Romeo – Lord and Lady Montague’s son. Good looking and smart, he is liked by everyone who knows him. Initially in love with Rosaline, he quickly transfers his affections to Juliet, whom he meets at a party that her family is holding. Their families have an ancient feud, which makes the families hate each other. He is a very loyal friend to his relatives Mercucio and Benvolia.
Juliet – Lord and Lady Capulet’s daughter. She is only 13 when the play is set. At the beginning of the play, she is naïve, and does not know much about love or marriage, but she matures as the play progresses. She is engaged to Paris. She falls in love with Romeo at one of her family’s parties. Her closet friend and confidant is her nurse.
Tybalt – Nephew of Lady Capulet, and Juliet’s cousin. He is hot headed and a great swordsman. He is the character most angry with Romeo and Mercucio for crashing the Capulet’s party, which is where Romeo meets Juliet. He recognizes Romeo and wants to kill him, but is prevented by his uncle. He gets angry with Mercucio for insulting the Capulet name.
Mercucio – Relative of the prince and of Paris. He is Romeo and Benvolia’s close friend. He is very free spirited, and clowns around a lot. He is very reckless. Since he is neither a Montague nor a Capulet, he is able to go between the two houses with relative ease. He is the one who gets Romeo the invitation to the Capulet’s party. He has a very short temper, which makes him get into arguments with others, including Tybalt.
Benvolia – Montague’s niece and Romeo’s cousin. She is a good friend of Mercucio’s. Sort of a voice of reason in the play- she does not approve of the deep-set hatred between the Montagues and the Capulets. She often tries to stop people from fighting. Does not want Romeo to marry Rosaline at the beginning of the play, and strongly aligned with Mercucio. She is a close confidant of Romeo. In Shakespeare’s text, Benvolia is Benvolio, a man.
Lord Capulet – Patriarch of the Capulet family, he is Juliet’s father and Tybalt’s uncle. He is very wealthy. While he does not like the Monagues, he does not seem to be as violently opposed to them as the younger generation is – he prevents Tybalt from killing Romeo when he turns up uninvited to his party. He believes that he is doing what is best for Juliet. He arranges her marriage to Paris, believing that is the right thing for her to do.
Lady Capulet – Matriarch of the Capulet family. She is Juliet’s mother. She is very pleased with Juliet’s engagement to Paris, and pushes Juliet to marry him. She thinks she is doing what is best for her daughter, but she also allows the nurse to be the primary person in Juliet’s life (as opposed to herself).
Friar Laurence – Somewhat of a loner, he is very innocent. He spends a lot of time observing the world around him. He is a mentor and advisor of Romeo. He really wants to end the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets, and by marrying Romeo and Juliet he feels like he might do this. He thinks that he is doing what is best for both families. He gets very flustered when he is under stress.
Friar John – Good friend of Friar Laurence. He is sent on messenger errands in the play.
Nurse- Juliet’s nurse, she has raised her since she was a child. She is Juliet’s close friend. She regards Juliet as a daughter. She wants her to be happily married. She is Juliet’s connection to the outside world.
Lord Montague – Patriarch of the Montague family, he is the father of Romeo and the uncle of Benvolia. He worries about Romeo’s romantic interests, but can’t seem to connect with his son and get him to talk about things. Cares greatly about Romeo. He dislikes the Capulets.
Lady Montague- Matriarch of the Montague family, she is Romeo’s mother and Benvolia’s aunt. She tries to prevent people from fighting throughout the play. She is very protective of Romeo, and gets a lot of her information about him through his cousin, Benvolia.
Balthasar – Romeo’s servant and good friend. He quarrels against the Capulets, since he is employed by the Montagues.
Paris - A kinsman of the Prince. He is courting Juliet, and the two eventually become engaged, much to the delight of Juliet’s parents. He is sort of self absorbed, and very wealthy. He believes that Juliet wants to be his wife, even though she states that she does not want to be.
Gregory- Servant of the Capulet’s, specifically Tybalt. He fights with the Montague servants on occasion.
Prince Escalus- The Prince of Verona. He is the mediator between the two families. He is the main voice of authority in Verona. He administers punishments for public quarreling. He doesn’t approve of the feud between the families.
Apothecary - A pharmacist in Verona. He makes drugs and poisons and sells them to the people of Verona. He values money more than his morals.