Romeo Montague () is the male

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

tragedy A tragedy is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a tragic hero, main character or cast of characters. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsi ...

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

''. The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries

Juliet Juliet Capulet () is the female protagonist in William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. A 13-year-old girl, Juliet is the only daughter of the patriarch of the House of Capulet. She falls in love with the male protagonist Ro ...

, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a priest named

Friar Laurence Friar Laurence or Friar Lawrence is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet''. Role in the play Friar Laurence is a friar who plays the part of a wise adviser to Romeo and Juliet, along with aiding in major plot development ...

. Forced into exile after slaying Juliet's cousin,

Tybalt Tybalt () is a fictional character and the principal antagonist in William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet''. He is the son of Lady Capulet's brother, Juliet's short-tempered first cousin, and Romeo's rival. Tybalt shares the same name ...

, in a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...

, Romeo dies by

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

upon hearing falsely of Juliet's death. The character's origins can be traced as far back as Pyramus, who appears in

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

's ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' (, , ) is a Latin Narrative poetry, narrative poem from 8 Common Era, CE by the Ancient Rome, Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''Masterpiece, magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the world from its Cre ...

'', but the first modern incarnation of Romeo is Mariotto in the 33rd of Masuccio Salernitano's ''Il Novellino'' (1476). This story was reworked in 1524 by Luigi da Porto as '' Giulietta e Romeo'' (published posthumously in 1531). Da Porto named the character Romeo Montecchi, and the storyline is nearly the same as Shakespeare's adaptation. Since no 16th-century direct English translation of ''Giulietta e Romeo'' is known, Shakespeare's main source is thought to be Arthur Brooke's English verse translation of a French translation of a 1554 adaptation by

Matteo Bandello Matteo Bandello ( 1480–1562) was an Italian writer, soldier, Dominican friar and bishop, best known for his novellas. His collection of 214 novellas made him the most popular short-story writer of his day. Biography Matteo Bandello was b ...

. Although both Salernitana and da Porto claimed that their stories had a historical basis, there is little evidence that this is the case. Romeo, an only child like Juliet, is one of the most important characters of the play and has a consistent presence throughout it. His role as an

idealistic Idealism in philosophy, also known as philosophical realism or metaphysical idealism, is the set of metaphysical perspectives asserting that, most fundamentally, reality is equivalent to mind, spirit, or consciousness; that reality is entir ...

lover has led the word "Romeo" to become a synonym for a passionate male lover in various languages.

Origins

The earliest tale bearing a resemblance to

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's ''Romeo and Juliet'' is

Xenophon of Ephesus Xenophon of Ephesus (Greek: Ξενοφῶν ὁ Εφέσιος; fl. 2nd century – 3rd century AD) was a Greek writer. His surviving work is the '' Ephesian Tale of Anthia and Habrocomes'', otherwise known as the ''Ephesiaka'' one of the earlies ...

' ''

Ephesiaca The ''Ephesian Tale of Anthia and Habrocomes'' (, ''Ephesiaka''; also Τὰ κατὰ Ἀνθίαν καὶ Ἁβροκόμην, ''Ta kata Anthian kai Habrokomēn'') by Xenophon of Ephesus is an Ancient Greek novel written before the late 2nd c ...

'', whose heroic figure is a Habrocomes. The character of Romeo is also similar to that of Pyramus in

's ''

'', a youth who is unable to meet the object of his affection due to an ancient family quarrel, and later kills himself due to mistakenly believing her to have been dead. Although it is unlikely that Shakespeare directly borrowed from Ovid while writing ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story was likely an influence on the Italian writers whom the playwright was greatly indebted to. The two sources which Shakespeare most likely consulted are Brooke's translation of da Porto and William Painter's ''The goodly historye of the true, and constant Love between Romeo and Juliet''.Hunter & Lichfield, p. 11

Film portrayals

''Romeo and Juliet'' has been adapted into film several times, and the part of Romeo has been played by several actors, including *

Leonard Whiting Leonard Whiting (born 30 June 1950) is a British semi-retired actor and singer widely known for his teenage role as Romeo in Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film version of ''Romeo and Juliet'', a role which earned him the Golden Globe Award for N ...

Franco Zeffirelli Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli (; 12 February 1923 – 15 June 2019) was an Italian stage and film director, producer, production designer and politician. He was one of the most significant opera and theatre directors of the post–World War II e ...

