Romeo and Juliet

Content Warning: The source material and guide refer to suicide and violence, including discussions of sexual assault.

Juliet is the only daughter of Lord and Lady Capulet and the play’s female protagonist. The Nurse says she is a few weeks shy of her 14th birthday, and Shakespeare presents her as just on the cusp of womanhood; when her mother approaches her about marrying Count Paris, her response suggests that she has not yet begun to think in those terms. Throughout the play, however, she falls in love with the scion of the Capulets’ enemies, Romeo Montague. Her story is thus in some sense a coming-of-age narrative.

However, the youngest and seemingly most innocent character of the play is also its boldest, most serious, and 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 climbed her high garden wall. She’s also thoughtful about The Beauty and Danger of Love even as she is carried away by her feelings for Romeo.

Throughout the play, Juliet demonstrates tremendous bravery and loyalty.