Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen, was 25 years old when her 45-year reign as Queen of England began in 1558 and ended with her death in 1603. Because so much of the English renaissance is attributed to Elizabeth's personal character, influence, and lengthy reign--the last half of the sixteenth century in England is identified as the Elizabethan Period. The Queen's tastes in fashion set the standard. Many of England's greatest writers found encouragement and financial patronage in her love of music, drama, and poetry. Under Elizabeth, England experienced the true cultural reawakening or renaissance of thought, art, and vision, which had begun in Italy a century earlier. The standards of education and literacy in England varied widely. Many of the lower classes were illiterate. However, the upper classes were almost all literate and the middle classes were increasingly able to read, write, and do sufficient arithmetic for their daily needs. Elizabeth herself was highly educated, speaking many languages including Latin and Greek and so it was considered proper for upper class girls to be similarly highly educated. In addition to academic subjects, girls would also be taught music, dance, needlework, etc. Grammar schools (for boys only) taught Latin, a necessary stepping stone to further education. At the Queen's direction, Oxford and Cambridge universities were reorganized and chartered as centers for learning and scholarly endeavor. Playwrights increasingly moved their plots from the simplistically religious to the secular, adding elements like legend and myth, intense exploration of character, and familiar conventions freely adapted from works of their contemporaries. The dramatic form allowed playwrights to simultaneously develop plot, theme, complex characters, and poetic language, pushing the English language to new heights of imaginative achievement. It was not unusual for a crowd to take in a morning of public executions, bear-baiting, street carnivals, and fairs before settling down for an afternoon theatre performance. Southwark was one of the dens of vice and iniquity, a red light district of sorts, in Elizabethan England. Just south of the Thames River from London, it was the site of a number of brothels, bathhouses, Bear Baiting pits, and entertainment venues such as the Globe Theatre.
Successful playwrights, such as Shakespeare, made certain that their dramas included something for everybody whether it be bawdy jokes and physical sight gags for the peasant "groundlings" who stood at the foot of the stage, scenes of action and intrigue for the middle class spectators, or elevated language and characters to appeal to the more educated upper class citizens who sat in the tiered galleries around the outdoor stage. Mortality rates were high by modern. Infant and maternal mortality was very high, with many children stillborn or dying in their first year, and many mothers dying in childbed or soon after. Elizabethan people were not very keen on cleanliness as we understand it, and did not wash as often as we do. Hygiene, infection, and disease were a great mystery during the Elizabethan era. Most people thought diseases were spread by bad smells and practiced a certain degree of hygiene and considered it necessary to wash the face and hands regularly, to rinse the mouth and keep it sweet-smelling, and to change their linen underclothes regularly if possible. Clothing and accommodations were scented with a variety of flowers, herbs and spices. London was a cramped, horrible smelling commercial huddle. The River Thames was everybody's thoroughfare. The streets were narrow, cobbled, and slippery with the slime of garbage. Chamber pots, or jordans, were emptied out of windows. Most middle or upper class houses people used chamber pots or close stools (a sort of box with a hole in the top and a bucket inside) and in some residences garderobes built into the walls let effluent drop right outside into a moat, river, etc. The end of the Elizabethan period saw the invention of John Harington s water closet, a sketch of which appears to the right. While the crimes are similar to today s, Elizabethan punishments would be deemed cruel and unusual by today's standards. Elizabethans could be considered twisted individuals because of the crowds that gathered for public punishments and executions. Villagers relished hangings, and those to be hanged were often falsely accused of treason, which called for them to be publicly disemboweled, cut into quartered sections and left on display after death. Private executions have replaced the public hangings and disembowelments. People are no longer executed for minor crimes like theft. Axes are no longer used to administer punishments. There are now holding cells for criminals awaiting trial instead of stocks, like that to the left which served as a pillory, whipping post, and stocks all in one.
