Romeo and Juliet family tree
"Two households, both alike in dignity." The Montagues and the Capulets are the most famous feuding families in literature, yet the play is vague about who belongs to which. Is Tybalt a Capulet? Whose nephew is Benvolio? Why is Mercutio on neither side? Here are both households, the Prince's family that gets caught between them, and everyone else in Verona.
Spoiler warning: the tree shows who dies. As the Prologue says, it's not a happy ending.
The Capulets
- Capulet, head of the house, who's older than his wife and quick to lose his temper. He says Juliet is the only one of his children still living: "Earth hath swallow'd all my hopes but she."
- Lady Capulet, who tells Juliet she was already a mother at her age.
- Juliet, their daughter, who will be fourteen on Lammas Eve, the last day of July. She never reaches it.
- Tybalt, Juliet's cousin. He's the son of Lady Capulet's brother, so strictly speaking he isn't a Capulet by birth at all, though he fights for them harder than anyone. When he dies, Lady Capulet cries, "Tybalt, my cousin! O my brother's child!"
- Rosaline, Capulet's niece, whom Romeo is lovesick over when the play begins. She's on the guest list for the Capulets' party but never appears on stage.
Two more Capulets don't fit on the tree. Old Capulet, a cousin, reminisces with Capulet at the party about how long it's been since they last danced. The Nurse isn't family, but she has known Juliet longer than anyone. Her own daughter, Susan, was born the same year as Juliet and died young.
The Montagues
- Montague and Lady Montague, who are worried about their son's moods in the first scene.
- Romeo, their only son.
- Benvolio, Montague's nephew and Romeo's cousin. He's the peacemaker. His name means "goodwill", and he disappears from the play after the fight in Act 3.
The Montague side is much smaller. We never learn which of Montague's brothers or sisters is Benvolio's parent, so the tree shows an unnamed sibling. The same goes for Lady Capulet's brother and Capulet's sibling.
Caught in the middle: the Prince's family
Escalus, the Prince of Verona, has two kinsmen in the play, and he loses both of them. Mercutio, Romeo's best friend, belongs to neither house. That's why his dying curse, "A plague o' both your houses!", lands so hard. Paris, the young count who wants to marry Juliet, is a kinsman of both the Prince and Mercutio. By the end the Prince says he has "lost a brace of kinsmen" for turning a blind eye to the feud.
Mercutio also has a brother, Valentine, who is invited to the party. He's the play's most obscure character, with just one mention on the guest list.
Married on Monday
The whole play takes four or five days. Romeo and Juliet meet at the party on Sunday night and marry in secret on Monday afternoon, with Friar Laurence officiating. An hour later Romeo kills Tybalt and is banished. That night Capulet, who knows nothing about the wedding, promises Juliet to Paris for Thursday. Later he moves the date forward to Wednesday. So for the second half of the play Juliet is a wife and a fiancée at once, which is why she sits between two partners on the tree.
Six deaths
| Who | How |
|---|---|
| Mercutio | Stabbed by Tybalt under Romeo's arm |
| Tybalt | Killed by Romeo in revenge |
| Lady Montague | Dies of grief over Romeo's banishment. We only hear about it in the last scene |
| Paris | Killed by Romeo at the Capulets' tomb |
| Romeo | Poison, bought from an apothecary in Mantua |
| Juliet | Romeo's dagger, when she wakes and finds him dead |
Quick answers
How are Juliet and Tybalt related?
They're first cousins. Tybalt's father is Lady Capulet's brother.
Is Benvolio a Montague?
Yes. He's Montague's nephew, which makes him Romeo's cousin.
Is Mercutio a Montague or a Capulet?
Neither. He's a kinsman of Prince Escalus and a friend of Romeo's, which is why he's invited to the Capulets' party.
Why are the Montagues and Capulets feuding?
Nobody says. The Prologue calls it an "ancient grudge", and the play never explains where it started.
Where did Shakespeare get the story?
Mostly from Arthur Brooke's long poem The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet (1562), which itself came from Italian tales. In Brooke, Juliet is sixteen. Shakespeare made her younger.
The story behind this tree
PeoplePlotr drew this tree from a few hundred words of plain English. Nobody dragged a box or drew a line. Here is the story, word for word. Open it in the editor to change it, add to it or use it as the start of your own.
Read the story
Escalus is a prince. Escalus is a man. About Escalus: Prince of Verona, sick of the street fights between the Montagues and the Capulets. Mercutio is Escalus's kinsman. Paris is Escalus's kinsman. About Mercutio: Romeo's best friend, who is neither a Montague nor a Capulet. Killed by Tybalt. About Paris: A young count who wants to marry Juliet. Killed by Romeo at the Capulets' tomb. Montague married Lady Montague. Montague is a man. They had a son called Romeo. Montague's sibling had a son called Benvolio. About Benvolio: Romeo's cousin, who tries to keep the peace. Lady Montague died. About Lady Montague: She dies of grief while Romeo is in exile. Capulet married Lady Capulet. Capulet is a man. They had a daughter called Juliet. Lady Capulet's brother had a son called Tybalt. About Tybalt: Juliet's hot-headed cousin, the Prince of Cats. Kills Mercutio, then is killed by Romeo. Rosaline is a woman. About Rosaline: Capulet's niece. Romeo is in love with her when the play starts. She never appears. Romeo married Juliet. Paris is engaged to Juliet. About Juliet: Not yet fourteen. She marries Romeo in secret the day after they meet. About Romeo: Banished to Mantua for killing Tybalt. Mercutio died. Tybalt died. Paris died. Romeo died. Juliet died. Nurse is a nurse. Nurse is a woman. Nurse had a daughter called Susan. Susan died. About Nurse: Juliet's nurse since she was a baby. Her own daughter, Susan, died young. Friar Laurence is a friar. Friar Laurence is a man. About Friar Laurence: Marries Romeo and Juliet in secret, and gives Juliet the sleeping potion. Balthasar is a servant. Balthasar is a man. About Balthasar: Romeo's servant, who brings him the news that Juliet is dead. Romeo is romantic and impulsive. Juliet is clever and brave. Mercutio is witty. Tybalt is proud. Benvolio is kind. Capulet is grumpy. Capulet has grey hair. Montague has grey hair. Nurse is chatty. Romeo has curly dark brown hair. Juliet has long dark hair. Tybalt has black hair and a moustache. Mercutio has short red hair. Paris has blond hair. Benvolio has brown hair. Capulet has a grey beard. Lady Capulet has auburn hair. Lady Montague has brown hair. Nurse has grey hair. Friar Laurence is bald. Escalus has a beard.
