Characters in Romeo and Juliet

The following is a list of characters in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet sorted by family allegiance.

House of Escalus

Prince Escalus

Prince Escalus, the Prince of Verona, is the Conflictor of the feuding families. Escalus is the voice of authority in Verona. He appears only three times within the text and only to administer justice following major events in the feud between the Capulet and Montague families. He first punishes Capulet and Montague for the quarrel between Tybalt, Benvolio, and a handful of servants. He returns too late to stop the fatal brawls between Tybalt and Mercutio and, subsequently, Tybalt and Romeo. Escalus is prepared to execute Romeo for his offense—Romeo's killing Tybalt—but lightens the sentence to lifetime banishment from Verona, when Benvolio insists that Tybalt started the quarrel by murdering Mercutio, a kinsman to the Prince. Prince Escalus returns in the final scene—V.iii—following the double suicide of Romeo and Juliet, and at last orders the lords of the feuding families to make peace.