The Optike Glasse of Humours The diagram from The Optike Glasse of Humours is a guide to the system underlying science and psychology in Renaissance Europe. According to the theory of humours, the human mind and body are intricately connected to the physical universe. The diagram shows four bodily fluids written around the center of the chart. Based on their balance in the body, these fluids created a certain personality or "complexion": Sanguine (warm and moist, creating a balanced, happy disposition); Choleric (hot and dry, creating an energetic or angry disposition); Melancholic (cold and dry, leading to a sad or bitter disposition); and Phlegmatic (cold and moist, creating a slow, mild disposition). The second ring aligns the humours with certain times of life: adolescence, adulthood, old age, and senility/childhood. The third ring concerns the times of the year: spring, summer, fall, and winter. The fourth ring follows the four winds or directions: south, west, north, and east. The fifth ring corresponds to the four elements: air, fire, earth, and water. The sixth ring aligns the humours with what were considered the major planets: Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, and the Moon. The constellations are arranged around the outer circle. A person was born with a certain disposition, but any of the elements written in the rings could influence the individual throughout his or her life. Most works from Shakespeare s time mention the bodily humors. Look for mentions of this in Romeo and Juliet. Where do they occur? Where do you think you are on the chart? The Optike Glasse of Humours by Walkington, Thomas. London: Martin Clerke, printer and bookseller, 1607. STC 24967.
Almost everyone in Renaissance Europe was religious in some form and believed that God had created the world and all creatures, insect to nobleman, with a purpose. Religious references were understood, approved, and common in all Renaissance writings. Hamlet references this chain of creation when he unflatteringly refers to Polonius body in Act 4: Hamlet: A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of A king, and eat of the fish that hath fed of that worm. King Claudius: What dost thou mean by this? Hamlet: to show you how a king may go a progress through the guts of a beggar (4.3.27-31) In other words, a man uses a worm for fishing; this worm may have eaten a dead king s body; then the fish eats the worm, and man eats the fish, thereby eating a part of the king. A favorite of Elizabethan audiences was anything supernatural, including omens, witches, and particularly ghosts. Many of Shakespeare s plays feature ghosts, and their appearance almost always foretells impending doom. In Julius Caesar, he ghost of Caesar foreshadows Brutus defeat and death. In Hamlet, the ghost of King Hamlet foreshadows the tragic events of the whole plot. Elizabethan people were very superstitious--believing natural events like thunderclaps, lightning strikes, eclipses, and owls hooting all foretold terrible happenings. Small actions could bring or banish good luck. To stir a pot counter-clockwise spoiled the contents and brought bad luck to all who ate from it. Bad luck also followed from spilling salt, leaving a door open behind you, or from almost any encounter with a cat, black or otherwise. Good luck charms flowed from elements like iron, silver, fire, salt, and running water all thought to be pure and purifying. Other charms are more mysterious in origin: for instance, it was good luck to touch a man about to be hanged, just as it was lucky to spit into a fire or to be breathed on by a cow. By blessing a sneeze, we are continuing an Elizabethan superstition. Elizabethans knew that when a mouth opened to sneeze, it gave the devil an entrance into the body. The blessing warded off any possibility of harm, for of course no demon could remain where one Christian blessed another. What we do in politeness, early Englishmen did to protect their fellows from spiritual harm. Elizabethans believed that changes that made things more appealing would also make them more healthful. In times of plague, they burned scented firewood in the streets, and people carried sweet-smelling flowers in their pockets to ward off disease. The childhood rhyme, "Ring around the Rosey" is a remnant of plague times and the second line "pocket full of posies" refers to this habit. Queen Elizabeth herself, who patronized scientists, explorers, and scholars, also took advice from Dr. John Dee, renowned as a magician, astrologer, and alchemist. In his consultations, he was continuing a tradition going back through the mists of time to the seers and sages. Finally, Elizabethans believed in fate: Everything that happened was predestined or in the stars and not free will; tampering with fate was a sin that elicited retribution. In Julius Caesar, Caesar is warned by a soothsayer to Beware the ides of March (1.2.25). On the night before March 15, Rome sees a blazing comet, howling specters, and other portents. Caesar s wife, Calpurnia, dreams that Caesar s statue is running with blood from many wounds. She begs him to stay home. He refuses, saying, What can be avoided? Whose end is purposed by the mighty gods? Yet Caesar shall go forth. (2.2.26-28) Caesar receives yet another warning, but he ignores that as well, saying death will come when it will come (2.2.37). When he meets the soothsayer on the steps of the Senate, the following dialogue occurs, foreshadowing Caesar s death and chilling the audience: Caesar: The ides of March are come. Soothsayer: Ay, Caesar, but not gone. (3.1.1-2) Caesar s assassination fulfills the prophecy and the audience s expectations the Elizabethan people would not have wanted it any other way.
