An age-old vendetta between two powerful families erupts into bloodshed. A group of masked Montagues risk further conflict by gatecrashing a Capulet party. A young lovesick Romeo Montague falls instantly in love with Juliet Capulet, who is due to marry her father's choice, the County Paris.
An age-old vendetta between two powerful families erupts into bloodshed. A group of masked Montagues risk further conflict by gatecrashing a Capulet party. A young lovesick Romeo Montague falls instantly in love with Juliet Capulet, who is due to marry her father's choice, the County Paris.
ROMEO MONTAGUE
"But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the East, and Juliet is the sun."
Romeo is the main protagonist in the Shakespearean play, Romeo & Juliet. He is the son of Lord and Lady Montague, and heir to the family dynasty. In the play, he is portrayed as a young man, probably around the age of sixteen. He is described as handsome and smart-witted. He is portrayed as passionate, sensitive and an extremely likable character. At the onset of the play, Romeo’s love is focused on a woman named Rosaline, but this love is quickly abandoned the moment his eyes fall upon fair Juliet. Juliet though is the daughter of the Capulets, who are embattled in a violent and intense feud with Romeo’s family. While the authenticity of Romeo’s love for Juliet could be questioned on the basis of his sudden change of heart, he goes to extremes to prove the seriousness of his love for the daughter of his family’s enemy. He secretly marries Juliet, and in the end proves that he would rather die than be without his beloved.
juliet capulet
"My only love sprung from my only hate!"
Juliet is the female protagonist in William Shakespear’s Romeo and Juliet. She is the daughter of the aristocrats, Lord and Lady Capulet. She is described as a beautiful yet naive teenage girl, having little to no concern for love and marriage until she meets her star-crossed lover Romeo.
Her love for Romeo is immediate and devastatingly strong. Upon their initial meeting, she begins her journey of emotional independence from her family by allowing Romeo to kiss. Her emotional profession of love demonstrates one of the most profound images of selfless love in Shakespearean verse:
My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
my love as deep, the more I give to thee
the more I have, for both are infinite
Upon confessing the depths of her devotion to Romeo and her staunch refusal to marry Paris, asserting that she would kill herself before marrying him, she and the Friar develop the reckless plan to fake her own death in order to avoid her impending marriage, and secretly wed Romeo. This plan ultimately backfires, resulting in the death of both her lover and herself.
Mercutio
True, I talk of dreams, Which are the children of an idle brain,
Begot of nothing but vain fantasy
Mercutio is the best friend to Romeo. He is often seen as one of the most extraordinary characters in all of Shakespeare’s plays. He is full of wit and biting satire, often committing to wordeplays and sexual double entendres. He attempts to squash Romeo’s hopeless romanticism by encouraging him to view relationships in a purely physical and sexual manner. Upon Tybalt’s provocation and challenge to Romeo, it is Mercutio who steps in to take up Tybalt’s challenge and defend his friend’s name. Upon receiving a mortal wound from Tybalt, his humor is demonstrated at his last words as he describes the wound:"No 'tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church door, but 'tis enough, 'twill serve"
