Romeo and Juliet Summary

ary-------------------------------------------------
Romeo and Juliet characters
Montagues
* Romeo — sole heir to the Montague fortune * Lord Montague — Romeo’s father * Lady Montague — Romeo’s mother * Benvolio — Romeo’s cousin * Balthasar — Romeo’s faithful servant * Abraham — Montague servant
Capulets
* Juliet — sole heir to the Capulet fortune * Lord Capulet — Juliet’s father * Lady Capulet — Juliet’s mother * Tybalt — Juliet’s cousin * The Nurse — Juliet’s faithful Nurse * Peter — Capulet servant * Sampson — Capulet servant * Gregory — Capulet servant
-------------------------------------------------
Peripheral characters * Friar Lawrence — friend and advisor to Romeo and Juliet * Mercutio — Romeo’s best friend; Prince’s kinsman * Prince Escalus — Prince of Verona; kinsman to Mercutio and Paris * Paris — Loves Juliet * Rosaline — Romeo’s first love who never actually appears in the play * Friar John — Friar Lawrence’s friend * Apothecary — Romeo’s acquaintance in Mantua
-------------------------------------------------
Scene summaries
Prologue
The prologue to this play essentially summarizes the entire story. Two prominent families (the Montagues and the Capulets) from the city of Verona are at war with one another. These families have battled against each other for quite some time, but things have recently become even worse. From these households, two people will fall in love, but their “star-cross’d” relationship will end in death. Once these two people die, the families will finally end their bitter feud. The familial grudge, the lovers, and their untimely death will be the topic of this two hour play.
Act I, Scene i
Sampson and Gregory, two Capulet servants, discuss how much they despise the Montague family. The two make puns about how they would like to defeat the Montague men and sexually conquer the Montague women. Their banter is interrupted when they spot