Cassius' words to Brutus in Julius Caesar could be Shakespeare's words to his audience about his plays: And since you know you cannot see yourself So well as by reflection, I, your glass, Will modestly discover to yourself That of yourself which you yet know not of. In his dramatic works, Shakespeare has provided insights into human nature, which in the opinion of many of his disciples, equal those of the greatest modern psychologists. The impact of the Bard's insights is compounded by a masterful use of language, which makes him the most widely studied English writer. Church records indicate that William Shakespeare was baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire on April 26, 1564. April 23 is widely accepted as his date of birth. His father was a respected tradesman (a glover involved in a variety of commercial activities) who held several important municipal offices. Shakespeare was probably educated at the local grammar school. He would have viewed local theatrical productions by groups of travelling players. When he was 18 he married 26 year old Anne Hathaway. In May of 1583 she gave birth to their first daughter, Susanna. In 1585, twins, named Hamnet and Judith, were born. Shortly thereafter, Shakespeare left Stratford. It has been speculated that he was fleeing prosecution for poaching deer on the property of a local nobleman. By about 1587 he arrived in London and begun his career as an actor and playwright. His success earned him the jealousy of rivals such as Richard Greene who condemned him as "an upstart crow" in 1592. The following is a chronological listing of Shakespeare's canon of plays and poetry: 1588-93 - The Comedy of Errors 1588-92 - Henry VI (three parts) 1592-93 - Richard III 1592-94 - Titus Andronicus 1593-94 - The Taming of the Shrew 1593-94 - Two Gentlemen of Verona 1593-94 - "The Rape of Lucrece" 1593-1600 - "Sonnets" 1588-95 - Love's Labor's Lost 1594-96 - Romeo and Juliet 1595 - Richard II 1594-96 A Midsummer Night's Dream 1590-97 - King John 1592 - "Venus and Adonis" 1596-97 - The Merchant of Venice 1597 - Henry IV (Part I) 1597-98 - Henry IV (Part II) 1598-1600 -Much Ado About Nothing 1598-99 - Henry V 1599 - Julius Caesar 1599-1600 - As You Like It 1600-02 - Twelfth Night 1600-OI - Hamlet 1597-1601 The Merry Wives of Windsor 1600-OI - "Phoenix and the Turtle" 160I-02 - Troilus and Cressida 1602-04 - All's Well That Ends Well 1603-04 - Othello 1604 - Measure for Measure 1604-09 - Timon of Athens 1605-06 - King Lear 1605-06 - Macbeth 1606-07 - Antony and Cleopatra 1607-09 - Coriolanus 1608-09 - Pericles 1609-IO - Cymbeline 16IO-II - The Winter's Tale 16II - The Tempest 16I2-I3 - Henry VIII 16I3 - The Two Noble Kinsmen In 1594, Shakespeare joined The Chamberlain's Men, a theatrical company which enjoyed the patronage of the royal court. It is believed that he was instrumental in enabling his father to receive a grant of arms from the College of Heralds in 1596. The following year he purchased New Place, one of the largest houses in Stratford. He was one of the proprietors of the Globe Theatre, which was built in 1599. Although he continued to contribute to the theatre in London until 1614, Shakespeare moved back to Stratford in 1610. He died on April 23, 1616 of a fever contracted after an evening of entertaining fellow writers, Ben Jonson and Michael Drayton. Buried on April 25 in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford, his gravest bears the following: Good frend for Jesus sake forbeare To digg the dust enclosed heare; Blese be ye man yt spares these stones And curst be he yt moves my bones
