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Juliet Capulet is one of the title characters in William Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet. The story has a long history that precedes Shakespeare himself. The heroine's name was Giulietta in some earlier versions. It had become Juliet by the time Arthur Brooke wrote his narrative poem.

Family

Juliet is the young daughter of a respected and very wealthy family in Verona, headed by Lord and Lady Capulet. She was their first child. She apparently had younger siblings at some point, but by the time of the play, she was their only surviving child. Juliet is the sole heir to the Capulets. As the story occurs, Juliet is just shy of her fourteenth birthday. She was born on "Lammas Eve at night," so Juliet's birthday is August 1st (1.3.19). Her birthday is "a fortnight hence", putting the action of the play in mid-July (1.3.17).

Shakespeare's Juliet was very young; her father states that she "hath not seen the change of fourteen years" (1.2.9). In many cultures and time periods, women did and do marry and bear children at such a young age. But in Shakespeare's England, most women were at least 21 before they did so. Romeo and Juliet is a play about Italian families. The average English playgoer in Shakespeare's audience had never met an Italian person, and it was commonly thought that they were quite exotic, the Italian male passionate and emotional, and the Italian female precocious and quite ready to become a mother by thirteen. Lady Capulet had given birth to Juliet by the time she had reached Juliet's age: "I was your mother much upon these years that you are now a maid" (1.3.74-75). The play celebrates youth while pointing out its impulsiveness, passion, and idealism, qualities which contribute to the tragedy. The adolescent infatuation of the lovers become elevated to the status of sacred love.

Relationships

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The play takes place over a time span of less than one week. Within these few days, Juliet is thrust into adulthood -- where she must deal with issues of life, love, and death. During the play she is courted by a potential husband (Count Paris), falls in love with another man (Romeo), marries Romeo illicitly, experiences the death of her cousin Tybalt, is threatened and nearly disowned by both of her parents, is betrayed by the nurse who raised her from infancy, spends nearly two days drugged to unconsciousness, is widowed, and ultimately commits suicide near the body of her dead husband.

Shakespeare's Juliet is a headstrong and intelligent character, though she often seems timid to the audience. She is considered by many the true hero of the play, acting as a sounding board and a balance against impulsive Romeo. It is Juliet who sets the boundaries of behavior in her relationship with Romeo: she allows him to kiss her, she pledges her commitment before him, and it is she who suggests their marriage. Juliet's acceptance of Romeo after he murders Tybalt indicates her mature nature in contrast to his passionate impulsiveness. Furthermore, Juliet lies and clandestinely subverts her family's wishes, a truly rebellious and courageous action against traditional Italian society. These actions and the choices the require establish Juliet as a far more complex character than her family, or even Romeo, appreciate.

The Play

In Juliet's first scene, she demonstrates her obedience and lack of experience in the world, outlining herself as inexperienced and in many ways dependent on her parents and nurse. She has not given marriage a second thought but she does want to do what her mother asks. It is high time that Juliet go the route Lady Capulet went in her youth, and be married to a rich and powerful gentleman. The Count Paris is a bit of a bystander in the play, unwittingly mixed up in the drama between the families. He and Juliet have probably never even met as the play unfolds. His interest in her is primarily based on her social standing and her family's vast wealth. He politely and nobly asks Capulet for her hand, and apparently would like for her to begin bearing his children as soon as physically possible: "Younger than she are happy mothers made" (1.2.12). Juliet, on the other hand, has no interest in becoming a wife: "(Marriage) is an honour that I dream not of" (1.3.68). Even her father considers her too young to settle down. This may be a reflection on his feelings about his own wife, who might have been happier waiting a few years before marrying him. He tells Paris to let Juliet grow up for a few more years before planning marriage (1.2.10-11). Of course, Juliet's mind on the matter changes within a few minutes of meeting Romeo. His very presence seems to propel her toward maturity, and her decisions are made quickly but thoughtfully from that point forward.

O 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.

Romeo too seems to achieve depth through his intense love with Juliet. When compared to the pining and frustration he exhibited during his crush on Rosaline, his behavior toward Juliet and her family and his attitude in general both show a level of great maturity. The feud that one day had seemed all-encompassing now makes no sense, and he abandons it. Much of Romeo's dialogue with Juliet is an intricate pattern of words. Their rhyming couplets sometimes come together to create a poem. This symbolizes their union, and shows that Juliet can easily match Romeo in wordplay.

It is not clear exactly why Romeo and Juliet love each other, beyond immediate physical attraction. They were married not 24 hours after their first meeting. Fate plays a constant role in the story. Their love is "death-marked" (1.1.9), the lovers are "star-crossed" (1.1.6), and Romeo feels he is being led by the stars like a ship is steered by its pilot. The idea may be that the heirs to these two families were fated to end up together to end the feud, and their deaths may or may not have been part of that fate. The play may be interpreted differently according to the whim of the reader or viewer. The series of disastrous events that leads to their deaths may have been just a part of the destiny, or it may have been what shattered the fate and made the story a true tragedy. Either way, peace comes to the families.

Casa di Giulietta

In Verona, Italy, a house claiming to be the Capulets' has been turned into a tourist attraction. It features the balcony, and lovely architecture and, in the small court yard, a bronze statue of Juliet baring her breast. It is one of the most visited sites in the town. Legend is that if a person strokes the breast of the statue, that person will have good fortune.

Many people write their names and the names of their beloved ones on the walls of the entrance. It is also a tradition to put small loveletters on the walls (which is done by the thousands each year), which are however regularly taken down by employees to keep the place clean.

Performers

A number of famous actresses have portrayed the role of Juliet:

• Mary Saunderson was the first woman to play Juliet professionally. Previous actors had all been males.
• Norma Shearer in George Cukor's Romeo and Juliet (1936). Leslie Howard was her Romeo.
• Olivia Hussey portrayed Juliet in Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film, Romeo and Juliet,; Leonard Whiting was her Romeo.
• Claire Danes was Juliet in Baz Luhrmann's modernized 1996 version, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet, alongside Leonardo DiCaprio as her Romeo.
• Fumie Mizusawa voices Juliet in the heroic-fantasy adaptation Romeo x Juliet by the Japanese animation studio GONZO, with Takahiro Mizushima voicing Romeo.

Notes

1. Act 2 Scene 2
2. http://www.igougo.com/travelcontent/JournalEntryActivity.aspx?entryID=16818
3. http://www.desenzanoitaly.com/romeo_and_juliet.html
4. Halio, Jay. Romeo and Juliet. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1998. pg. 100 ISBN 0-313-30089-5

References

• Bevington, David, Ed. Romeo and Juliet, The Bantam Shakespeare (New York, 1988)
• Levenson, Jill L., Ed. Romeo and Juliet, The Oxford Shakespeare (Oxford, 2000)

• Shakespearean characters
• Italian characters in written fiction
• Suicidal fictional characters