Romeo and Juliet Family Quotes Page 2

When Juliet learns that Romeo has climbed the orchard walls to see her, she worries that her "kinsmen" will break Romeo's legs for sneaking onto the property. Now, we know that this is probably true of Tybalt, Juliet's testosterone-driven cousin who has already threatened to beat up Romeo for showing up at the Capulet ball. But, we wonder of Juliet's dad would be as angry as Juliet seems to think. Earlier, when Tybalt wanted to fight Romeo (1.5.1), Lord Capulet stopped him and pointed out that Romeo is a pretty good kid. In fact, "Verona brags of him / To be a virtuous and well-governed youth" (1.5.6).

Because Romeo and Juliet feel as though they can't share their love with their feuding families, they turn to their mentors (Juliet's Nurse and Friar Laurence) for help. Here, the Nurse makes arrangements that help facilitate the young lovers' union. The Nurse seems to be on Juliet's side but, later, when Romeo is banished from Verona, the Nurse callously urges her to forget about and move on.

When Tybalt challenges Romeo to a duel, Romeo refuses to fight because he's secretly married to Tybalt's cousin, Juliet. Here, it seems that Romeo's love for his new wife is the most important thing to him. But, after Tybalt kills Romeo's best friend later in the scene, all bets are off.