Shakespeare's Influence The English language owes a great debt to Shakespeare. He invented over 1700 of our common words by changing nouns into verbs, changing verbs into adjectives, connecting words never before used together, adding prefixes and suffixes, and devising words wholly original. Shakespeare also invented many of the most-used expressions in our language. You are quoting Shakespeare if You cannot understand my argument, and declare "It's Greek to me. You wish I were dead as a door-nail. You have played fast and loose. You act more in sorrow than in anger. Your wish is father to the thought. Your lost property has vanished into thin air. Even if you bid me good riddance and send me packing. You think it is early days and clear out bag and baggage. You think it is high time and that that is the long and short of it. You have ever refused to budge an inch or suffered from green-eyed jealousy You have been tongue-tied, a tower of strength, hoodwinked or in a pickle. You have knitted your brows, made a virtue of necessity, insisted on fair play, slept not one wink, stood on ceremony, danced attendance (on your lord and master), laughed yourself into stitches, had short shrift, cold comfort or too much of a good thing. You have seen better days or lived in a fool's paradise - why, be that as it may, the more fool you are, for it is a foregone conclusion that you are (as good luck would have it), quoting Shakespeare. You believe that the game is up and truth will come out even if it involves your own flesh and blood. You lie low till the crack of doom because you suspect foul play. You have your teeth set on edge (at one fell swoop) without rhyme or reason, then - to give the devil his due - if the truth were known (for surely you have a tongue in your head)--you are quoting Shakespeare. You think I am an eyesore, a laughing stock, the devil incarnate, a stony-hearted villain, bloody-minded or a blinking idiot, then - by Jove! O Lord! Tut, tut! for goodness' sake! what the dickens! but me no buts - it is all one to me, for you are quoting Shakespeare. (Bernard Levin. From The Story of English. McCrum, R.; Cran, W.; MacNeil, R. Viking: 1986).
Create Your Own Shakespearean Insults Combine one word from each of the columns below, preface with Thou, and thus thou shalt have the perfect insult. Mix and Match to find a barb worthy of the Bard!!! Column 1 Artless Bawdy Beslubbering Bootless Churlish Cockered Clouted Craven Currish Dankish Dissembling Droning Errant Fawning Fobbing Froward Frothy Gleeking Goatish Gorbellied Impertinent Infectious Jarring Loggerheaded Lumpish Mammering Mangled Mewling Paunchy Pribbling Puking Puny Quailing Rank Reeky Roguish Ruttish Saucy Spleeny Spongy Surly Tottering Unmuzzled Vain Venomed Villianous Warped Wayward Weedy Yeasty Column 2 Base-court Bat-fowling Beef-witted Beetle-headed Boil-brained Clapper-clawed Clay-brained Common-kissing Crook-pated Dismal-dreaming Dizzy-eyed Doghearted Dread-bolted Earth-vexing Elf-skinned Fat-kidneyed Fen-sucked Flap-mouthed Fly-bitten Folly-fallen Fool-born Full-gorged Guts-griping Half-faced Hasty-witted Hedge-born Hell-hated Idle-headed ill-breeding ill-nurtured Knotty-pated Milk-livered Motley-minded Onion-eyed Plume-plucked Pottle-deep Pox-marked Reeling-ripe Rough-hewn Rude-growing Rump-fed Shard-borne Sheep-biting Spur-galled Swag-bellied Tardy-gaited Tickle-brained Toad-spotted Unchin-snouted Weather-bitten Column 3 Apple-john Baggage Barnacle Bladder Boar-pig Bugbear Bum-bailey Canker-blossom Clack-dish Clotpole Coxcomb Codpiece Death-token Dewberry Flap-dragon Flax-wench Flirt-gill Foot-licker Fustilarian Giglet Gudgeon Haggard Harpy Hedge-pig Horn-beast Hugger-mugger Jolthead Lewduster Lout Maggot-pie Malt-worm Mammet Measle Minnow Miscreant Moldwarp Mumble-news Nut-hook Pidgeon-egg Pignut Puttock Pumpion Ratsbane Scut Skainsmate Strumpet Varlot Vassal Whey-face Wagtail
The original Globe was built circa 1598. It was one of four major theatres in the area the other three being the Swan, the Rose, and the Hope. It was an open-air octagonal amphitheater that could seat up to 3,000 spectators. The theatre was three stories high, with a diameter of approximately 100 feet. The rectangular stage platform on which the plays were performed was nearly 43 feet wide and 28 feet deep. This staging area probably housed trap doors in its flooring and primitive rigging overhead for various stage effects. This endeavor was not without controversy, as The Theatre had merely been under lease to Shakespeare's company, not owned. Upon notification of the incident, the owner who had been away from London during this time filed an understandable lawsuit against the company. Incredulously, the defendants won the case and continued producing at their "newly-acquired" theatre. As an ironic epilogue, the troupe