Juliet Capulet in Romeo and Juliet
Juliet Capulet is a young and innocent teenage girl, but she is also decisive, passionate and headstrong. When the audience first meets Juliet, it is at her father's party. Here, she meets Romeo and flirts with him, not knowing he is a Montague. Juliet is completely smitten with Romeo and when she finds out he is a Montague, she is devastated. However, knowing her own feelings, she decides to speak to Romeo more and when he reveals his true love for her, she persuades him to promise his love and they arrange their marriage.
When Romeo is banished for killing her cousin Tybalt, she is devastated. She feels very confused but knowing how she feels for Romeo, she forgives him. During the mourning period for Tybalt's death and Romeo's banishment, Juliet's father tells her she is going to marry Paris. She refuses and takes drastic action to secure her relationship and future with Romeo by faking her own death. When she wakes up to find Romeo dead, she decides to take her own life so they can be together in heaven.
| How is Juliet like this? | Evidence | Analysis | |
| Passionate | Juliet is passionate when she first meets Romeo. She kisses him when they first meet, and later on, in the famous balcony scene, she declares her love for him. | "I gave thee mine before thou didst request it." | Romeo requests that Juliet declares her love for him and Juliet simply replies that she has already done so. This shows how loving and passionate she is, as she has given her love and heart to Romeo. |
| Headstrong | Juliet is headstrong when she refuses to marry Paris. This shocks her father and causes her father to threaten to disown her if she doesn't obey him. | "He shall not make me there a joyful bride!" | This shows how headstrong Juliet is, as she refuses her parents and declares she will not get married to Paris. The use of the exclamation mark heightens Juliet's emotions as she is shouting her refusal. |
| Decisive | Juliet is decisive when she fakes her own death so she can be with Romeo. She listens to Friar Laurence's plan and decides to fulfil it. | "Love give me strength, and strength shall help afford." | This shows how calm Juliet is when she makes the decision to fake her own death, not knowing of her future. Juliet declares that Romeo's love gives her strength and this fuels her decisions and therefore her decisive nature. |
| Passionate | |
|---|---|
| How is Juliet like this? | Juliet is passionate when she first meets Romeo. She kisses him when they first meet, and later on, in the famous balcony scene, she declares her love for him. |
| Evidence | "I gave thee mine before thou didst request it." |
| Analysis | Romeo requests that Juliet declares her love for him and Juliet simply replies that she has already done so. This shows how loving and passionate she is, as she has given her love and heart to Romeo. |
| Headstrong | |
|---|---|
| How is Juliet like this? | Juliet is headstrong when she refuses to marry Paris. This shocks her father and causes her father to threaten to disown her if she doesn't obey him. |
| Evidence | "He shall not make me there a joyful bride!" |
| Analysis | This shows how headstrong Juliet is, as she refuses her parents and declares she will not get married to Paris. The use of the exclamation mark heightens Juliet's emotions as she is shouting her refusal. |
| Decisive | |
|---|---|
| How is Juliet like this? | Juliet is decisive when she fakes her own death so she can be with Romeo. She listens to Friar Laurence's plan and decides to fulfil it. |
| Evidence | "Love give me strength, and strength shall help afford." |
| Analysis | This shows how calm Juliet is when she makes the decision to fake her own death, not knowing of her future. Juliet declares that Romeo's love gives her strength and this fuels her decisions and therefore her decisive nature. |
Analysing the evidence
Juliet
O happy dagger!Act 5 Scene 3
Question
Looking at the evidence, what does this quotation illustrate about Juliet's personality?
"O happy dagger!"
- This shows how Juliet wants to die so she can be with Romeo in heaven.
- 'Happy' - use of the adjective happy illustrates how she welcomes her death, and believes that the 'dagger', the instrument of her death, will allow her to be happy with Romeo.
- '!' - the use of the exclamation mark heightens Juliet's emotions and makes the audience realise how she is ready for her death. This shows she is passionate and is decisive, as she loves Romeo and will do anything to be with him.
Romeo and Juliet are both young characters.
In this podcast, Hollie and Testament discuss the theme of youth in Romeo and Juliet. Listen to the full series on 鶹Լ Sounds.
Hollie and Testament discuss the theme of youth in Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet