Count Paris (Italian: il Conte Paride) or County Paris is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. He is a suitor of Juliet. He is handsome, wealthy, and a kinsman to Prince Escalus.
His name comes from the Prince of Troy, Paris, in Homer's Illiad.
Tybalt (/ˈtɪbəlt/ TIB-əlt; Italian: Tebaldo) 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 as the character Tibert / Tybalt "the prince of cats" in the popular story Reynard the Fox, a point of mockery in the play. Mercutio repeatedly calls Tybalt "prince of cats", in reference to his sleek, yet violent manner.
Luigi da Porto adapted the story as Giulietta e Romeo and included it in his Historia novellamente ritrovata di due Nobili Amanti (Newly found tale of two Noble lovers) published in 1530. Da Porto drew on Pyramus and Thisbe, Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron and a novella by Masuccio Salernitano. Da Porto gave it much of its modern form, including the lovers' names, the rival families of Montecchi and Capuleti, and their location in Verona. He also introduces characters corresponding to Shakespeare's Mercutio, Tybalt, and Paris. Da Porto presents his tale as historically true and claims it took place in the days of Bartolomeo II della Scala (a century earlier than Salernitano). Montague and Capulet were actual 13th century political factions, but the only known connection between them is a mention in Dante's Purgatorio as an example of civil dissension.
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, often shortened to Romeo and Juliet, is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers.
Romeo and Juliet belongs to a tradition of tragic romances stretching back to antiquity. The plot is based on an Italian tale written by Matteo Bandello, translated into verse as The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet by Arthur Brooke in 1562, and retold in prose in Palace of Pleasure by William Painter in 1567. Shakespeare borrowed heavily from both but expanded the plot by developing a number of supporting characters, in particular Mercutio and Paris. Believed to have been written between 1591 and 1595, the play was first published in a quarto version in 1597. The text of the first quarto version was of poor quality, however, and later editions corrected the text to conform more closely with Shakespeare's original.
William Shakespeare's tragic play Romeo and Juliet, set in Verona, Italy, features the eponymous protagonists Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. The cast of characters includes members of their respective families and households; Prince Escalus, the city's ruler, and his kinsmen, Count Paris and Mercutio; and various unaffiliated characters such as Friar Laurence and the Chorus. In addition, the play contains two ghost characters, Petruchio and Valentine, and an unseen character, Rosaline.
Mercutio (/mɜːrˈkjuːʃioʊ/ mur-KEW-shee-oh; Italian: Mercuzio [merˈkuttsjo]) is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's 1597 tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. He is a close friend to Romeo and a blood relative to Prince Escalus and Count Paris. As such, Mercutio is one of the few characters in the play who can mingle with people from both of the feuding Montague and Capulet families. The invitation to Lord Capulet's party states that he has a brother named Valentine.
Though often fun-loving and witty, the latter demonstrated in his Queen Mab speech in the first act, Mercutio's sense of humour can at times be facetious or even coarse, much to his friends' annoyance. He is also moody and given to sudden outbursts of temper, one of which sets a key plot development in motion.