1. Literary Devices
1.1. Symbols
1.1.1. Poison
1.1.1.1. Symbolizes human society's tendency to take good things and make them fatal.
1.1.2. Thumb biting
1.1.2.1. Symbolizes the foolishness of the Capulet/Montague feud and of the stupidity of violence in general.
1.1.3. Queen Mab
1.1.3.1. All desires and fantasies are as nonsensical as Queen Mab, and they are all basically corrupting.
1.2. Themes
1.2.1. The Forcefulness of Love
1.2.2. Love as a cause of Violence
1.2.3. The Individual Versus Society
1.2.4. The Inevitability of Fate
1.3. Motifs
1.3.1. Light/Dark Imagery
1.3.2. Opposite points of view
2. Other Characters
2.1. the friar
2.1.1. Secretly marries the lovers.
2.2. Pairs
2.2.1. A suitor whom Juliet's parents want her to marry.
2.3. Tybalt
2.3.1. Juliet's cousin whom Romeo slays.
2.4. Mercutio
2.4.1. Romeo's close friend.
2.5. the Nurse
2.5.1. Juliet's nurse since she was a baby. She helps Juliet and Romeo.
2.6. the Capulets
2.6.1. Juliet's parents
2.7. the Montagues
2.7.1. Romeo's parents
2.8. Prince Escalus
2.8.1. The Prince and ruler of Verona
2.9. the Chorus
2.9.1. Offers commentary on the play's plot and themes. Developed first in Greek drama.
3. Juliet
3.1. Daughter of the Capulets
3.2. 13 years old
3.3. Is at first naive and innocent about love, but matures as she loves Romeo.
3.3.1. "Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name. Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet." 2.1.74-78
3.4. Doesn't have the same freedoms as Romeo, because she is of an aristocratic family and because she is a woman.
3.5. Her parents try to make her marry Paris, but instead she marries the son of their greatest enemies.
3.6. Devises a plan with the Friar when Romeo is exiled so she can escape marrying Paris. She takes a sleeping potion so she appears to be dead. This plan backfires and Romeo thinks she is dead, so he kills himself. She awakes to find him dead so she kills herself.
4. Romeo
4.1. 16 years old
4.2. Impulsive and immature at times
4.3. Idealistic and passionate
4.4. Not interested in the violent feud between the two families. His only interest is love.
4.5. Kills Tybalt during a fight in the streets after Mercutio is slain. He is exiled because of this.
4.6. He doesn't know Juliet has taken sleeping potion, so he thinks she's dead and he kills himself in her tomb.
4.7. Son of the Montagues
4.8. At first loves Rosaline but immediately falls in love with Juliet.
4.8.1. "But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Juliet is the sun." 2.1.44-46.