's 1968 film, ''Romeo and Juliet'', opposite

Olivia Hussey Olivia Hussey (; 17 April 1951 – 27 December 2024) was a British actress. Her awards included a Golden Globe Award and a David di Donatello Award. The daughter of Argentine tango singer Osvaldo Ribó, Hussey was born in Buenos Aires but spen ...

as Juliet. *

Leslie Howard Leslie Howard Steiner (3 April 18931 June 1943) was an English actor, director, producer and writer.Obituary, '' Variety'', 9 June 1943. He wrote many stories and articles for ''The New York Times'', ''The New Yorker'', and '' Vanity Fair'' an ...

George Cukor George Dewey Cukor ( ; July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director and film producer, producer. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO Pictures, RKO when David O. Selzn ...

's 1936 film, ''Romeo and Juliet'', opposite

Norma Shearer Edith Norma Shearer (August 11, 1902June 12, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress who was active on film from 1919 through 1942. Shearer often played spunky, sexually liberated women. She appeared in adaptations of Noël Coward, Eugene O'Neill, ...

as Juliet. *

Laurence Harvey Laurence Harvey (born Zvi Mosheh Skikne; 1 October 192825 November 1973) was a Lithuanian-born British actor and film director. He was born to Lithuanian Jewish parents and emigrated to Union of South Africa, South Africa at an early age, before ...

Renato Castellani Renato Castellani (4 September 1913 – 28 December 1985) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Early life Son of a representative of Kodak, he was born in Varigotti, at the time a hamlet of Final Pia, which became Finale Ligure ( ...

's 1954 film ''

''. *

Leonardo DiCaprio Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (; ; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for Leonardo DiCaprio filmography, his work in biographical and period films, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received ...

Baz Luhrmann Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962) is an Australian film director, producer, writer, and actor whose various projects extend from film and television into opera, theatre, music, and the recording industries. He is regarded by ...

's modernized 1996 version, ''

Romeo + Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet or Romeo & Juliet may also refer to: Ballets * ''Romeo and Juliet'', a ballet score by Constant Lambert * Romeo and Juliet (Prokofiev), ''Romeo and Juliet'' (Prokofiev), a ...

'', alongside

Claire Danes Claire Catherine Danes (born April 12, 1979) is an American actress. Prolific in film and television since her teens, she is the recipient of three Primetime Emmy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards. In 2012, ''Time (magazine), Time'' named he ...

as Juliet. *

Douglas Booth Douglas John Booth (born 9 July 1992) is an English actor and musician. He first came to public attention through his performance as Boy George in the BBC Two film ''Worried About the Boy'' (2010). He went on to star in the BBC adaptations of ...

in Carlo Carlei's 2013 ''Romeo and Juliet'' film adaptation, opposite

Hailee Steinfeld Hailee Steinfeld (born December 11, 1996) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She had her breakthrough with the western film ''True Grit (2010 film), True Grit'' (2010), which earned her List of awards and nominations received by H ...

as Juliet. *

Orlando Bloom Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Copeland Bloom (born 13 January 1977) is an English actor. He made his breakthrough as the character Legolas in The Lord of the Rings (film series), ''The Lord of the Rings'' film series (2001–03). He reprised his r ...

in a Broadway adaptation in 2013. * Jordan Luke Gage in the West End musical '' & Juliet''. * Kyle Allen plays the character in ''Rosaline'' (2022 film). * Kit Connor in Sam Gold's 2024 Broadway adaptation, opposite

Rachel Zegler Rachel Anne Zegler ( ; born May 3, 2001) is an American actress and singer. She gained wide recognition for playing María in Steven Spielberg's musical adaptation ''West Side Story (2021 film), West Side Story'' (2021), winning the Golden Glo ...

as Juliet.

Other portrayals

Nice Peter Peter Alexis Shukoff (born August 15, 1979), best known as his stage name Nice Peter or Bluesocks, is an American musician, rapper and Internet personality. A self-described "Comic/Guitar Hero", he is best known for the comedy on his YouTube ch ...

in an episode of the YouTube comedy series ''

Epic Rap Battles of History ''Epic Rap Battles of History'' (ERB) is a YouTube web series and music project created by Peter "Nice Peter" Shukoff and Lloyd "EpicLLOYD" Ahlquist. The series pits historical and pop culture figures against one another in a rap battle format ...

''.

References

Bibliography

External links

Complete listing of all of Romeo's lines
{{Authority control Literary characters introduced in 1597 Fictional Italian people in literature Fictional exiles Fictional princes Fictional murderers Male Shakespearean characters Male characters in literature Male characters in film Characters in Romeo and Juliet Fictional suicides Teenage characters in film Archetypal names Fictional Italian people