won the right in 1609 to produce works at Blackfriars in Upper Frater Hall, and subsequently split time between there and the Globe. In 1613, the original Globe Theatre burned to the ground. Responsibility has been placed on a cannon shot during a performance of Henry VIII that ignited the thatched roof of the gallery. Construction was begun on the original foundation, and a new Globe was summarily completed before Shakespeare's death. The new Globe continued operating as a theatre until 1642, when it was closed down by the Puritans (as were all the theatres and places where people might be entertained). In 1644, the Globe was razed in order to build tenements upon the premises. The first Globe Theatre has an interesting origin. It seems that the Lord Chamberlain's Men originally performed at a place appropriately named "The Theatre" (built by James Burbage in 1576) on the outskirts of London. As their lease on this building came to a close, Richard Burbage bought the Blackfriars theatre, located in Upper Frater Hall. In 1598, however, after enduring complaints of their neighbors and a successful petition to the city fathers to keep the troupe out of Blackfriars, the company literally took matters into their own hands. They returned to The Theatre, stripped it to the foundation, moved the materials across the Thames to Bankside, and proceeded to construct the Globe.
Shakespeare did not invent the story of Romeo and Juliet, or even introduce the story to the English language. A poet named Arthur Brooks first brought the Italian story of Romeus and Juliet to an Englishspeaking audience in a poem that was itself not original, but rather an adaptation of adaptations that stretched across nearly a hundred years and two languages. Shakespeare s play is also quite similar in plot, theme, and dramatic ending to the story of Pyramus and Thisbe, told by the great Roman poet Ovid in his Metamorphoses. Shakespeare was well aware of this similarity; he includes a reference to Thisbe in Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare also includes scenes from the story of Pyramus and Thisbe in the comically awful play-within-a-play, A Midsummer Night s Dream a play Shakespeare wrote around the same time he was composing Romeo and Juliet. Such appropriation of other stories is characteristic of Shakespeare, who often wrote plays based on earlier works. Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet in full knowledge that the story he was telling was old, clichéd, and an easy target for parody. In writing Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare, then, implicitly set himself the task of telling a love story, and through the incomparable intensity of his language Shakespeare succeeded in this effort, writing a play that is universally accepted in Western culture as the preeminent, archetypal love story. Shakespeare s use of existing material as a basis for his plays should not be taken as a lack of originality. The play distinguishes itself from its predecessors in several important aspects: the subtlety and originality of its characterization (Shakespeare almost wholly created Mercutio) the intense pace of its action, which is compressed from nine months into four frenetic days; a powerful enrichment of the story s thematic aspects and, above all, an extraordinary use of language. Following a prologue in the form of a Shakespearean sonnet, which describes the family feud that disrupts life in Verona and predicts the tragedy of a pair of "star-crossed lovers," Act I opens in the town square on a quarrel between servants of the warring families, the Capulets and the Montagues. Spectators and family members crowd around as Tybalt, Capulet's nephew, and Benvolio, Montague's nephew, exchange hostilities. Prince Escalus calls the mob to order and threatens death for future infractions of the peace. Romeo, who has caused his parents concern by his inexplicable moodiness, enters and speaks with Benvolio. They discuss the unrequited love that Romeo feels for Rosaline, which is the reason for Romeo's distracted state. Benvolio wisely suggests that Romeo "examine other beauties," but his friend is too enamored of Rosaline to compare her with anyone else.
