Juliet, the female protagonist in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet , is 13 years old in the original play. She is described as approaching her fourteenth birthday, which is set on "Lammas Eve at night" (July 31), making the events of the play occur in mid-July. Her father even notes that she "hath not seen the change of fourteen years," indicating she is still 13
. This young age was notable even in Shakespeare's time, as it was somewhat unusual for noblewomen to marry so young, and Shakespeare may have intentionally made Juliet younger to highlight the dangers of early marriage. In other versions of the story on which Shakespeare based his play, Juliet is older-around 16 or 18-but Shakespeare's Juliet remains 13 to emphasize her youth and vulnerability
. In summary, Juliet is 13 years old in Shakespeare's original Romeo and Juliet.
