/guid/9202a8c04000641f80000000056fc947 rename

Rosaline (pronounced /ˈrɒzəlɪn/ or /ˈrɒzəliːn/) is an unseen character and niece of Lord Capulet in...

Rosaline (pronounced /ˈrɒzəlɪn/ or /ˈrɒzəliːn/) is an unseen character and niece of Lord Capulet in William Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet (1597). Although silent, her role is important: her lover, Romeo, first spots Juliet while trying to catch a glimpse of Rosaline at a Capulet gathering. Scholars generally compare Romeo's short-lived love of Rosaline with his later love of Juliet. The poetry he writes for Rosaline is much weaker than that for Juliet. Scholars believe his early experience with Rosaline prepares him for his relationship with Juliet. Later performances of Romeo and Juliet have painted different pictures of Romeo and Rosaline's relationship, as filmmakers have experimented with making Rosaline a more visible character. Before Romeo meets Juliet, he loves Rosaline, Lord Capulet's niece. He describes her as exceptionally beautiful: "The all-seeing sun / ne'er saw her match since first the world begun." Rosaline, however, chooses to remain celibate; Romeo says: "She hath forsworn to love, and in that vow / Do I live dead that live to tell it now." This is the source of his depression, and he makes his friends unhappy; Mercutio comments: "That same pale,