Scene 2 opens on a conference between Capulet and Count Paris, who is asking for the hand of Capulet's daughter, Juliet. Her father postpones wedding plans for two more years because the girl is only thirteen. But he invites Paris to a party so that Paris may win Juliet's love. As Capulet's illiterate servant goes house to house with an invitation, he asks Romeo's help in reading the guest list. Romeo, learning that Rosaline is on the list, decides to crash the party. At the Capulet house, Romeo, wearing a mask, watches Juliet as she dances with Paris. Romeo falls in love at first sight and addresses Juliet. Tybalt, Juliet's cousin, overhears the voice of the hated Montague and calls for his sword, but Capulet soothes his outrage. Romeo and Juliet part with loving words and a kiss. Act II, beginning with a second prefatory sonnet, reveals Romeo set on visiting his beloved, despite the warnings of his friends, Benvolio and Mercutio. In the orchard outside Juliet's window, the couple overlook the open hostility between the Capulets and Montagues, and pledge their love, agreeing to marry. Juliet promises to send a messenger by nine the next day to learn the time and place of the wedding. The next morning, Friar Laurence, Romeo's confessor, agrees to perform the ceremony in hopes that the couple's union will smooth over family hostilities. Romeo relays word of the wedding to Juliet via her nurse and promises to send a rope ladder. Both young lovers chafe at the hours they must pass apart, but they eventually meet at Friar Laurence's cell and are married. The climax occurs in Act III when Romeo encounters Tybalt and is unable to avoid a duel. Tybalt kills Mercutio; Romeo retaliates and slays Tybalt. The citizens and Prince Escalus converge on the scene. Escalus exiles Romeo on pain of death. Friar Laurence attempts to assuage the young people's misery by proposing that Romeo go to Mantua until the wedding can be announced and a pardon obtained. Romeo agrees. At the Capulet home, Lord Capulet, at the urging of Paris, sets the couple's wedding date for Thursday, three days away. Early the next morning, Juliet and Romeo, who have spent the night together, bid each other farewell. Juliet, who is afraid to reveal her secret marriage, feigns sadness for her cousin's death as a reason for refusing to marry Paris. Her father threatens to disinherit her if she disobeys him. Juliet visits Friar Laurence and mourns the situation in which she and her new husband find themselves. Friar Laurence suggests that she drink a potion he has concocted in order to simulate death. After forty-two hours, she will awaken, by which time Romeo will have learned of her trick and will rescue her from the family vault. Juliet returns home and pretends to agree to marry Paris. When the nurse is sent to fetch Juliet for the wedding, the family believes that Juliet is dead. Act V opens in Mantua, where Romeo receives word that Juliet is dead and has been laid in the family vault. In grief for his young wife, he buys poison by bribing a local apothecary. Meanwhile, Friar Laurence learns that his message did not reach Romeo, and he hurries to the Capulet vault to assist Juliet when she awakens from the sleeping draught. Paris, too, visits Juliet's tomb, encounters Romeo as he is breaking into the tomb, and initiates a fight. Romeo kills Paris and hurries to Juliet's side, takes poison, and dies beside her body. Friar Laurence comforts Juliet when she awakens. Distracted by Romeo's death, she dismisses the friar and stabs herself with Romeo's dagger. Prince Escalus and members of both families arrive too late. Escalus blames the feud for causing the deaths. The heads of household, Capulet and Montague, agree to make peace and raise two gold statues in memory of their children.
