Juliet Capulet is the title female protagonist of William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet.
History
Early Life
Juliet is the daughter of Lord and Lady Capulet.
Role in the Play
By age 13, Juliet learned that her father made arrangements for her to marry Count Paris, a city noble, two years ago. While being persuaded by her mother and nurse to accept Paris' courtship when once she meets him at a Capulet party that they are throwing that night, she remained unsure, and told her mother that she will have to see him and talk to him first. At the party, the young Capulet met and instantly fell in love with Romeo Montague, who attended in hopes of meeting her cousin Rosaline. Her other cousin Tybalt was furious to see that Romeo snuck in, but was stopped from killing him by Juliet's father, who did not wish to have any bloodshed in his house.
Distraught to learn that Romeo is a Montague, Juliet went up to her room later that night after the party, vowing her love to him in spite of her family's hatred toward the Montagues. Romeo himself dropped onto the balcony and made himself known to her, and they discussed their marriage vows together. The next day, they were secretly married with the help of Friar Lawrence, who hoped to reconcile the two families through their children's union. Over the next few days, Juliet cries hysterically over the death of Tybalt and Romeo's banishment. Just like that, two people she loved very dearly were gone away from her. Lord Capulet then tells Juliet that she will be wedded to Count Paris the following Thursday, and the two have a falling out. Juliet goes to Friar Lawrence's cell, and the two decide that the best way to go about this is to fake Juliet's death so that Romeo can come and take her to be with him in his banished home in Mantua. Juliet agrees and takes the vial of fake poison. Juliet has a quick soliloquy before she drinks it, and after that, she is asleep for the next 38 hours.
Romeo was never alerted that Juliet's death was a fake so naturally, upon learning that she was dead, he killed himself for real. Juliet woke up to see her husband dead, right next to her tomb. She was devastated that Romeo left no poison for her to drink as well, so she found herself holding Romeo's dagger instead. Juliet kills herself soon after.
From what we see of Juliet and depending on how she is portrayed on the stage, Juliet is a very polite and intelligent young lady, who dreams of having both love and marriage. She is very family-oriented, much like Tybalt, following attentively her mother and her Nurse's orders and listening her best to her father. But when she meets Romeo she know she cannot deny herself what her heart wants just so that she can follow the rules of her parents. In her own way, she was breaking out of the mold of what her parents wanted her to be. Romeo and Juliet were changing the course of the feud with their fatal love affair, and they wouldn't stifle the vast emotion that they felt for each other just because of the things that got in their way.
Quotes
"You kiss by the book." - (1.5)
"O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name;..." - (2.2)
"My ears have not yet drunk a hundred words Of that tongue's utterance, yet I know the sound..." - (2.2)
"A thousand times good night!" - (2.2)
"I will not fail: 'tis twenty years till then. I have forgot why I did call thee back." - (2.2)
"Can heaven be so envious?" - (3.2)
"Shall I speak ill of him that is my husband? Ah, poor my lord, what tongue shall smooth thy name,..." - (3.2)
"Then, window, let day in, and let life out." - (3.5)
"Is there no pity sitting in the clouds, That sees into the bottom of my grief?" - (3.5)
"The tears have got small victory by that; For it was bad enough before their spite." - (4.1)
"Yea, noise? then I'll be brief. O happy dagger!" - (5.3)