Romeo’s first love interest before he meets Juliet in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is Rosaline.
At the beginning of the play, Romeo is melancholy because Rosaline does not return his love. He says she has chosen a life of chastity, and Benvolio encourages him to meet other women so that he can compare his feelings. Romeo then attends the Capulet feast, where he sees Juliet and quickly redirects his attention.
Rosaline never appears onstage and never speaks. Her importance is therefore structural: she establishes Romeo’s earlier conception of love and provides a contrast with his immediate, mutual connection with Juliet. The play moves from Romeo’s exaggerated sadness over an absent beloved to a relationship that changes both lovers’ actions.
Rosaline is sometimes confused with Juliet because both are associated with Romeo’s romantic language. They are distinct characters, and Rosaline is not a Capulet character who participates in the secret marriage or the tragedy.