Romeo and Juliet

Juliet is the 13-year-old only daughter of Lord and Lady Capulet. Slated to marry Count Paris, she instead falls in love with the scion of the Capulets’ enemies, Romeo Montague.

The youngest and most seemingly innocent character of the play is also its boldest, most serious, and (in an odd way) most sensible. Juliet is just as passionate and just as love-struck as Romeo, but her love stays a little more grounded: While Romeo is talking about the wings of love, she’s wondering how on earth he climbed her high garden wall. She’s also thoughtful about the changeability and dangers of love, even as she is carried away by her feelings for Romeo.

Throughout the play, Juliet demonstrates tremendous bravery and loyalty. As the adults around her reveal that they are no less fickle, irrational, and violent than the young, she stays loyal to herself, and is willing to undergo real terrors for the sake of her love.

Romeo is the only son of Lord and Lady Montague, who are engaged in an endless feud with the Capulets. After falling madly in love with Juliet, Romeo marries her in secret and then kills himself under the mistaken impression that she has died.