it is too late: Tybalt kills
Mercutio. Romeo, enraged, retaliates by killing Tybalt. Once Romeo realizes the
consequences of his actions, he hides at Friar Lawrence’s cell.
Friar Lawrence informs Romeo that he has been banished from Verona and will be
killed if he stays. The Friar suggests Romeo spend the night with Juliet, then leave for
Mantua in the morning. He tells Romeo that he will attempt to settle the Capulet and
Montague dispute so Romeo can later return to a united family. Romeo takes his
advice, spending one night with Juliet before fleeing Verona.
Juliet’s mother, completely unaware of her daughter's secret marriage to Romeo,
informs Juliet that she will marry a man named Paris in a few days. Juliet, outraged,
refuses to comply. Her parents tell her that she must marry Paris and the Nurse agrees
with them. Juliet asks Friar Lawrence for advice, insisting she would rather die than
marry Paris. Fr. Lawrence gives Juliet a potion which will make her appear dead and
tells her to take it the night before the wedding. He promises to send word to Romeo -
intending the two lovers be reunited in the Capulet vault.
Juliet drinks the potion and everybody assumes that she is dead — including Balthasar,
who immediately tells Romeo. Friar Lawrence’s letter fails to reach Romeo, so he
assumes that his wife is dead. He rushes to Juliet’s tomb and, in deep grief, drinks a vial
of poison. Moments later, Juliet wakes to find Romeo dead and kills herself due to grief.
Once the families discover what happened, they finally end their bitter feud. Thus the
youngsters' deaths bring the families together.
Romeo and Juliet is a true tragedy in the literary sense because the families gather
sufficient self-knowledge to correct their behaviour but not until it is too late to save the
situation.

Romeo and Juliet characters

Montagues
● Romeo — sole heir to the Montague fortune
● Lord Montague — Romeo’s father
● Lady Montague — Romeo’s mother
● Benvolio — Romeo’s cousin
● Balthasar — Romeo’s faithful servant
● Abraham — Montague servant

Capulets
● Juliet — sole heir to the Capulet fortune
● Lord Capulet — Juliet’s father
● Lady Capulet — Juliet’s mother
● Tybalt — Juliet’s cousin
● The Nurse — Juliet’s faithful Nurse
● Peter — Capulet servant
● Sampson — Capulet servant
● Gregory — Capulet servant

Peripheral characters
● Friar Lawrence — friend and advisor to Romeo and Juliet
● Mercutio — Romeo’s best friend; Prince’s kinsman
● Prince Escalus — Prince of Verona; kinsman to Mercutio and Paris
● Paris — Loves Juliet
● Rosaline — Romeo’s first love who never actually appears in the play
● Friar John — Friar Lawrence’s friend
● Apothecary — Romeo’s acquaintance in Mantua
Summary of major Romeo and Juliet
characters

Romeo Montague
Romeo is the only son of Lord and Lady Montague. He is young, impulsive, and above
all else, passionate. Once Romeo sets his heart on something—or someone—he is
convinced that there are no other alternatives. At the beginning of the play, Romeo is so
heartbroken over Rosaline that he can barely function. He devotes every waking breath
and thought to the woman he cannot have, but he forgets about her as soon as he lays
his eyes upon Juliet. Once he meets her, his ideas of love mature with him. While he
can finally grasp the true meaning of love, he is still unable to control his impulsive
behaviors. As a result, Romeo acts before he thinks, and he often suffers
consequences that could have otherwise been avoided. The most obvious case of this
type of behavior is when Romeo drinks poison because he believes his wife is dead. If
he had thought about the ramifications of his plans before he acted upon them, Romeo
could have potentially lived a long life with his Juliet.

Juliet Capulet
Though she is not yet 14 years old, Juliet’s maturity far exceeds that of Romeo. At first,
she seems to be merely obedient and her actions strive to please those she cares
about. As the play progresses and Juliet falls in love with Romeo, she becomes rational,
strong, and mature. She chooses her words wisely and rarely acts on impulse. When
Romeo was banished from Verona, Juliet could have easily packed her bags and left
with him. Instead, she chose to do the logical thing and wait for a time when they could
be peacefully reunited. Unfortunately, there would never be a time for them to reunite.
When Juliet realizes this, she chooses death over life without her husband. However, it
is important to note that she kills herself over her pure grief, not because she needs a
man to survive.

Friar Lawrence
Though he is a kind and religious man who often gives good advice, Friar Lawrence is
also responsible for a great deal of conflict in this play. He frequently comes up with
well-intentioned schemes that make situations worse than they need to be. It is quite
possible that if he didn’t secretly marry Romeo and Juliet, the Capulets and Montagues
could have ended their quarrel. If he did not allow Romeo to sneak into Juliet’s room
before fleeing for Mantua, there is a good chance that the lovers would have felt less
passionate about each other. If he did not concoct a mystical potion to make Juliet
appear dead, two lives could have been saved. Of course, Friar Lawrence cannot be
blamed for all that happened. Romeo and Juliet’s largest downfall was fate—Father
Lawrence simply lent fate a helping hand.

The Nurse
Juliet’s Nurse is a kind, funny woman who loves Juliet as if she were her own child. She
has nursed Juliet since infancy and the two of them are extremely close to one another.
She goes out of her way to make Juliet happy, and she only wants what is best for her.
The Nurse is Juliet’s only friend and confidante until she gives Juliet advice that she
doesn’t want to hear.

Mercutio
Mercutio is Romeo’s best friend and the Prince’s kinsman. He is a clever, witty character
who loves to make puns. His cold logic is the foil to Romeo’s love-crazed personality.
Mercutio is a good friend to Romeo, Benvolio, and nearly everybody he meets—so long
as they are not Capulets. Mercutio strongly believes in honor and self-respect, which is
why he becomes so enraged when Romeo allows Tybalt to verbally attack him.

Tybalt
Tybalt is Juliet’s cousin and he is deeply loved by his family. He typically thinks with his
sword, not with his head. He is easily angered and it does not take much persuasion for
him to draw his sword. He takes great joy in fighting, especially when he fights with the
hated Montagues and of course Romeo.