Romeo- He is the only child of the Montagues. Romeo is quiet and mourning about his love for Rosaline in the beginning. After discovering Juliet, he becomes more vibrant and passionate. He is willing to do anything, including die, in order to be with his love. Romeo is impulsive, wanting to get married right away and not thinking about the consequences. Juliet- She is an innocent thirteen year-old girl, the only daughter of the Capulets. Juliet discovers love in Romeo and has to face the lost of her love when he is exiled. She becomes mature and independent as the play develops. She controls her temper and is strong-willed, leaving her parents and Nurse to do what she believes is right. She is willing to die for a loved one. Tybalt- Juliet s cousin who has a temper and hates all Montagues. He demands revenge on Romeo at the Capulet ball and kills Mercutio. Tybalt is later killed by Romeo. Mercutio- Romeo s best friend, he s a bit eccentric and enjoys having a good time. Killed by Tybalt in a duel, he is quite a courageous character who remains faithful to Romeo. Nurse- Juliet s Nurse who is closer to Juliet than her mother is; she nursed baby Juliet. She is a comical character, who mourns over her lost daughter and husband, yet constantly delivers sexual jokes. Always talkative and playful, she urges Juliet to "seek happy nights." The Nurse also provides support for Juliet and knows about her marriage to Romeo. Only in the end does Juliet abandon her. Paris- Fine, handsome suitor of Juliet who is killed by Romeo in a duel at the Capulet tomb. He is related to the Prince. Friar Laurence- Romeo s friend who advises him in many ways; he is wise and practical, unlike the passionate lovers. The Friar marries Romeo and Juliet in an attempt to bring peace to their families. All his efforts are for the good of others, but they do not work out in the end. Benvolio- Romeo s cousin and friend, he tries to comfort Romeo from his love sickness over Rosaline. Benvolio is very peaceful, always trying to stop conflicts between the Montagues and the Capulets. He explains to the Prince why Romeo killed Tybalt.
Escalus, Prince of Verona- He warns Montague and Capulet that the next time a riot breaks out between their families, the punishment will be death. He keeps order in Verona. Montague- Romeo s father, who worries about his son s depression in the beginning of the play, doesn t have a main role after that. Lady Montague- Romeo s mother, who also worries about her son. She dies grieving for her child. Capulet- Juliet s father, does not want to cause trouble with Montague so he defends Romeo from Tybalt at the ball. He does have a temper problem, and threatens to disown Juliet if she doesn t marry Paris. Lady Capulet- Juliet s mother, doesn t have a close relationship with her daughter and needs the Nurse at important times. She wants Romeo killed because he killed Tybalt. The Apothecary- Illegally sells Romeo the poison (which Romeo kills himself with) because Romeo offers him a large sum of money. Friar John- He is sent by Friar Laurence to Mantua with a message for Romeo explaining the secret plan of Juliet and the Friar. However, he is not allowed into Mantua for fear that he carries the plague, therefore Romeo believes that Juliet is dead. Balthasar- Romeo s servant, tells Romeo that Juliet is dead. Samson and Gregory- Capulet servants, they fight with Montague servants in the beginning. Abraham- Montague servant, throws insults at Capulet servants in beginning. Peter- Juliet s nurse s servant.